MARCH 25, 2024 — During the week of March 11, OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held a three-day NOAA-specific Incident Command System 300 (ICS 300) Level Training at NOAA’s Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. This training was the first in-person NOAA ICS 300 class since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During the interim, the class has been held virtually to ensure NOAA staff are trained in ICS 300.

MARCH 25, 2024 — On March 14, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) wrapped up a month of partner-led virtual workgroup meetings to discuss the California Ocean Litter Strategy (OLS). The meetings brought together over 75 partners from across the state and included a diverse set of sectors, including state agencies, nonprofits, private organizations, and academia.

MARCH 25, 2024 — On March 15, 2024, NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff met on Harkers Island, North Carolina with North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF) grantees and staff from the offices of U.S. Senators Tom Tillis and Ted Budd to share highlights of their derelict vessel removal project supported by Inflation Reduction Act funds.

MARCH 18, 2024 — In March of 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced two proposed settlements to compensate for natural resource injuries resulting from hazardous substances released in the Lower Duwamish River in Washington state.

MARCH 11, 2024 — The Newtown Creek Trustees are announcing to the public the Draft Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan outlining potential injuries to natural resources related to releases of contamination at this Superfund site. Public participation, review, and input are an important part of the process of assessing and restoring natural resources.

MARCH 11, 2024 — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, on behalf of the Gowanus Canal Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) Trustees, invites public comment on a Draft Damage Assessment Plan, which details the Trustees’ proposed approach to conducting a natural resource damage assessment for the Gowanus Canal. We encourage the public to review the draft plan and share comments through April 15, 2024.

MARCH 11, 2024 — On March 5, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Preparedness and Response Specialist Jessica Conway and California Regional Coordinator, Christy Kehoe, presented at the Binational Emergency Response Guide (BERG): Coordinating to Address Land-Based Marine Debris Workshop. This one-day workshop, hosted by the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), brought together agencies and organizations involved in preparedness and response from the United States and Mexico. This hybrid virtual and in-person event was located in San Diego, California. 

MARCH 11, 2024 — OR&R staff conducted a five-day Hazardous Materials Contingency Planning Workshop at the Panama Canal in support of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). 

MARCH 4, 2024 — On February 16, the NOAA Marine Debris Program hosted a virtual briefing for congressional staff with speakers from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF) and Port of Neah Bay to discuss upcoming debris removal work. The briefing was attended by nine staff from six congressional offices and committees.

MARCH 4, 2024 — On February 20, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) released the new Southern New England Marine Debris Action Plan. This document is the result of a collaborative effort between the MDP and partners across Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts, including federal, state, and nongovernmental organizations, industry, and academia.

FEB. 26, 2024 — The Gulf of Mexico Conference (GOMCON), led by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, brings together coastal scientists and stakeholders in state and federal government, academia, non-profit, and private sectors to discuss current Gulf research and collaborate on new opportunities. This year, GOMCON took place in Tampa, Florida from February 19-22. Emphasizing the intersection of science, policy, and management, GOMCON included sessions on themes that are important to ecosystem and community resilience as well as restoration and natural resource management.

FEB. 26, 2024 — Published in early February, a new publication, “Potential population-level impacts of future oil spills on Pacific herring stocks in Puget Sound,” reports on research carried out by OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center to model the responses of Puget Sound Pacific herring stocks to simulated oil spills.

FEB. 20, 2024 — On February 9-10, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration participated in the two-day St. Petersburg Science Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.