bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Uniformity: The Role of States (U.S. and Foreign) in Environmental Protection Post-Intertanko and Erika
Authors: Sahatjian Laurie Crick
Published: January 2013

On March 2, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected certain Washington State regulations of oil tankers, clarified the federal interest in regulating interstate navigation, and remanded to lower courts certain other state regulations for a determination of their validity in light of the “considerable federal interest at stake.” On December 12, 1999, the oil tanker Erika broke up and caused over 10,000 tons of oil to wash up on France's coast. The ultimate impact of this incident, and the extent of the reaction of the European Community (EU), remains to be seen. These two events epitomize the ongoing international struggle between the benefits of uniformity and the political imperatives brought on by maritime casualties. This paper will discuss the impact of both. The Intertanko decision clarified that the United States is to speak with one voice on matters of foreign affairs and foreign policy, including international maritime affairs. The international implications of the case were of such great importance that fourteen foreign governments, including the United Kingdom, Norway, Greece, and Japan, filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn Washington State regulations on the grounds that the regulations at issue were incompatible with the principles of uniformity and reciprocity that have long been agreed by the United States and other maritime nations as key to adopting, implementing, and enforcing effective international standards and regulations for ships, including shipboard measures for protecting the marine environment.

This paper will first discuss the impact of the Intertanko decision on the role of individual states. It will then address the participation of foreign governments in the legal system of the United States to further international goals, including issues considered significant enough to compel fourteen governments to participate as amici in the Supreme Court's consideration of the case. It will also address the continuing threat to uniformity resulting from notorious spills, including the Erika disaster and the EU reaction thereto. Finally, the paper will suggest steps that must be taken at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other international bodies to ensure continuing preservation of uniform international regulation of shipping.
Ecological Risk Assessment Principles Applied to Oil Spill Response Planning
Authors: Kraly Jennifer , Pond Robert G. , Walker Ann Hayward , Caplis John , Aurand Don V. , Coelho Gina M. , Martin Buzz , Sowby Michael
Published: January 2013

This paper summarizes the process of a cooperative ecological risk assessment (ERA) that was used to examine the potential environmental consequences of oil spill scenarios in San Francisco Bay, California; Galveston Bay, Texas; and Puget Sound, Washington. The purpose of the ERA process is to evaluate the ecological trade-offs associated with the use of each of five potential oil spill removal options—natural recovery, on-water mechanical recovery, shoreline cleanup, dispersant use, and on-water in situ burning. The desired outcome of the evaluation is identification of the optimum mix of response options in reducing injury to each specific environment. Evaluations at each location were accomplished through a series of facilitated workshops involving technical experts and resource managers from as many stakeholder organizations as possible. At these workshops, the participants developed relative ecological risk evaluations for response options. At the conclusion of each ERA, the workshop participants felt that the cooperative ERA process had the potential to become an integral part of the area contingency planning process by facilitating the assessment of the effectiveness of response strategies contained in an Area Contingency Plan (ACP). Repeated application of the process for various scenarios should enable an area committee to optimize response strategies over time by maximizing net environmental benefit. This paper describes the process used by the participants and presents a simplified version of the ERA process amenable to shorter timeframes and consequently more scenarios.
Case Study: Spill of JP5 Fuel at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico, into a Basin Mangrove Forest
Authors: Lehmann Stephen , Lopez Felix , Csulak Frank
Published: January 2013

The U.S. Roosevelt Roads Naval Station (RRNS) lies near the municipality of Ceiba on the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico. On October 20, 1999, RRNS personnel reported a spill of JP5 fuel oil, which was officially determined to be 112,000 gallons. The oil spilled from a day-tank into a 50-acre basin mangrove forest and then into the northern Ensenada Harbor. Initial spill response activities by the U.S. Navy Construction Battalion (Seabees), including construction and placement of both underflow and culvert dams, were carried out in the face of an approaching hurncane. This damming effort resulted in both positive and negative consequences for the survival of the mangrove forest.

In addition to the cleanup activities, the federal trustees—including the U.S. Navy (USN), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)—initiated a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). The primary objectives of the damage assessment were to identify potential natural resources at risk, determine the horizontal extent of contamination within the basin mangrove, and document exposure and/or injuries to natural resources resulting from the spill.

This paper examines the overall effectiveness of the spill response operations, discusses the difficulties in conducting cleanup activities in a basin mangrove environment, and describes coordination efforts between cleanup activities and natural resource response activities.
A Regression Model to Estimate Baseline Use of a Recreation Area Following an Oil Spill
Authors: Dunford Richard W. , Knight Tori H.
Published: January 2013

Recreation losses resulting from an oil spill are based on the difference between the recreation use that would have occurred in the absence of the spill (i.e., baseline use) and the recreation use that actually occurs following the spill, (i.e., with-injury use). Thus, recreation losses end when actual recreation use returns to baseline levels. Since baseline recreation use is unobserved, by definition, estimating baseline recreation use is an important, and usually controversial, aspect of assessing recreation losses.

