An official website of the United States government.								Here's how you know we're official.				

##### dot gov icon**Official websites use .gov**

A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

##### https icon**Secure websites use HTTPS**

A small lock or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to a .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

National Ocean ServiceNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

              -  Home 
              -  Ocean Facts 
              -  TOPICS ****                  - Explore All Topics
                - Careers
                - Economy
                - Ecosystems
                - Geodesy
                - Hazards
                - Navigation
                - Observations
                - Ocean
                - Recreation
                - Sea Level Rise 
                - Story Maps
                - Tools 
              -  Education 
              -  News 
              -  Podcasts 
              -  Video 
              -  Images 
              -  About Us 

HomeAboutNOS Fiscal Year 2016 Year in Review

# Office of Response and Restoration

## NOS Fiscal Year 2016 Year in Review

## Settlement with BP and Final Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan

            -  **Supports NOS priority**: coastal resilience 

 Marsh restoration at the Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary in Louisiana

NOAA Office of Response and Restoration’s Assessment and Restoration Division worked with NOAA Fisheries’ Restoration Center, NOAA’s Office of the General Counsel Natural Resources Section and multiple trustee agencies to produce the Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS) for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The 1,400+ page report was the basis for the record settlement of $8.8 billion for the restoration of injured natural resources between the natural resource trustees and BP.

----

## Settlements of Enbridge, Commencement and Gulf-Chevron

            -  **Supports NOS priority**: coastal resilience 

Commencement Bay during a restoration work party (Credit: EarthCorps)

NOAA Office of Response and Restoration’s Assessment and Restoration  Division, NOAA Fisheries’ Restoration Center and NOAA’s Office of the General  Counsel Natural Resources Section secured over $67 million to restore the  environment following three events. By working with partners agencies from the  State of Michigan, over $60 million was generated for restoration following the  2010 Enbridge pipeline failure. The spill resulted in approximately 843,000  gallons of a heavy form of crude oil known as “tar sands oil” into a tributary  of the Kalamazoo River. Restoration projects include restoring and protecting  hundreds of acres of wetlands and upland habitat, replacing culverts to enhance  river flow, and increasing recreational opportunities for the public along the  Kalamazoo River. 

In Washington State a settlement worth approximately $5 million  continued a history of restoring Commencement Bay, which was impacted by the  pollution from industrial activity. In total, NOAA and partners have generated  over $70 million dollars over the last 20 years to hold polluters accountable  and reestablish the bay. 

In Maine, an $880,000 settlement was reached for an oil spill at the  Gulf-Chevron marine oil terminal. The settlement will support restoration  projects for natural resources, including aquatic habitats and areas of  recreational use. 

----

## Florida Incident Waterway Debris Response Guide

            -  **Supports NOS priority**: coastal intelligencecoastal resilience 

Events like severe storms, floods, tsunamis, or maritime disasters can all result in a large influx of debris in coastal areas

The NOAA  Marine Debris Program completed the Florida Incident Waterway Debris Response Guide in 2016 to improve preparedness for response to and recovery  from events like severe storms, floods, tsunamis, or maritime disasters that  can result in a large influx of marine debris. This guide is the second  completed in an ongoing effort by the NOAA Marine Debris Program to collaborate  with local, state, and federal entities in coastal states in developing  state-specific guidance documents for easy reference in the case of a severe  marine debris event. The Florida Guide serves as a comprehensive reference for  incident waterway debris response. It contains an outline of existing response  structures and captures all relevant responsibilities and existing procedures  in Florida. The guide is accompanied by a Field Reference Guide with pertinent  quick reference information for in the field emergency response operations.

----

## Response Highlights in Fiscal Year 2016

            -  **Supports NOS priority**: coastal resilience 

A scientist with the response transfers a sediment sample from the Mississippi River to collection jars for analysis following a collision and oil spill near Columbus, Kentucky

The US Coast Guard (USCG)  conducted an assessment dive of the sunken wreck of Tank Barge *Argo,* lost in 1937 in Lake Erie, when an active chemical plume and odors were noted  above the tank barge. The benzene cargo was characterized and ultimately  removed. NOAA Office of Response and  Restoration’s Emergency Response Division (ERD), with state and federal partners, managed the development of  environmental monitoring, water sampling, sediment sampling, and waste disposal  plans for the *Argo* response. 

Two tug boats collided on  the Mississippi River near Columbus, Kentucky, spilling an estimated 120,500 gallons  of oil. The oil was heavier than water and was at the bottom of a murky,  flowing river; posing unique challenges. ERD provided river flow forecasts,  chemistry of the spilled oil, a submerged oil assessment, assistance with a  side scan sonar, and assistance with the selection of unique response  technologies, such as environmental clamshell dredging.

          ERD supported the USCG response to an oil spill in the Green Canyon oil reserve area in the Gulf of Mexico, providing oil spill trajectory analysis and  information on natural resources potentially at risk from the oil, including  species and habitats in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. 

----

## NOAA’s Response Asset Directory

            -  **Supports NOS priority**: coastal resilience, Coastal Intelligence 

With the implementation of the NOAA Response Asset Directory, NOAA will be better positioned to respond to future disasters efficiently through improved shared knowledge and access to available resources for all NOAA staff

NOAA’s  Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center (DRC) - housed in the Office of  Response and Restoration - takes a leadership role in building NOAA’s  preparedness and ability to respond to and mitigate environmental impacts from  natural and human-caused disasters such as hurricanes and major oils spills. As  part of the National Ocean Service Roadmap resilience and response strategies, an  online NOAA Response Asset Directory (NRAD) was developed. The NRAD is an  all-hazards resource directory that includes searchable and spatial information  on physical resources, as well as NOAA services which could be used or in need  of protection during response and recovery from disasters.

The pilot  project has been completed for six states at high risk for hurricane threats -  Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Initial responses  highlight the application as a very powerful planning, response, and incident  recovery tool, and the expectation is that the directory will expand nationally  over the next year. With the implementation of the NRAD, NOAA will be better  positioned to respond to future disasters efficiently through improved shared  knowledge and access to available resources for all NOAA staff.

----

###### **OR&R** Highlights

            - **Settlement with BP and Final Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan
            - **Settlements of Enbridge, Commencement and Gulf-Chevron
            - **Florida Incident Waterway Debris Response Guide
            - **Response Highlights in Fiscal Year 2016
            - **NOAA’s Response Asset Directory

###### **NOS Accomplishments**

          -  Fiscal Year 2016 Highlights
          - Browse by  Priority :
          -  Coastal Resilience Priority
          -  Coastal Intelligence Priority
          -  Place-Based Conservation Priority
          - Browse by  Office :
          -  Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services
          -  Integrated Ocean Observing System
          -  National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
          -  National Geodetic Survey
          -  NOS Management and Budget
          -  Office for Coastal Management 
          -  Office of Coast Survey
          -  Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
          -   YOU ARE HERE: Office of Response and Restoration

            - Provide Feedback 
            -  Contact Us 
            -  Report an error 

##### Science. Service.Stewardship.

###### 						About NOS 					

            - About Us
            - NOS Program Offices
            - Media Inquiries
            - Website Acknowledgements

###### 						Resources 					

            - Site Index
            - Disclaimer
            - Freedom of Information Act
            - Accessibility

###### 						More Resources 					

            - Information Quality
            - Privacy Policy
            - NOS For Employees
            - USA.gov

          -  National Ocean Service
          -  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
          -  Department of Commerce

##### 						Social 					

            - 
            - 
            - 
            - 
            -