2019 State-of-the-Science of Dispersants and Dispersed Oil (DDO) in U.S. Arctic Waters: Public Health and Food Safety

Chemical dispersants were employed on an unprecedented scale during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and could be a response option should a large spill occur in Arctic waters. The use of dispersants in response to that spill raised concerns regarding the need for chemical dispersants, the fate of the oil and dispersants, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Concerns remain that would be more evident in the Arctic, where the remoteness and harsh environmental conditions would make a response to any oil spill very difficult. An outcome of a 2013 Arctic oil spill exercise for senior federal agency leadership identified the need for an evaluation of the state-of-the-science of dispersants and dispersed oil (DDO), and a clear delineation of the associated uncertainties that remain, particularly as they apply to Arctic waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in partnership with the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), and in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) embarked on a project to seek expert review and evaluation of the state-of-the-science and the uncertainties involving DDO. The project focused on five areas and how they might be affected by Arctic conditions: dispersant effectiveness, distribution and fate, transport and chemical behavior, environmental impacts, and public health and safety. This publication (1 of 5) addresses efficacy and effectiveness

2017 State-of the Science of Dispersants and Dispersed Oil (DDO) in U.S. Arctic Waters: Physical Transport and Chemical Behavior

Chemical dispersants were employed on an unprecedented scale during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and could be a response option should a large spill occur in Arctic waters. The use of dispersants in response to that spill raised concerns regarding the need for chemical dispersants, the fate of the oil and dispersants, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Concerns remain that would be more evident in the Arctic, where the remoteness and harsh environmental conditions would make a response to any oil spill very difficult. An outcome of a 2013 Arctic oil spill exercise for senior federal agency leadership identified the need for an evaluation of the state-of-the-science of dispersants and dispersed oil (DDO), and a clear delineation of the associated uncertainties that remain, particularly as they apply to Arctic waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in partnership with the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), and in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) embarked on a project to seek expert review and evaluation of the state-of-the-science and the uncertainties involving DDO. The project focused on five areas and how they might be affected by Arctic conditions: dispersant effectiveness, distribution and fate, transport and chemical behavior, environmental impacts, and public health and safety. This publication (1 of 5) addresses efficacy and effectiveness

2018 State-of the Science of Dispersants and Dispersed Oil (DDO) in U.S. Arctic Waters: Eco-Toxicity and Sublethal Impacts

Chemical dispersants were employed on an unprecedented scale during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and could be a response option should a large spill occur in Arctic waters. The use of dispersants in response to that spill raised concerns regarding the need for chemical dispersants, the fate of the oil and dispersants, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Concerns remain that would be more evident in the Arctic, where the remoteness and harsh environmental conditions would make a response to any oil spill very difficult. An outcome of a 2013 Arctic oil spill exercise for senior federal agency leadership identified the need for an evaluation of the state-of-the-science of dispersants and dispersed oil (DDO), and a clear delineation of the associated uncertainties that remain, particularly as they apply to Arctic waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in partnership with the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), and in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) embarked on a project to seek expert review and evaluation of the state-of-the-science and the uncertainties involving DDO. The project focused on five areas and how they might be affected by Arctic conditions: dispersant effectiveness, distribution and fate, transport and chemical behavior, environmental impacts, and public health and safety. This publication (1 of 5) addresses efficacy and effectiveness

CAMEO Stakeholders Report

Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO) is a suite of software applications used to plan for and respond to chemical emergencies. CAMEO was first released in 1986, and was jointly developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to assist front-line chemical emergency planners and responders. It has since undergone numerous modification and upgrades, and is a critical tool used today for chemical spills, other hazards, and emergency management. The CAMEO system integrates a chemical database and a method to manage the data, an air dispersion model, and a mapping capability. All modules work interactively to share and display critical information in a timely fashion. As a result of fatal chemical accidents in recent years, Executive Order (EO) 13650 (Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security) was signed on August 1, 2013 for: Improving Operational Coordination with State, Local and Tribal partners Enhancing Federal Coordination Enhancing Information Collection and Sharing Modernizing Regulations, Guidance, Policy and Standards Identifying Best Practices. The CAMEO team has been working to address these EO requirements and the areas of action in a manner that will best meet the needs of CAMEO users and stakeholders

2017 State-of the Science of Dispersants and Dispersed Oil (DDO) in U.S. Arctic Waters: Degradation and Fate

Chemical dispersants were employed on an unprecedented scale during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and could be a response option should a large spill occur in Arctic waters. The use of dispersants in response to that spill raised concerns regarding the need for chemical dispersants, the fate of the oil and dispersants, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Concerns remain that would be more evident in the Arctic, where the remoteness and harsh environmental conditions would make a response to any oil spill very difficult. An outcome of a 2013 Arctic oil spill exercise for senior federal agency leadership identified the need for an evaluation of the state-of-the-science of dispersants and dispersed oil (DDO), and a clear delineation of the associated uncertainties that remain, particularly as they apply to Arctic waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in partnership with the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), and in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) embarked on a project to seek expert review and evaluation of the state-of-the-science and the uncertainties involving DDO. The project focused on five areas and how they might be affected by Arctic conditions: dispersant effectiveness, distribution and fate, transport and chemical behavior, environmental impacts, and public health and safety. This publication (1 of 5) addresses efficacy and effectiveness