This paper presents the authors' approach for estimating baseline recreation use of a coastal state park in Texas following a February 1995 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. They had daily visitation estimates for the park for all of February and March in 1994 and 1995. Unfortunately, the weather during these months in 1995 was colder, wetter, and windier than the weather in 1994. Thus, the authors could not use the 1994 visitation estimates as a proxy for 1995 baseline visitation at the state park because the 1995 baseline visitation would have been lower than 1994 visitation as a result of poorer weather conditions.

Since the authors could not use 1994 visitation estimates as a proxy for 1995 baseline visitation, they developed a regression model to estimate 1995 baseline visitation as a function of variables such as weather conditions (e.g., temperature, amount of sunshine, and precipitation), day of the week, week in the period, and oil-spill cleanup days. The results of their regression model indicate that visits to the state park returned to baseline levels about a week after the cleanup was completed. Their model reveals that almost half of the reduction in 1995 visits to the state park was a result of poor weather conditions, not the oil spill. Finally, the model also suggests that some of the forgone visits immediately following the oil spill were simply postponed, rather than lost.
The Cost of Certainty in Natural Resource Damage Assessment Under the Oil Pollution Act of 19901
Authors: Greene James Robert
Published: January 2013

Pursuant to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), natural resource trustees are empowered to seek recovery for damages to natural resources caused by discharges of oil and/or certain threats of discharges of oil. To determine the proper amount of damages, trustees undertake the process of “scaling,” which is an attempt to calculate the size of restoration actions that would be required to expedite recovery of injured natural resources to baseline and compensate the public for interim lost resources and services. Trustees utilize various scaling methods, including service-to-service methods, such as habitat equivalency analysis, and value-to-value methods, such as hedonic price models and contingent valuation. Regardless of the method chosen, however, the scaling is directly dependent on the level of injury caused by a spill. Disputes between trustees and those parties designated as responsible for the spill (responsible parties or RPs) often occur in determining the level of injury.

In many cases, as a result of either these disputes or the trustees' desire to determine the precise level of injury, trustees undertake costly and time-consuming injury studies. These studies oftentimes are inefficient because the resulting gains in certainty often are achieved through disproportionately expensive studies relative to the resulting gains in restoration. In certain instances, attempts to achieve greater certainty can destroy an otherwise efficient and cooperative restoration effort and run contrary to the OPA 90 regulations. Such attempts also can lead to costly litigation for both the public and the RP involved. Lastly, attempts to achieve greater certainty during injury assessment can unnecessarily increase the scale of compensatory restoration because of delays in implementing restoration actions.

Both trustees and RPs must recognize those instances in which achieving greater certainty leads to increased costs to both the public and the RP. In such situations, stipulating to certain injury assumptions can lead to overall net gains for both the public and the RP. These stipulations can be used to induce RPs to increase other aspects of the restoration, thereby increasing overall gains for the public at less cost to the RP.
Oil Spill Risks from Nontank Vessels1
Authors: Cameron Jean R.
Published: January 2013

An issue of increasing concern worldwide is that of oil spills from nontank vessels that carry large quantities of petroleum product as fuel or lubricants. The New Carissa incident in Oregon in 1999 is only one of several that have impacted the U.S. West Coast in the last few years. Others include the M/V Kuroshima, which grounded in Dutch Harbor, Alaska in 1997, and the M/V Kure, which spilled oil in Humbolt Bay also in 1997. The Tenyo Maru was cut in half in a collision and sank with the loss of one life and a spill of at least 100,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil and diesel in Washington State in 1991. Additional examples of both spills and threats of spills are sited, both in the United States and worldwide. This paper examines a number of actions that have been taken in response to this threat. One such model is the Canadian requirement that vessel owner/operators demonstrate a formal agreement with an approved response contractor, and list that contractor in their Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP). A more comprehensive approach would be to establish approved “umbrella” contingency plans for major port areas, supported by contracts with oil spill removal organizations (OSROs). This preferred model has been adopted by the U.S. West Coast states, and affords the opportunity for the contracted responders to drill with emergency response officials, thus improving the likelihood of an efficient, coordinated spill response. This paper also proposes spill prevention design elements for nontank vessels.
Residual Gasoline in a Turbulent Pacific Northwest Stream Following Release and Subsequent Ignition
Authors: Challenger Gregory E. , Mauseth Gary S. , Rhodes Ileana
Published: January 2013

Approximately 5,500 barrels of unleaded gasoline escaped from a ruptured pipeline in Bellingham, Washington on June 10, 1999. The majority of the product entered Whatcom Creek, with a flow of approximately 0.3 m3/s (10 cfs). The gasoline affected approximately 4.8 km (3 miles) of the creek. After a period of approximately 4 hours, the product contacted an ignition source.

