NOAA'S NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY RESOURCES AND UNDERSEA THREATS DATABASE: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recent incidents within our National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS), throughout the United States, and around the world have led the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to begin to look proactively at catastrophic hazardous material releases from submerged sources. Not knowing and understanding the reality of the ecological and economic impacts associated with submerged threats (such as vessels, pipelines, abandoned wellheads, ammunition, and chemical weapon dumpsites) is no longer an option for the nation'S leading ocean agency. Reactive strategies for addressing these threats after a release incident have proved to be ineffective and costly. For example, the decade-long release of heavy fuel oil from the MIV Jacob Luckenbach off the coast of California not only caused the loss of thousands of seabirds, but also cost the nation upwards of $20 million dollars to mitigate and remove the oil from the sunken cargo ship. We know there are potential threats out there and the National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) is taking the proactive first steps in understanding this issue. NOAA'S NMSP and the Office of Response and Restoration'S Hazardous Materials Division have developed the Resources and Undersea Threats Database (RUST). RUST addresses the need for a centralized planning tool to safeguard the marine, historical, and cultural resources within the NMSP. This paper addresses database development and how meeting present needs of the database will shape future uses as a response and planning tool for the United States Coast Guard (USCG), state and federal resource protection staff, oil spill responders, and coastal environmental planners.