2017 State-of-the-Science of Dispersants and Dispersed Oil (DDO) in U.S. Arctic Waters: Efficacy & Effectiveness

Chemical dispersants were employed on an unprecedented scale during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and could be a response option should a large spill occur in Arctic waters. The use of dispersants in response to that spill raised concerns regarding the need for chemical dispersants, the fate of the oil and dispersants, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Concerns remain that would be more evident in the Arctic, where the remoteness and harsh environmental conditions would make a response to any oil spill very difficult. An outcome of a 2013 Arctic oil spill exercise for senior federal agency leadership identified the need for an evaluation of the state-of-the-science of dispersants and dispersed oil (DDO), and a clear delineation of the associated uncertainties that remain, particularly as they apply to Arctic waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in partnership with the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), and in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) embarked on a project to seek expert review and evaluation of the state-of-thescience and the uncertainties involving DDO. The project focused on five areas and how they might be affected by Arctic conditions: dispersant effectiveness, distribution and fate, transport and chemical behavior, environmental impacts, and public health and safety

Environmental Disasters Data Management Workshop Report

The Environmental Disasters Data Management (EDDM) project seeks to foster communication between collectors, managers, and users of data within the scientific research community, industry, NGOs, and government agencies, with a goal to identify and establish best practices for orderly collection, storage, and retrieval. The Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) is assisting NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (ORR) with this effort. The objectives of the EDDM project are to: Engage the community of data users, data managers, and data collectors to foster a culture of applying consistent terms and concepts, data flow, and quality assurance and control; Provide oversight in the establishment and integration of foundational, baseline data collected prior to an environmental event, based on user requirements; Provide best‐practice guidance for data and metadata management; Suggest infrastructure design elements to facilitate quick and efficient search, discovery, and retrieval of data; Define the characteristics of a “gold standard” data management plan for appropriate data sampling, formatting, reliability, and retrievability; and Deliver workshop conclusions to end users in order to promote the use of the protocols, practices, or recommendations identified by participants

Coordination of DWH Long-Term Data Management: The Path Forward Workshop Report

Following the 2010 DWH Oil Spill a vast amount of environmental data was collected (e.g., 100,000+ environmental samples, 15 million+ publicly available records). The volume of data collected introduced a number of challenges including: data quality assurance, data storage, data integration, and long-term preservation and availability of the data. An effort to tackle these challenges began in June 2014, at a workshop focused on environmental disaster data management (EDDM) with respect to response and subsequent restoration. The previous EDDM collaboration improved communication and collaboration among a range of government, industry and NGO entities involved in disaster management. In June 2017, the first DWH Long-Term Data Management (LTDM) workshop focused on reviewing existing data management systems, opportunities to advance integration of these systems, the availability of data for restoration planning, project implementation and restoration monitoring efforts, and providing a platform for increased communication among the various data GOM entities. The June 2017 workshop resulted in the formation of three working groups: Data Management Standards, Interoperability and Discovery/Searchability. These working groups spent 2018 coordinating and addressing various complex topics related to DWH LTDM. On December 4th and 5th, 2018 the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (ORR) and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS) Restoration Center (RC), co-sponsored a workshop entitled Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DWH) Long-Term Data Management (LTDM): The Path Forward at the NOAA Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Disaster Response Center (DRC) in Mobile, AL

NOS HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS SUMMIT SERIES 2020

An in-person, three-day NOS Hurricane Summit was planned in late-April 2020 ahead of the 2020 hurricane season. The purpose of the summit was to enhance preparedness for the 2020 hurricane season by identifying past shortfalls and challenges using the lessons learned from past events to plan for future hurricane response requests. The summit series centered on the safety and preparedness of NOS staff, facilities, partners, and other key resources as well as mission related activities and response actions. These mission activities included, but were not limited to, coordination with USCG for port safety and reopening, readiness and response for pollution and debris events, and post landfall damage assessment aerial photography. The COVID-19 pandemic made an in-person meeting unfeasible. The summit then pivoted into three virtual, half-day sessions to socialize and develop a common understanding of the 2020 hurricane season in the context of pandemic related operational constraints

NOS Hurricane Preparedness Summit 2021 Report

On June 21 and 23, 2021, CRRC and DPP co-sponsored a virtual event entitled “NOS Hurricane Preparedness Summit.” The purpose of the summit was to put NOAA in a better posture for the 2021 hurricane season by identifying current best practices, lessons learned, and future challenges. Participants represented academia, federal, state, and local agencies. The two-day summit included plenary presentations from academics, federal and state agency representatives outlining: preparedness, response, and virtual and in-person incident command lessons learned; emergency support function (ESF) 3/10 response gaps; the NOAA/FEMA perspective to hurricane preparedness and response; managing pandemic fatigue; unreliability and/or loss of utilities; coordinating deployment logistics; and anticipated challenges and mitigation methods for the 2021 hurricane season