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1. Home
2. About
3. NOS Fiscal Year 2021: Year in Review
4. Office of Response and Restoration

**Office of Response and Restoration** NOS Fiscal Year 2021 Year in Review *NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) is tasked with responding to oil spills, chemical accidents, and other emergencies in coastal areas. OR&R’s expertise spans oceanography, biology, chemistry, and geology, allowing the response team to estimate oil and chemical trajectories, analyze chemical hazards, and assess risks to coastal animals, habitats, and important commercial and recreational areas. OR&R teams, led by regional scientific support coordinators, provide scientific support to the U.S. Coast Guard for spills in coastal waters.*  $131.9 Million Recovered from Polluters for Restoration **SUPPORTS NOS PRIORITY:** STEWARDSHIP, RECREATION, AND TOURISM Disabled tank barge showing a discharge of oil in the water.*A disabled tank barge vessel  in the Gulf of Mexico, showing a discharge of oil. Credit: U.S. Coast Guard*
 In 2021, OR&R worked with partners to recover $131.9 million  from polluters at 10 contaminated waterways in six coastal states. This funding  will be used to restore marine environments and communities damaged from oil  spills and hazardous waste pollution. These efforts will restore robust  fisheries, endangered species, coastal habitats, and outdoor recreation. This  work will also benefit blue economies, coastal resilience, and affected local  communities, including underserved and indigenous localities, which are often  impacted by pollution. Restoration will include: $51.5 million to create  habitats for salmon in the Lower Duwamish River in Washington state; $8.8  million to restore salmon and tribal cultural resources at Western Port Angeles  Harbor, in Washington state; $20.3 million to restore outdoor recreation and  wildlife in California; $25 million to restore freshwater habitats and outdoor  recreation in the Kalamazoo River, Michigan; $19.2 million to restore salt  marsh and estuarine wildlife on the Calcasieu River in Louisiana; $4.5 million  to restore fish and marine mammals in the Gulf of Mexico; $1.7 million to  restore Texas’s Galveston Bay; $629,000 to preserve 475 acres (192 hectares) of wilderness  in perpetuity in Texas; and $247,333****to restore natural resources at  Berry’s Creek, New Jersey.  Preparedness Workshops Prove Successful **SUPPORTS NOS PRIORITY:** PREPAREDNESS AND RISK REDUCTION In Fiscal Year 2021, OR&R hosted a range of  preparedness workshops to enhance NOS, NOAA, and partner readiness. The  topics covered in these four workshops, hosted by OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP), covered a wide range of coastal hazards. The DPP  joined with internal and external partners to co-host a virtual workshop and  tabletop exercise on harmful algal bloom preparedness, as well as response  capabilities and roles. The event provided the 115 participants a better  understanding of agency roles and responsibilities, the science that helps  drive decision-making, and the importance of interagency coordination. Over 140 participants joined the virtual  two-day Hurricane Preparedness Summit. The summit explored a wide range of topics,  including National Weather Service storm surge modeling and aircraft operation,  power and utility loss logistics, as well as incident management. The DPP also hosted the first cross-NOAA recovery  workshop to discuss agency roles, responsibilities, and opportunities for  enhancing coordination and service delivery in disaster recovery. OR&R also hosted a workshop focused on  defining the next generation of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps. With a goal of strategically advancing ESIs  and maximizing their capabilities as a critical planning and response tool,  this workshop explored resource constraints on updates, stakeholder data and  mapping needs, innovations, and partnerships.  Aerial view of a harmful algal bloom.*Harmful algal bloom event off the coast of Texas.*  NOAA Marine Debris Program Awards Funding to 25 New Projects **SUPPORTS NOS PRIORITY:**   PREPAREDNESS AND RISK REDUCTION Following a highly  competitive review process, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program provided approximately  $7.3 million in federal funds to 25 grant recipients for  marine debris research, removal, and prevention projects.  Federal funding  is matched by non-federal contributions, bringing the total investment of these  marine debris projects to approximately $14.7 million. Marine debris is a  pervasive national and global problem that harms wildlife, navigation safety,  ecosystem health, and the economy. These projects will improve habitats and other  ecological resources, and help build a foundation of knowledge and resources to  change behaviors, raise awareness, and promote the long-term prevention of  marine debris. The Marine Debris Program is proud to support impactful,  community-driven, and cost-effective projects.  