Shoreline ResponseChallenges
g following
g theDeep Water Horizon Incident
Ed Owens
Polaris Applied Sciences, Inc.
PAJ Oil Spill Workshop
2 March 2011

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in thispresentation are those of the author
palone and do not represent
statements,
statements positions or opinions ofPolaris Applied Sciences, Inc., BP, or
any other entity or agency involved
with the Deepwater Horizon response
operation.

O tliOutline• key shoreline response elements• Operations Support – STRs
• Operations Support – SCAT Ops Liaison• Treatment inspections• Treatment of amenity sand beaches

Key Elements
Time and space challenges
 ChronicChi phasehlastedl t d 6 months
thuntil the well was sealed – oil wasburiedbd
 Operatingpg area extended over2000 miles along the coast Repetitively surveyed over 4,000
4 000
miles of shorelineThe Objective of a SCATSurvey/Program
The primary purpose of SCAT (Shoreline(Cleanup Assessment Technique)) is toprovide:
DECISIONSUPPORT FOR
SHORELINE
TREATMENTPLANNING ANDRESPONSE
OPERATIONSMANAGEMENTand PLANNINGSCATSCIENTIFICSUPPORT

OPERATIONSThe Four SCAT Principles
A systematic survey of all shorelines
in the affected area
 Division of the coast into segments
 Use
U off a standard
t d d sett off terms
tandddefinitions for documentation
 A team of interagency personnel torepresent land ownershipownership, land use,
usemanagement or trustee interests
SCAT Field Data
SCAT survey data shows that
there is either:

NO OBSERVED OIL (NOO)
Oil is present but is below theagreed treatment standards =NO FURTHER TREATMENT
required (NFT)

Oil is present and is above theagreed treatment standards sothath a SHORELINETREATMENTRECOMMENDATION (STR)
is generated

SCAT Cycle

2010--2011 SCAT Activities
2010
A sequence of stages

2010--2011 SCAT Activities
2010
In reality a sequence of repetitive activities• Survey• Treat (cleanup)• InspectSTR Form•ggeneration of theform includes Section 7and Section 106
reviews as well as
FOSC,, SOSC and RP
approval• this form is a
“Permission toW k” ffor Operations
WorkO
and is part of the ICS
204 process

Shoreline Treatment
Recommendations – MC 252
Sand Beach Treatment Workingp ((TWG))
Group Marsh/Mangrove TWG
 ManM -Made
ManM d S
Solid/Riplid/Ri R
Rap TWG
 The three TWG reports are attachedto the “MC 252 SCAT - Shoreline
Treatment Implementation
Framework” which is the agreed
survey/treatment/ttt program forf eachhstateOperations Support – SCAT Ops
Liaison• communication between SCAT (EUPlanning) and Operations is relatively
straight forward on most spills• as scale increases so Span Of Control
requires an adjustment• SCAT Ops Liaison set up on the MC 252
to bridge the widening communications
gap

Treatment Inspectionsp• Typically, SCAT teams inspect with landowners/managers to ensure thattreatment recommendations have been
met and a segment can go to an NOO oran NFT status (“Maintain( Maintain and Monitor”)
Monitor )• On MC 252, this is for a 2010 NFT
condition, to be followed by a “winterM&M”, and a “Spring
M&M
Spring 2011 SCAT”
SCAT
resurvey – not unlike “Exxon Valdez”
1990 1992
1990-1992

Shoreline
Inspection
Report((SIR))
UC Repsp signaturesg“An NFT with aland owner/manager
comment box

small amountof oil that wasb lbelow
ththe endd
point criteria”

SAND BEACH ISSUES
Sand beaches are the “easiest” shore
type to clean yet they pose thebiggest problems today in the Gulf ofM i !!
Mexico To treat or not to treat ?
 When is enough and what is feasible?
 How to minimizei i i morphodynamic
h diimpactsp?

Shoreline Survey Data
18 July 2010

(miles)Louisiana coastline ~ 7,700 miles: ~ 5% oiled
heavy + moderate marsh = ~ 1.5%

SAND BEACH
TREATMENT OPTIONSManual removal - shovels,
shovels rakes,
rakes
sifters
 Mechanical removal
emo al - small scrapers,sc ape ssifters
 In situ treatment - mixing, sediment
relocation
 Ex situ treatment – washing, oxidation,thermalSAND BEACH ISSUESHow to….
 clean when beaches in daily use ?
 treat stained sands ?
 treat buried oil ?
 deal with nearshore submerged oil ?

SAND BEACH ISSUES – 1
How to clean when beaches in daily use?
Night operations
 Remove as soon as oil washes ashore

Operations Constraints – forexamplel• No mechanical techniques allowed insome areas• No disturbance below 18” (yet oil
present down to 2424-26”)

SAND BEACH ISSUES - 2
How to treat stained sands ?
 Sediment
direlocationli
to water lineli• Rapid and high volume• no loss of sand• Non invasive (no footprint)
Sand treatment machines• Rapid and high volume• No loss of sand
• Machines for sand transfer and beach footprintSAND BEACH ISSUES - 3
Buried oil in dynamic sand beaches ?
 Location of subsurface oil:
• Pits, trenches, mechanical, augurs• thousands
hd off pinsiflagsfl

Scale of the Problem• About 600,000 – 700,000 cubic yards
treated on ~12 miles of FourchonFourchon-Grand IsleIsleGrandGdTTerre bbeaches
h ini LA• Some 30+ miles of subsurface oil on high use
amenity Gulf states beaches

SAND BEACH ISSUES - 4
How to deal with nearshore
submerged oil ?
First have to find it – “snorkel SCAT”
 Poor visibility
y in LA Vacuums, snares, ?, ?
At ththe EEnd
d off theth Day…
D… it is not the shore type nor the amount ofoil that really matters !
The driving forces behind the decision
process for sand beaches are public use andpublic perception.
perception
AnywhereAnhe e people live
li e on the coast thethere
e are
a e
high use amenity sand beaches!!!
beaches!!!