Twenty hours following the incident, a water-sampling program at 8 stations in Whatcom Creek and 12 stations in Bellingham Bay was implemented. Ultimately, nearly 400 water-column samples were analyzed for gasoline range hydrocarbons (GRHs), including BTEX compounds and MTBE. Samples were collected every 4 hours for the first 5 days, daily for the next 17 days, and 16 of the following 32 days. Initial maximum concentrations found in water samples were 20,800 ug/L GRH, 2,600 ug/L total xylenes, 1,300 ug/l toluene, 340 ug/L ethylbenzene, 110 ug/L benzene, and 6.9 ug/L MTBE. Product concentrations in the stream declined rapidly.

Within 140 hours of the incident, GRHs subsided two orders of magnitude. Instream waters met State of Washington Groundwater Cleanup Standards (Washington Administrative Code, Chapter 173–340.) in an average of 131 hours from the time of the release for benzene, 127 hours for ethylbenzene, 66 hours for toluene, and 207 hours for xylene. Volatilization of BTEX during transport downstream was evidenced by a consistent gradient of reduced concentrations with distance from the source. Sediment pore water and bulk sediments were also sampled. Initial pore-water GRH ranged widely from nondetect to 110,000 ug/L. GRH in bulk sediment samples ranged from nondetect to 447,000 ug/L. A remediation program was conducted to release product trapped in the streambed that reduced contaminants to levels deemed acceptable by a risk-based approach for survival of salmonid fry populations. This approach and resultant guidelines are described.
Restoration of an Oil-Contaminated St. Lawrence River Shoreline: Bioremediation and Phytoremediation
Authors: Garcia-Blanco Susana , Moteleb Moustafa , Suidan Makram T. , Venosa Albert D. , Lee Kenneth , King Dennis W.
Published: January 2013

The purpose of this field study was to evaluate bioremediation and phytoremediation in restoring an oil-contaminated freshwater shoreline. Weathered Mesa light crude oil was released intentionally onto small plots in the upper intertidal zone of a study site located along the St. Lawrence River. Treatments were established to examine the effect of nutrient addition and the role of plants (Scirpus pungens) on the removal of oil constituents from the contaminated plots. Fertilizers under evaluation included sodium nitrate, prilled ammonium nitrate, and triple super phosphate. Composite core samples were collected after 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 21 weeks for identification of remaining oil constituents by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). To account for differences because of physical washout, all oil constituents were normalized to the conservative biomarker hopane.

Although bioremediation and phytoremediation treatments achieved slightly better degradation of hydrocarbons than natural attenuation, no statistically significant evidence of stimulation through addition of nutrients or biodegradation enhancement by vegetation was observed. After 21 weeks, reduction of target parent and alkyl-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) averaged 32% in all treatments. Reduction of target alkanes was of similar magnitude. The pattern of disappearance of hydrocarbons was characteristic of biodegradation: namely, the lower molecular weight alkanes declined to a greater extent than the higher carbon-number alkanes, as did the lower molecular weight PAHs compared to the higher molecular weight PAHs. Since there was little evidence supporting enhancement of biodegradation by nutrient addition with and without vegetation, it was concluded that oxygen limitation most likely dominated the persistence of oil hydrocarbons on the oil-contaminated plots.
Australia's Fixed-Wing Aerial Dispersant Capability
Authors: Lipscombe Ray , Blackmore Don , Elliott Dennis
Published: January 2013

Since January 1997, Australia has had in place a fixed-wing aerial dispersant capability (FWADC) designed to provide the country with a cost-effective aerial dispersant delivery system. The FWADC is managed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and is funded jointly by AMSA and the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP) through its subsidiary, the Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC). The FWADC is based on the concept of using single-engine turbine-powered agricultural aircraft with a payload capacity of between 1,850 and 3,100 Liters of dispersant, depending on aircraft type. At a cost of AUD$400,000 per annum, Australia has access to a minimum of two primary aircraft, 24 hours every day of the year. Additional aircraft complement the two primary aircraft on an “aircraft of opportunity” basis.

