Tuesday, May 24, 2016 to Thursday, May 26, 2016
Galveston, TX - Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
WORKSHOP REPORT: Oil Spill Response Options for the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
Environmental Tradeoff Analysis (ETA) for an Oil Spill Response: Impacting the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
This workshop is sponsored by NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration, particularly the Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center.
Responding to all-hazards emergencies and disasters is most often a local or regional activity conducted under state and federal frameworks such as the National Contingency Framework and the National Contingency Plan. This NOAA workshop will focus on preparedness, planning and improving response to a potential oil spill that impacts the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. The goal of this workshop will be to examine response options such as dispersant use and in situ burning. Environmental Tradeoff Analysis (ETA) will be discussed including decision-trees for evaluating response options.
Agenda:
Training, May 24, 9 am - 4 pm
Workshop, May 25 - 26, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm each day
Presentations
Training (day 1) State-of-Science of Dispersants and Dispersed Oil:
- Efficacy & Effectiveness (Tim Nedwed, ExxonMobil)
- Physical Transport & Chemical Behavior (Chris Barker, NOAA ORR ERD)
- Degradation & Fate (Nancy Kinner, CRRC)
- Eco-toxicity and Sublethal Effects (Lisa DiPinto, NOAA ORR ARD)
- Public Health and Seafood Safety (Doug Helton, NOAA ORR ERD)
Workshop (day 2) Environmental Tradeoff Analysis (ETA) for an Oil Spill Response Impacting the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary:
- Welcome (Nancy Kinner, CRRC, UNH)
- Flower Garden Banks Marine Sanctuary (G.P. Schmahl, Flower Garden Banks)
- Oil Spill Response 101 (Steve Buschang, TX GLO and Paige Doelling, NOAA ORR ERD SSC )
- Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) (Lisa DiPinto, NOAA ORR ARD)
- Mechanical Recovery (James Hanzalik, Clean Gulf Associates)
- In Situ Burning (Charlie Henry, NOAA ORR GOM Disaster Response Center)
- Dispersant Overview (Surface and Subsurface Application) (Arden Ahnell, Exponent)
- Marine Snow/Oil Flocculation (Jeff Chanton, Florida State University)
- Air Quality (Ed Buskey, University of Texas, Austin)
- Current RRT Area Contingency Planning for Flower Garden Banks (Mike Sams, USCG)
- Other Important Considerations, Process Subpart J Regulatory (Greg Wilson, USEPA)
- Environmental Tradeoff Analysis (ETA) (Jim Staves, Environmental Consultant)
- NRPT Spill Scenario (Charlie Henry, NOAA GOM Disaster Response Center)
Post-workshop news and resources:
- Bleaching devastates great barrier reef (ECO, October 2016)
- NOAA Awards $9.3 Million to Advance Coral Reef Conservation (NOAA, October 2016)
- NOAA scientists report mass die-off of invertebrates at East Flower Garden Bank in Gulf of Mexico (NOAA, July 2016)
- Proposed Sanctuary Expansion (& public meetings to be held in July 2016), Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
- Mote Scientists Launch Coral Restoration Project in Key West Eco Magazine, July, 2016
- The Synchronized Spawning Frenzy of Coral The New York Times, Science Times June 21, 2016
Venue:
NOAA Fisheries Service Galveston Laboratory
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
4700 Avenue U; Bldg. 216
Galveston, Texas 77551
409.766.3500
Lodging:
Hilton Galveston Island Resort
5400 Seawall Blvd
Galveston, TX 77551
877.425.4753
Organizing Committee:
- Steve Buschang, Texas General Land Office (TGLO)
- Patrick Cuty, U.S. Coast Guard, Central Texas Coastal Area Committee
- Paige Doelling, NOAA Office of Response & Restoration, SSC
- James Hanzalik, Clean Gulf Associates
- Charlie Henry, NOAA, Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center
- Nancy Kinner, Coastal Response Research Center
- Joe Leonard, Central Texas Coastal Area Committee
- GP Schmahl & Emma Hickerson, NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary
- Stephen Spencer, U.S. Dept of the Interior
- John Temperilli, CTEH
- Brandi Todd, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6
Questions? Please contact kathy.mandsager@unh.edu (603) 862-1545
