Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Noaa Office Of Response And Restoration News

28 Mar 2023

NOAA, Coast Guard to Collect Data from a Great Lakes Icebreaker

(Photo: NOAA)

This week, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) scientists worked with the U.S. Coast Guard during ice-breaking in Lake Superior Harbor in Duluth, Minnesota, aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Spar. This project is the first set of experiments funded by the newly developed Great Lakes Center of Expertise.Teams from both Coast Guard District 9 and NOAA deployed uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) with multispectral, thermal and LIDAR sensors to collect data while the Spar was breaking ice in the harbor.

24 Jul 2014

House Subcommittee Hearing Highlights “Dismal State” of U.S. Icebreaking Capability

Craig H. Allen, Sr.

At the July 23, 2014, hearing of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on “Implementing U.S. Policy in the Arctic” the committee chairman, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), opened the proceedings by holding up a graphic of the icebreaker fleets of the world—which depicts nearly 40 Russian icebreakers—and then commented on the “dismal state” of the U.S. icebreaker situation. The hearing background paper noted that the United States presently has only two working polar class icebreakers…

12 Jul 2013

GofM Natural Gas Leakage: BSEE Continues Oversight of Control

The oil sheen: Photo courtesy of NOAA

BSEE continues to oversee efforts by Energy Resource Technology, LLC (ERT) to stop the flow of natural gas from a well located 74 miles southwest of Port Fourchon, LA at Ship Shoal Block 225, Platform B, in 146 feet of water. After equipment preparation and testing, well kill operations began at approximately 4:15 p.m. CDT. Procedures for the source control operations were prepared by ERT and reviewed and approved by BSEE. Once confirmation of the successful well kill operation is received, BSEE will review ERT's plan for plugging the well.

11 Jan 2013

Marine Debris Program Expanded by US Administration

Clearing beached Japan Tsunami debris: Photo credit NOAA

New legislation expands scope of NOAA marine debris program to deal with natural disaster debris. President Obama has signed legislation reauthorizing the NOAA Marine Debris Program and its mission to address the harmful impacts of marine debris on the United States. The program, which is housed within NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, was originally created in 2006 by the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act. For the most part, the NOAA Marine Debris Program ’s mandates remain the same: to identify…

07 Jan 2013

The Challenge of Responding to Arctic Oil Spills

December 8, 2004. The bulk carrier M/V Selendang Ayu ran aground on Unalaska Island.

The U.S. Arctic is no longer the place it once was. The environment north of the Yukon River and beyond the vast Brooks Range is warming rapidly. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists predict that by 2020-2030, the Arctic could be nearly free of sea ice during the summer. Open seas will expand opportunities for maritime transportation, tourism, and oil and gas exploration in the region. But as a warming Arctic opens up vast opportunities for commerce and development…

12 Nov 2012

NY Nor'easter Fails to Prevent 'Sandy' Pollution Clean-up

Map Showing Arthur Kill Pollution Sites: Image credit NOAA

In anticipation of the winter storm which came on the heels of Hurricane Sandy, spill response teams based on New York’s Staten Island stopped work for just a day. NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration is continuing aerial surveys of Arthur Kill, the waterway spanning New Jersey and New York which experienced several hazardous spills in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. These surveys serve as reconnaissance for responders managing the oil spill cleanup. Major response operations for the diesel spilled at the Motiva Refinery in Sewarren…

08 Feb 2012

BSEE, NOAA Enhance Response Mapping

BSEE and NOAA to complete Arctic oil spill response mapping tool. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today they are partnering to enhance the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) for the Arctic region by summer 2012. ERMA® is the same interactive online mapping tool used by federal responders during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This effort will help address numerous…

23 Jan 2008

Westerholm to Head NOAA Response and Restoration

Dave Westerholm, former chief of the U.S. Coast Guard's Office of Response, has been named the new director of the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration. Westerholm will be responsible for overseeing NOAA's efforts to prepare for and respond to environmental hazards caused by marine debris and the release of oil and chemicals into the nation's ocean and coastal waters. He began his position on Jan. 22.

23 Jan 2008

Westerholm to Head NOAA Office

Dave Westerholm, former chief of the U.S. Coast Guard's Office of Response, has been named the new director of the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, responsible for overseeing NOAA's efforts to prepare for and respond to environmental hazards caused by marine debris and the release of oil and chemicals into the nation's ocean and coastal waters. He began his position on Jan. 22. maritime security, policy, and communications with General Dynamics Information Technology, where he managed $17 million in contracts supporting federal and state customers in homeland security, emergency response and strategic communications. and hazardous material releases in the U.S. multi-agency National Response Team, which responds to 30,000 incident reports each year.

18 Jun 2007

NOAA and Coast Guard Map Long Island Shore to Prepare for Spills

NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), are partnering to produce an updated survey of Long Island's coastal shorelines to help officials develop hazardous spill response plans for areas at high risk. NOAA will survey the shorelines of Long Island, focusing on shoreline types, natural resources, and historic structures most at risk for a hazardous spill. Long Island is at risk of oil releases due to the sheer volume of oil-related activities and shipping in its coastal waters that are associated with a large offshore oil platform, off-shore lightering operations, bulk fuel storage facilities, pipelines, and a commercial power plant.

29 Sep 2006

NOAA Team Assesses Debris Impacts in Gulf Region

view of side scan sonar image of sunken ship in Pascagoula, Miss. NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration and Office of Coast Survey, working with the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies, are assisting with Gulf of Mexico recovery efforts by performing hydrographic surveys and risk assessments of underwater debris left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The mapping aspect of the project will aid in the risk assessment and prioritization of the removal of debris to restore safe navigation and re-establish commercial fishing in the regions. The survey work will include sounding measurements to determine the depth of the debris…

31 Aug 2005

NOAA to Evaluate and Assess Region

Photo Credit: NOAA An aerial image of south Plaquemines Parish, La., near Empire, Buras and Boothville, where Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005 as a Category Four hurricane with maximum winds estimated at 140 mph to the east of the center. The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration and Damage Assessment Center is deploying NOAA scientists and other specialists—in coordination with federal, state and local emergency centers—to assist in evaluating the damages to the many oil and chemical pipelines and platforms in the region.

13 Sep 2005

NOAA Aerial Mapping Assists Katrina Clean Up

The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration is working closely with FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard in coordinating the response to hazardous materials in the flood waters of New Orleans and with the continuing search and rescue mission in response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One of the innovative technologies being applied is combining LIDAR (airborne laser used to measure topography) and aerial satellite imagery to create aerial maps of the region. NOAA is assisting in tracking the progress in removing water from the flooded areas of the region by providing aerial maps showing the progress to date. The maps (pictured) are…