This paper addresses the background to the development and implementation of Australia's fixed-wing aerial dispersant capability and its integration into Australia's national oil spill response contingency arrangements. It also provides an overview of AMSA's role in managing the capability and providing training for aircraft operators and support crews in aerial dispersant-related operations.
Incorporating Biodiversity into Sensitivity Maps of the Niger River Delta
Authors: Gundlach Erich R. , Imevbore Victor Ohioze , Witherspoon Boykin , Ainodion Jimoh
Published: January 2013

Using the basis that communities having high biodiversity are inherently more valuable as an ecological resource, the authors have derived a preliminary system of classifying the tropical environments of the oil-producing delta regions of Nigeria based on a number of field-collected parameters that measure the degree of biodiversity as well as potential spill persistence and difficulty of cleanup.

Physical parameters to be measured include type of substrate, presence of near-surface groundwater and inhibiting layer, and extent of surface debris. Biological parameters include tree density (stocking), coverage by grasses and shrubs in the under-story, plant condition, species richness and diversity (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds), important medicinal or endangered species, and special or unique biological features. Each factor is given assigned weighting values based on over 20 years of oil spill experience.

The weighting given to spill persistence factors is 25%, while 75% is given to biological parameters. The sum of species richness and diversity is one-third of the entire valuation. Once all parameters are measured and tallied, sensitivity classification will be divided into five to ten categories. Initial data collection was undertaken during 1999. Additional fieldwork to collect and test each factor is planned for the year 2000. Sensitivity maps, including the classification of both coastal and inland habitats, will then be prepared in a GIS (Geographic Information System) format.
What Makes Esi Maps More Efficacious?
Authors: Sawano Nobuhiro
Published: January 2013

The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate how Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are made. The efforts have been based on the on-site research and various kinds of lessons from the oil spill from the Russian tanker Nakhodka that happened in January 1997.

In September 1999 and March 2000, 168 km of the oil-stranded shoreline was surveyed. This survey was conducted by using the Shoreline Oiling Summary (SOS) Form developed by Environment Canada in 1994. Eighty oiled sites were selected for this survey, and oil residue was found in over 80% of the study sites.

It has become clear that the amount of residual oil depends on these four parameters of the survey: (1) types of shoreline sediment, (2) scale of the shoreline, (3) existence of sheltering rocks, and (4) slope of the shoreline. These results almost support the correctness of the ESI guideline developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This guideline, however, is dependent mostly on the calcification of the sediment; for developing ESI maps, parameters 2 and 4 are inevitably ignored. This paper presents one style of an ideal ESI map based on ArcView® 3.2, one of the common GIS platforms.
National Strike Force Proposal for Fatigue Guidelines for Emergency Responders
Authors: Tyler Stacey
Published: January 2013

Fatigue is a significant risk to personnel as we respond to emergencies at all hours of the day and night. Because of this risk, major safety issues are often overlooked and there is the potential for fatigue related accidents that arise from preventable circumstances. Studies on fatigue in the emergency response environment, for all risks and all incidents, particularly hazardous material response, have been limited. The purpose of this paper is to provide three National Strike Force-Pacific Strike Team (NSF-PST) case studies when fatigue was notably a problem, discuss some of the physiological impacts of fatigue in the workplace, share field testing results of a draft NSF work/rest guideline, and make the environmental safety field aware of the problem to prompt formal studies.
American Samoa Longliner Response, Wreck Removal, and Restoration Project1
Authors: Sifling John , “Rusty” Nall Roger A. , Stettler Jeff , Busch Todd , Igaz Frank , Hoff James G. , Wiegman Sheila
Published: January 2013

In 1991, Typhoon Val struck American Samoa and grounded nine long liner fishing vessels on the reef in Pago Pago Harbor. The potential for oil spills from the wrecks and the lack of an identifiable responsible party, prompted the U.S. Coast Guard Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) at Marine Safety Office (MSO) Honolulu to immediately federalize the project. Unfortunately, only a portion of the oil was discovered and removed and a viable responsible party was never identified. Because of repeated small spills from the vessels in subsequent years and the potential for a much larger spill due to remaining oil onboard, the FOSC again federalized in May 1999, and a cleanup contractor was deployed to the scene. The Coast Guard supervised response efforts that employed heavy equipment to cut open six of the vessels in the inner harbor to remove oil and hazardous materials. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) then administered removal of the remaining portions of the wrecks using Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) funding. In March 2000, a salvage contractor pulled the two remaining wrecks intact from the reef in the outer harbor and sunk them at a pre-designated offshore dump site. At the conclusion of the response, nearly 36,000 gallons of oil and approximately 600 pounds of anhydrous ammonia were removed from the wrecks at a cost of over $12 million. Restoration costs totaled approximately $3 million.
Use of Geo-Informatics on Nearshore Management in Oil Spill Accidents
Authors: Goto Shintaro , Kim Sang-Woo
Published: January 2013

