Giving Thanks for the Partnerships that Make a Spill Response Happenalyssa.grayWed, 11/23/2022 - 14:16
When an oil spill happens, it’s usually not just one agency that responds. Oftentimes, it’s an entire spill response community that bands together to clean up the spill, protect the environment from any impacts, and begin working on recovery.
Every month, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard on everything from running oil spill trajectories to model where the spill may spread, to identifying possible effects on wildlife and fisheries and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment. We also get requests to track and model other floating objects.
So far this year, OR&R has provided support to 121 incidents. In October 2022, OR&R provided response support to 19 incidents, including seven new incidents in seven different states.
By Doug Helton, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration, and Elizabeth Stratton, NOAA Fisheries
NOAA is the lead U.S. federal agency responsible for the conservation and protection of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions). Within NOAA, that role is delegated to NOAA Fisheries, but sometimes other NOAA offices are called in to help. In this instance, "helping" involved dealing with a stranded whale carcass.
