JUNE 3, 2024 — On May 13, 2024, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington finalized a settlement with Crowley Marine Services, Inc. (Crowley), 8th Avenue Terminals, Inc. and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The settlement is on behalf of the Elliott Bay Trustee Council, which includes NOAA, the U.S.
OR&R Weekly Report
The Office of Response and Restoration publishes this weekly round-up of news and information of interest to our partners, stakeholders, and team members. Click to subscribe
June 2022
JUNE 6, 2022 — On May 9, NOAA Marine Debris Program staff participated in Cedar Point Amusement Park's Physics, Math, and Science Days.
JUNE 6, 2022 — A new article titled “Ecosystem-Service Scaling Techniques to Evaluate the Benefits of Marine Debris Removal'' was recently published in the Journal of Environmental Management. It establishes a new framework to calculate the benefits of removing marine debris from the environment.
JUNE 6, 2022 — The National Ocean Service’s Office for Coast Survey demonstrated their new remotely operated uncrewed surface vessel system, the EchoBoat 240, in Annapolis, Maryland to a crowd of congressional staff and stakeholders.
JUNE 6, 2022 — Protecting America’s waterways and coastal regions from the effects of oil and chemical spills is a collaborative mission, and OR&R’s Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) program strives to build a community of partners. On May 19, Nicolle Rutherford, ESI Program manager, gave a presentation on the available data and many uses of ESIs for Save the River, an organization in northern New York that serves as the Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper.
May 2022
MAY 23, 2022 — On May 17, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, announced a request for proposals under the Hurricane Response Marine Debris Removal Fund.
MAY 23, 2022 — Even our youngest learners are eager to explore ocean issues and stewardship. On Monday, May 16, the Marine Debris Program virtually engaged with four first grade classes at Wai‘alae Elementary in Honolulu.
MAY 23, 2022 — Recently, NOAA gave a virtual presentation on the CAMEO® software suite to emergency planners from across the country at the annual National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials (NASTTPO) conference.
MAY 16, 2022 – On April 27, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren joined officials from Department of Commerce and others from the federal interagency to take part in a component of the National Level Exercise (NLE) 2022, an exercise that also incorporates a declared Spill of National Significance exercise.
MAY 16, 2022 – From April 27-28, 2022, the NOAA OR&R Director Scott Lundgren and Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto participated in the Annual Meeting of the Spill Control Association of America (SCAA) held in Savannah, Georgia.
MAY 16, 2022 — The Annual Meeting of the NOAA Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Team was held May 3-5 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
MAY 16, 2022 — Earlier this month, the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) program’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 proposal to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was approved for funding, allowing OR&R to refresh critical sensitivity data in the Great Lakes and drive the next generation of sensitive resource mapping nationwide.
MAY 9 — As part of the United States Patent and Trademark Office's 2022 Virtual Green Fair, NOAA gave two keynote presentations for USPTO staff.
MAY 9, 2022 — OR&R toxicologist and Alaska regional resource coordinator, Sarah Allan, co-authored a book chapter, Oil Spills in the Arctic, in a recently published book, Arctic One Health, Challenges for Northern Animals and People (Morten Tryland eds.).
MAY 9, 2022 – On Tuesday, May 3, OR&R and National Geodetic Survey staff attended the kick off of NOAA’s Hurricane Awareness Tour at Ronald Reagan National Airport, engaging with congressional staffers, media, and NOAA leadership. OR&R and NGS each play a pivotal role in hurricane preparedness, response, and recovery, from emergency response after a hurricane, to shoreline mapping imagery that helps emergency managers recover quickly from storms.
April 2022
MAY 2, 2022 – This week two experts from OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division, Bryand Duke and Ken Finkelstein, participated in the 25th annual National Ocean Science Bowl.
MAY 2, 2022 – On April 21, Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) team members gathered for the first ever Intern Symposium, presented by three undergraduate interns from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
MAY 2, 2022 – Last week experts from OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) participated in a workshop held by the National Marine Mammal Foundation and NOAA’s Restore Science Program.
MAY 2, 2022 – On April 19, NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff presented to the Salish Sea Stewards on marine debris and the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP).
APRIL 24, 2022 — The NOAA Marine Debris Program and Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition's CoastWatch trained coastal community members to participate in the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project. MDMAP engages NOAA partners and volunteers around the world to survey and record the amount and types of marine debris on shorelines.
APRIL 24, 2022 — On April 5, staff from the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) gave a virtual presentation at the hybrid International Plastic Pollution Summit hosted by Long Island University (LIU) and co-sponsored by the Global Council for Science and Environment and the Office for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France. The MDP's Chief Scientist, Amy V.
APRIL 24, 2022 – OR&R Director Scott Lundgren was joined by OR&R science and emergency representatives Lisa DiPinto, Aaron Parker, and LT Steven Wall for the biennial Spills Advisory Group hosted by the American Petroleum Institute. This meeting brings together representatives of state and federal government, nongovernment organizations, academia, petroleum industry, and cleanup organizations for information sharing on spill preparedness and response.
APRIL 15, 2022 — The Environmental Sensitivity Index program gave a briefing on Friday, April 15, 2022 for federal and state-level stakeholders in the Great Lakes region. Organized by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the briefing was an opportunity to create awareness among our partners regarding the ESI product, recent updates to ESI data, and changes to the ESI program, as some of them have not worked with the ESI products before.
APRIL 25, 2022 – OR&R’s Emergency Response Division works very closely with our state and federal natural resource trustees in southern Louisiana, often coordinating very closely during oil spills that threaten trustee resources and determining the cleanup strategies that offer the best protection for the environment. Occasionally, ERD receives the very special opportunity to go beyond our oil spill response role and we are invited to assist our partners with restoration of their important parks and refuges.
APRIL 25, 2022 – The latest version of the CAMEO Chemicals hazardous materials database is now available, and it includes key emergency response data updates. The desktop and mobile app platforms have also been updated for the latest operating systems.
APRIL 18, 2022 — On April 6, Christy Kehoe, the California Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) and California Sea Grant Extension Fellow, Tanya Torres, presented at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific’s April 2022 Naturalist Program Meeting.
APRIL 18, 2022 — From March 28-30, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Island Regional Coordinator, Mark Manuel, participated in the Territorial Climate and Infrastructure Workshop hosted by the Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (D.O.I.).
APRIL 18, 2022 — Hurricanes and typhoons are powerful storms that cause loss of life and billions of dollars of destruction each year.
APRIL 18, 2022 — NOAA is bidding farewell to longtime chemist, Robert Jones, who recently retired from the Emergency Response Division (ERD) of the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R).
APRIL 11, 2022 — On April 6, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the inaugural board of directors for the new Marine Debris Foundation.