From the lessons after the Nakhodka oil spill in January 1997, oil slick detection by using remote-sensing data and assimilating the data to the simulation program is important for monitoring the oil drift pattern. For this object, the authors are going to construct the oil spill warning system for estimating the oil drift pattern using a remote-sensing/numerical simulation model. Additionally, they plan to use this system for restoring oil spill damage domestically, such as estimating the ecological damage and making the priority for restoring the oil spilled shoreline. This report is intended to summarize the role of geo-informatics in the oil spill accident by not only paying attention to the effect of information provision/information management via the map, but also reporting the interim result in part based on the details discussed in the processes of recovery support and environmental impact assessment during the Nakhodka accident.
Oil Penetration and Vegetation Recovery in Lajas Creek Marsh, Puerto Rico
Authors: Zengel Scott , Hayes Miles O. , Benggio Brad , Lopez Felix
Published: January 2013

In September 1998, during Hurricane Georges, 5,000–10,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil were released from a refinery, oiling freshwater marshes along Lajas Creek near Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Aggressive cleanup actions were taken to protect downstream areas including placement of fill material to access the marsh, limited mechanical scraping and excavation of vegetation and sediments, cutting of oiled vegetation, and dragging of sorbents across the marsh by hand. It was thought at the time that oil would not penetrate the marsh sediments and that the vegetation would recover within 3 months. During irregular site visits from October 1998 through July 2000, the authors checked for the presence/absence of subsurface oiling and made simple field observations of vegetation establishment. Fresh black oil was found in creek levee sediments down to the water table, as deep as 60 cm. The oil penetrated the sediments through root channels, animal burrows, and perhaps desiccation cracks in the clay soils. In wetter, nonlevee sediments, oil was mixed into the substrate, possibly by foot depressions, to 15 cm below the surface. A buried layer of fresh oil also was found under fill material. Penetration of oil into marsh sediments likely was related to the type of marsh and geomorphic features present at the site. In January 1999, revegetation from seed was underway in some areas, although the visual appearance of plant cover and height was less than that observed in nonoiled areas and several large areas lacked vegetation. By July 2000, the vegetation appeared recovered in terms of visual appearance. Though plant recovery probably took more than twice as long as predicted, vegetation recovery time was relatively normal, perhaps even rapid, compared to temperate zone marshes.
A 10-Year Study of Shoreline Conditions in the Exxon Valdez Spill Zone, Prince William Sound, Alaska
Authors: Gilfillan Edward S. , Page David S. , Parker Keith R. , Neff Jerry M. , Boehm Paul D.
Published: January 2013

A shoreline ecology program was performed in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska in 1990 and 1991 (1 and 2 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, EVOS) to assess the fate and effects of the oil in the intertidal zone. Major components of the study were repeated in 1998 and 1999. This update included a sediment-sampling program at formerly oiled “worst-case” boulder/cobble (B/C) sites and randomly chosen unoiled B/C reference sites. The samples were analyzed for petroleum hydrocarbons and benthic infaunal community characteristics. This paper focuses on the results of the benthic infaunal community analysis.

Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the 1990–1999 infaunal species composition data. Very little effect of oiling was detected in either the analysis of community structure parameters or in individual species abundances. Oiling effects were detected at some sites in 1990 and 1991, but not in 1998 and 1999. Nearly all the change in intertidal community parameters between 1990 and 1999 was attributed to natural interannual variation.

The composition of the intertidal community of B/C shores changed over time because of natural factors not related to the spill. A core group of species was found in each of the 4 years. This group of species represented between 9 to 30% of all species identified. Two other groups of species did not co-occur. One group was present in 1990 and 1991, but not in 1998 and 1999; the other group was present in 1998 and 1999, but not in 1990 and 1991.

The progressive change in the animal community observed between 1990 and 1999 is very likely related to long-term climatic changes occurring in the study area and not the oil spill. This long-term study demonstrates the importance of study designs that allow separation of oiling effects from natural factors that can affect biological communities.
Area Contingency Plan Scorecard: Determining A Plan's Ability To Achieve “Critical Success Factors”
Authors: Haynes David C. , Ott Gary L.
Published: January 2013

Can an Area Contingency Plan (ACP) embody a response organization's potential for success? Can the response effectiveness and efficiency of an ACP be measured through expert evaluation? On a scale of low, medium, or high, how well does an ACP predict a response community's ability to achieve certain “Critical Success Factors”?

