Emergency Response Division (ERD)

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 98 incidents. In July, OR&R provided response support to 21 incidents, including 11 new incidents in seven states and one territory (the U.S. Virgin Islands). Staff prepared 147 new incident reports and documents, including nine fate and trajectory analyses. Cumulatively, these incidents posed an approximate risk of over 66,000 gallons of oils and 77,000 metric tons of chemicals⁠. 
 

So far this year, OR&R has provided support to 87 incidents. In June, OR&R provided response support to 30 incidents, including 22 new incidents in seven states and two foreign countries (Canada and Aruba). The new incidents included 19 actual or potential oil spills, one mystery spill, one grounded deep-sea semi-submersible oil rig with contaminated ballast water, and one whale carcass. Staff prepared 182 new incident reports and documents, including 13 fate and trajectory analyses.

In May 2022, OR&R provided response support to 35 incidents, including 17 new incidents in 11 states. The new incidents included 13 actual or potential oil spills, two chemical spills, one barge fire, and one whale carcass. The division prepared 98 new incident reports and documents, including eight fate and trajectory analyses. Cumulatively, these incidents posed the risk of over 69,000 gallons of oils and chemicals.

In April 2022, OR&R provided response support to 32 incidents, including 12 new incidents in eight states. The new incidents included eight actual or potential oil spills, two chemical spills, one facility fire, and one whale carcass. OR&R prepared 125 new incident reports, including four trajectory analyses. Cumulatively, these incidents posed the risk of almost 200,000 gallons of oils and chemicals. The volume numbers are approximate and based on initial information that may be updated in later investigations.

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 possible effects on wildlife and fisheries and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment. This month OR&R responded to 12 incidents in February, including oil discharges, grounded vessels, and other pollution-related incidents.  

The state of Florida has the most coastline of any in the contiguous United States, from sandy beaches to subtropical islands, estuaries, mangroves, and everything in between. Protecting these critical coastal resources is a major task, and NOAA’s Environmental Sensitivity Index product is a crucial tool in the state’s belt.