Plastic bags, fishing traps, buoys, and other debris on a New England shoreline.*Plastic bags, fishing traps, buoys, and other debris on a New England shoreline. Credit: National Audubon Society Seabird Restoration Program.*  OR&R Provides Support for International Oil Spills **SUPPORTS NOS PRIORITIES:**  SAFE AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION AND  COMMERCE; PREPAREDNESS AND RISK REDUCTION; STEWARDSHIP, RECREATION, AND  TOURISM. OR&R provides scientific support for spill  emergencies, including 156 domestic incidents in FY  21. OR&R mobilized its expertise  for six significant international  marine oil, chemical, and plastic spills during FY 21. Working with our NOAA partners, including NOAA Fisheries and the  Office of Protected Resources, OR&R provided response products and guidance  to: Sri Lanka, following the fire and sinking of the container ship *X-Press  Pearl*; Trinidad and Tobago, following an oil spill from the tankship *Nabarima*; Israel, following a mystery offshore oil discharge; Haiti, following a devastating earthquake; the United  Nations, regarding a derelict tanker in the Middle East; and Cyprus, after an  oil spill off of the Syrian coast. OR&R provided virtual support during the pandemic, and  continues to improve virtual capabilities to ensure maximum effectiveness.  For international incidents, OR&R provided oil fate and  trajectory analyses, oil and debris cleanup recommendations, advice regarding  marine mammal and sea turtle impacts, and satellite imagery. Through the U.S.  Department of State’sAssistance for International Oil Spills process, NOAA is a key member of the U.S. National Response Team and provides a wide range of scientific and technical  support, resources, and products.  NOAA satellite image of the MV X-Press Pearl and possible oil spill.*NOAA satellite image and analysis of the container ship X-Press Pearl, which caught fire on May 20, 2021. After 12 days, the vessel sank off the coast of Sri Lanka. All containers were lost or damaged.*  OR&R’s Digital Tools Support Marine Environmental Response **SUPPORTS NOS PRIORITIES:** SAFE AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCE; PREPAREDNESS AND RISK REDUCTION; STEWARDSHIP, RECREATION, AND TOURISM. Oiled seagrass in the water.*Oiled grass following a release from the vehicle carrier Golden Ray, which capsized in St. Simons Sound near the Port of Brunswick, Georgia, in 2019.*
 In FY 21, OR&R made significant, publicly available  improvements to bothDIVER, an electronic  warehouse that shares environmental data, and ERMA®, a mapping tool for environmental responders. ERMA integrates both static and real-time data, including Environmental  Sensitivity Index maps,  ship locations, weather, and ocean currents. When an event occurs or is imminent, NOAA’s Homeland Security  Program relies on ERMA dashboards, which contain information on the event,  identify personnel in the area of impact, and show who has responded to  emergency alerts. In  support of emergency response for hurricanes, oil spills, and Natural Resource Damage  Assessment (NRDA) field work, ERMA enhancements focused on data collection in the field. Centralizing data aids operational  decisions, such as prioritizing cleanup  activities for hurricanes and spills, or  choosing sampling locations for NRDA cases. In FY 21, these tools  expedited more effective and timely responses to spills and hurricanes,  enabling faster recovery of natural resources and the economies that depend on  them. In addition, marine  debris emergency response guides now include direct  links to ERMA maps. This allows responders to access a  state-specific view, a preloaded set of layers relevant to debris response, and  important information for determining jurisdiction boundaries.
 OR&R **Highlights** $131.9 Million Recovered from Polluters for Restoration Preparedness Workshops Prove Successful NOAA Marine Debris Program Awards Funding to 25 New Projects OR&R Provides Support for International Oil Spills OR&R’s Digital Tools Support Marine Environmental Response
  NOS **Accomplishments** NOS by the Numbers 2021  Browse by Hurricane: General Hurricane Accomplishments Hurricane Ida  Browse by Office: Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services Coral Reef Conservation Program U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science National Geodetic Survey NOS Management and Budget NOS Information Management Office for Coastal Management Office of Coast Survey Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Office of Response and Restoration   **Search** Our facts    Get **Social** Social
  **Last updated:** 01/10/22 **Author:** NOAA How to cite this article Contact Us


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