Intuitively, Area Committees know that area contingency planning should better prepare a response community for effective and efficient spill response—accomplishing Critical Success Factors. Yet, at present, ACPs are generally evaluated on their conformance to a prescribed format rather than their ability to achieve Critical Success Factors. Likewise, the future holds that ACPs will be evaluated on their conformance to the U.S. Coast Guard's newly developed Incident Command System (ICS) format. However, a basic analytical method is needed to determine whether an ACP has the necessary planning elements that can be internalized and implemented to enhance and, if utilized appropriately, produce a truly successful response.

This paper describes an analytical evaluation technique that uses a recently developed ACP scorecard process. Using the scorecard approach, the authors will score a number of ACPs from across the nation to determine each plan's potential (probability) for a response organization to achieve predefined Critical Success Factors.
Forecasting the Erika Oil Spills
Authors: Daniel Pierre , Josse Patrick , Dandin Philippe , Gouriou Vincent , Marchand Michel , Tiercelin Claudine
Published: January 2013

On December 12, 1999, the Erika tanker broke in two sections at about 30 miles from the Brittany coast in the Bay of Biscay, France. The two parts of the wreck sank a few hours after the break. Some 15,000 tons of heavy fuel were released into the marine environment. It is the most serious discharge that has occurred in France since 1980 (Tanio, 6,000 tons). The nature of the incident, the kind and quantity of oil spilled, and the prevailing weather conditions posed considerable response problems. The spilled oil drifted for 2 weeks before reaching the coast. Three different models were implemented by CEntre de Documentation de Recherche et d'Expérimentations sur les pollutions accidentelles des eaux (CEDRE) within a couple of hours of the Erika sinking. On December 14, it appeared that the forecast of the MOTHY model was closer to reality.

The MOTHY model was developed by Météo-France (the French national weather service) to simulate the movement of pollutants in three dimensions. MOTHY is an integrated system that includes hydrodynamic coastal ocean modeling and real-time atmospheric forcing from a global model. Pollutants can be oil or floating objects. CEDRE contributes to the improvement and validation of the model using both experiments and interventions during actual pollution events. New developments, exercises, and training are jointly conducted. In the event of marine pollution, Météo-France sends meteorological forecasts and pollutant drift forecasts to CEDRE. This response system has been operational since February 1994.

The MOTHY model was used routinely for several weeks after the ship broke up. The model predicted that the coastline was at risk and that the beaching of the main slick would occur after 2 weeks. Diffuse pollution reached the coastline 1 or 2 days before the main slicks, about 200 km west of the main beaching. Hindcast runs and backward integration of the model explained this unexpected arrival of oil. Some pollution was still arriving onshore several weeks after the initial release. This longer-term pollution came from the wrecks, but also of older pollution by the coastal detachment and deposit tides. Using the model in conjunction with remote sensing information allowed operators to develop and then execute a response strategy rather than react only to observed information.
The Lake Barre Oil Spill Nrda: From Response To Restoration
Authors: Lorentz Warren P. , Hall Jerry , Finley Heather , Hanifen Jim , Hamilton Derek , Pace Linda , Penn Tony , Kern John , Goatcher Buddy , Markarian Ralph , Piehler Chris
Published: January 2013

A release of approximately 6,561 barrels of crude oil from a Texaco pipeline into Lake Barre in May 1997 injured marsh, birds, and aquatic fauna. Texaco was proactive in dealing with the trustees in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process and stayed directly involved throughout; resulting in a cooperative assessment. The trustees focused quickly on the key injuries that required assessment. There was early agreement to conduct a cooperative, restoration-based NRDA, and to design field studies for the injured marsh to provide inputs for scaling using habitat equivalency analysis (HEA). It also was agreed that for this incident, field studies to assess bird and aquatic faunal injury would not be cost-effective or likely improve the accuracy of injury estimates. Although agreement on a common quantification approach for faunal injury was not reached, the two sides agreed on how much restoration was appropriate.

The parties developed an extensive list of restoration alternatives, and although the trustees retained the final decision making authority, there were no significant disagreements on how various alternatives ranked according to restoration selection criteria. The selected project is planting saltmarsh vegetation on a platform of dredged material placed on East Timbalier Island by the Coastal Wetland Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) program. No CWPPRA funds were available for planting. In scaling the restoration, Texaco will only get credit for the ecological services provided by their planting above that which would occur in the absence of planting. Factors such as erosion rates expected with and without planting and the rate of natural colonization of marsh in the absence of planting were considered in the scaling calculations.

The trustees and Texaco jointly briefed attorneys for both sides throughout the NRDA process, but were not active participants in meetings regarding technical matters. These briefings ensured a quick transition from the injury assessment and restoration project selection process to settlement negotiations. A consent decree was lodged with the court in September 1999. Texaco will implement the restoration and the monitoring plan, and pay all trustee assessment and restoration oversight costs as part of the settlement.
Trends in Rescinding Seafood Harvest Closures Following Oil Spills
Authors: Mauseth Gary S. , Challenger Gregory E.
Published: January 2013

In the past 5 years, there have been numerous cases of seafood harvest closures following oil spills in the United States. This paper examines seven oil spills and the methods and criteria used for closing fisheries and subsequently rescinding seafood harvesting restrictions. In examining these cases, each respective state has assumed the lead.

In general, individual states often have little to no experience in dealing with reopening a fishery due to an oil spill. Concerns include health risk to consumers and tainting of product that could reach the market and a loss in market confidence. Key technical issues that are uniform throughout many of the cases examined are: variability of acceptable benzo[a]pyrene equivalents with each spill; a slow reopening process because of continued lack of national standards and criteria; a desire for each state to develop their own criteria which may or may not be based on prior experience of other states in other oil spills; expanded scope of sampling programs in space, magnitude, and duration despite the lack of findings of spill-related health risks to seafood in previous spills; continued scrutiny of non-hydrocarbon chemical contaminants in the spilled material; and non-oil spill related failures of either health or marketability criteria that often do not result in the continued closure of the fishery. Several recent cases have benefited from past experience and offer alternatives to previous fishery closure and reopening strategies. This report will compare and contrast many of the parameters required for reopening of fisheries, including human health risk variables, inclusion or exclusion of alkylated homologs of PAHs, benzo[a]pyrene (BAP) equivalents, and contaminants of concern.
A 3-D Integrated Contingency Plan: Transitioning From Information Overload Into Selective Information Analysis1
Authors: Johnson Richard C. , Baribeau Amy L. , Michaud Patrick R.
Published: January 2013

Contingency plans are designed to assist responders during a response and to meet regulatory requirements. More often, these plans are unusable by responders—overloaded with information or streamlined to the point of ineffectiveness. There is simply more information than can be organized into a usable paper plan.

To successfully aid responders, plans must be transitioned from a paper to an electronic medium using a three-dimensional (3-D) Integrated Planning Model. This model uses the three core components found in every plan and structures them along a horizontal axis in a database. Then all individual plans are stacked on top of each other along a vertical axis to maximize information sharing. While the database configuration described above would improve search capabilities, the stringent and restrictive controls for plan submission to a single point centralized database would greatly reduce the number of entities that would be willing to participate.

There are many initiatives underway throughout the country to develop electronically based plans. Several contain some or all of the components of a 3-D Integrated Planning Model. However, a common vision of a 3-D Integrated Planning Model and resource commitment is still needed at the national level to maximize the benefit. These ongoing efforts by individual entities typically represent the building blocks of much better response tools.

What is needed is a 3-D Integrated Contingency Plan model that takes the synergy of these building blocks and puts them together to build a “house” of tools for responders to use. This house is a reality and is a project called “e-Plan.” The benefits of e-Plan are many including a significant cost saving to plan holders. This is a one-time opportunity to develop a national standard for collecting, moving, and archiving important contingency plan data, and the chance to make major strides in improving preparedness and ability to respond.
Treatment of Waste From the Erika Spill
Authors: Scherrer Pierre , Couvreur Jean-François
Published: January 2013

After the Erika oil spill, about 200,000 tons of waste were collected on the coast. It took about 6 months to gather the waste in four heavy storage sites and to select an adequate treatment process. Eventually, most of the waste will be washed with diesel and cold water. The oil content of the sand after washing will be lower than the specified limits as defined by the authorities in order to be reused as a road or building material. The more difficult to wash waste will be either thermally desorbed or pyrolysed on site. It is expected that all of the waste treatment will be completed within 2 years.
Emergency Restoration for the Western Snowy Plover Following the New Carissa Spill1
Authors: Mangan Larry , Palermo Kerrie , Kritz Kevin , Phillips Carrie , Stern Mark , Sleeger Preston , Mauseth Gary S.
Published: January 2013

Emergency restoration measures for the western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) were implemented during 1999 by the natural resource trustees and the responsible party in response to the M/V New Carissa oil spill near Coos Bay on the Oregon coast. Measures included public education, increased law enforcement, plover nest protection, predator control, and snowy plover habitat creation. An evaluation of the measures indicated that these actions may have contributed to a productive breeding year for the plovers. Potential benefits and rish associated with conducting emergency restoration are discussed. Overall, the authors believe that in certain circumstances, there can be both resource and financial incentives in taking immediate restorative actions where resources are threatened with damage from an oil spill.
Compensatory Restoration of Mangrove Habitat Following the Tampa Bay Oil Spill
Authors: Mauseth Gary S. , Urquhart-Donnelly Jane S. , Lewis Roy R.
Published: January 2013

In 1993, an incident involving three vessels near the entrance to Tampa Bay, near St. Petersburg, Florida, resulted in a discharge approximately 300,000 gallons of No. 6. fuel oil into the waters off Egmont Key. The oil contacted the shores from Egmont Key to locations approximately 14 miles to the north. Oil also entered Boca Ciega Bay through John's Pass and impacted four small islands that supported mature overwash mangrove forest. A cooperative damage assessment process was developed between the Responsible Parties (RPs) and the trustees for the natural resources: the state of Florida, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Through the cooperative process, several alternatives for primary and compensatory restoration were developed.

In considering alternatives to compensate for impacts to epibenthic communities, fish and bird habitats, wetlands, and mangrove communities, the trustees and the RPs considered purchase of shoreline habitat and restoration of mangrove forest at several sites. The RP developed a proposal to purchase and deed into public ownership in perpetuity, a 10.67-acre parcel of land on the west bank of Cross Bayou in Boca Ciega Bay that had been used as a disposal site for dredge spoil in the past. This site consisted of approximately 5.0 acres of uplands, 4.4 acres of mangrove forest, and 1.4 acres of nonmangrove intertidal and subtidal habitat. The objective of the project was to establish a typical Tampa Bay mangrove forest and a roadside buffer free of exotic plant species. The secondary goals were to establish a typical Tampa Bay salt marsh dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina spp.) as a successional precursor to mangrove recruitment by seeds and seedlings. Tidal exchange through the site was reestablished to improve water quality and increase export of mangrove detritus and import of high-quality tidal waters. The project was designed and constructed by the RPs with the approval and supervision of the trustees. The project was completed and title transferred to Pinellas County, Florida in summer 1999.

A monitoring program was developed and performance criteria established by trustee representatives and the RPs. The monitoring program currently is being conducted and has met performance criteria to date. This project demonstrates the positive result of trustees and the RPs working together to provide compensation to the environment.
The Old New Carissa: A Study in Patience
Authors: Gallagher John J. , Hile Howard B. , Miller Judith A.
Published: January 2013

The events surrounding the stranding of the wood chip carrier M/V New Carissa off Coos Bay, Oregon in February 1999 drew the attention of the world, principally because of the unique methods employed to mitigate the threat of pollution and the dramatic method employed to dispose of her forebody. As a major oil spiller, she is hardly a blip on the screen, but as an attention-getter in the United States and as perhaps presenting the most persistent response problems ever encountered, she was undoubtedly at the top of the charts. As of this writing, 1½ years after her grounding, her stern is still aground off the beach.

Despite her relative insignificance as an oil spill incident, New Carissa was signally important in the world of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) compliance matters in two areas. First, the complex nature of the salvage-/wreck-removal operations and the interrelation of those efforts to the conventional Unified Command responsibilities significantly complicated the operation. Secondly, her unusually long life as an ongoing response operation imposed unique pressures on the Unified Command structure. Both factors imposed significant emphasis on the interpretation and implementation of the laws and regulations governing OPA 90 spill responses. In spite of the difficulties, the two most important objectives were achieved: safety of life and protection of the environment. In extremely dangerous operations, there was no serious injury and, at the end of the day, the fragile environment involved suffered little damage.

In this paper, the authors look at some of the significant events that generated stresses and strains in relationships following the major activities involved in disposing of the vessel's forebody.
THE SCAT COORDINATOR: A LIAISON BETWEEN RESPONSE AND RESTORATION
Authors: Wehrenberg Fred
Published: January 2013

Over the past decade, the Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team (SCAT) process has become an integral component during the response phase of an oil spill. SCAT data are used to formulate plans for shoreline cleanup and to provide a basis for determining when to cease operations. The SCAT data and observations are often the only and/or most complete documentation of shoreline impact for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). While the response phase and the NRDA may proceed simultaneously, they have different goals and application, and are usually conducted by separate teams. A distinct lack of interaction between response activities and damage assessment-based restoration activities frequently exists, though the data can be collected to satisfy the requirements of both. To bridge this gap, the SCAT Coordinator can integrate an understanding of common objectives during the development of cleanup guidelines, constraints, and endpoints combined with knowledge of the goal of reducing the overall magnitude of resource injury and the time necessary for environmental recovery. As a representative of either the Responsible Party (RP) or a government agency, the SCAT Coordinator also can provide a quality control function, thus ensuring that the data are recorded correctly and are accessible to support the RP in the NRDA.