Natural Resource Damage Assessment Research Articles

Studies to assess natural resource recovery and evaluate monitoring methods for restored bottomland hardwood forests.

The Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration process assesses natural resource injury due to oil or chemical spills and calculates the damages to compensate the public for those injuries. Ecological restoration provides a means for recovering resources injured or lost due to contamination from oil or chemical spills by restoring the injured site after remediation, or acquiring or reconstructing equivalent resources off site to replace those lost due to the spill. In the case of restored forests, once restoration is implemented, monitoring of forest ecology helps keep recovery on track, with the maturation of forest vegetation, recovered soil conditions, and development of microbial, fungal, and faunal communities, necessary for ecologically functioning forests. This series of papers focuses on applying methods for monitoring restoration progress in forest vegetation and soils, and amphibian, avian, and mammalian communities, assessing strengths and weaknesses of different methods, and evaluating levels of effort needed to obtain accurate indications of forest ecological condition. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:1912-1916. © 2024 The Author(s). Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

Growth of Pacific staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus) is reduced at contaminated sites in the Lower Duwamish River, Washington

The Lower Duwamish River is a highly industrialized waterway flowing into the densely urbanized Puget Sound waterfront of Seattle, Washington, USA. The river has been profoundly altered from its natural state following more than a century of channelization, recurrent dredging, shoreline armoring, and pollution discharges. As part of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment addressing historical pollution at three designated Superfund sites (i.e., the assessment area), juvenile Pacific staghorn sculpin (Leptocottus armatus) were sampled throughout the lower river in order to evaluate injury from exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs), and butyltins (BTs). Sculpin live in close association with the river sediments within and upriver of the assessment area. Fish were collected for analysis of contaminant concentrations in composited whole bodies and stomach contents, as well as individual fish health metrics including daily somatic growth rates measured from otoliths. Sediment contaminant concentrations were also measured at sites near to fishing locations. Fish growth rates varied from 0.65 to 1.05 mm/day, and were significantly lower at unremediated downriver sites compared to upriver and remediated locations. Sculpin growth rates were negatively correlated with concentrations of PCBs in fish bodies, PAHs in stomach contents, as well as PCBs, DDTs and PAHs in sediment. Mixed effects models for whole-body and stomach content contaminants showed positive correlations between growth rate and water temperature. Temperature was not a significant confounding variable for the relationship between growth rate and sediment contaminants. Overall, these results show that juvenile sculpin are harmed by contaminant exposure in the Lower Duwamish River. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the utility of using paired biological and chemical indicators of pollutant-induced injury in a resident fish to inform a complex Natural Resource Damage Assessment and associated restoration efforts.

Considering pollinators' ecosystem services in the remediation and restoration of contaminated lands: Overview of research and its gaps.

The concept of ecosystem services provides a useful framework for understanding how people are affected by changes to the natural environment, such as when a contaminant is introduced (e.g., oil spills, hazardous substance releases) or, conversely, when contaminated lands are remediated and restored. Pollination is one example of an important ecosystem service; pollinators play a critical role in any functioning terrestrial ecosystem. Other studies have suggested that consideration of pollinators' ecosystem services could lead to better remediation and restoration outcomes. However, the associated relationships can be complex, and evaluation requires synthesis from numerous disciplines. In this article, we discuss the possibilities for considering pollinators and their ecosystem services when planning remediation and restoration of contaminated lands. To inform the discussion, we introduce a general conceptual model of how pollinators and the ecosystem services associated with them could be affected by contamination in the environment. We review the literature on the conceptual model components, including contaminant effects on pollinators and the direct and indirect ecosystem services provided by pollinators, and identify information gaps. Though increased public interest in pollinators likely reflects increasing recognition of their role in providing many important ecosystem services, our review indicates that many gaps in understanding-about relevant natural and social systems-currently impede the rigorous quantification and evaluation of pollinators' ecosystem services required for many applications, such as in the context of natural resource damage assessment. Notable gaps include information on non-honeybee pollinators and on ecosystem services beyond those benefitting the agricultural sector. We then discuss potential research priorities and implications for practitioners. Focused research attention on the areas highlighted in this review holds promise for increasing the possibilities for considering pollinators' ecosystem services in the remediation and restoration of contaminated lands. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:322-336. © 2023 SETAC.

If coordination of remediation and restoration under CERCLA is such a good idea, why is it not practiced more widely?

Decades of practice have demonstrated favorable outcomes when restoration is considered early in the remedial process, especially when parties have an opportunity to avoid litigation over natural resource damage (NRD) claims. However, these two separate processes are most often done sequentially - with clean up decisions for contaminated sites made during the remedial investigation and feasibility study process and restoration of injured resources during a subsequent natural resource damage assessment. Coordinating these processes offers many advantages for remediating and restoring hazardous waste sites. In this paper, we illustrate why this is true, and explore reasons why it is not practiced more universally. Coordination can generate savings by reducing the amount of time and money required to address natural resource damage claims and build trust among stakeholders. Yet, there are barriers to coordination, such as uncertainty over the benefits that restoration will generate, or the potential risk that undertaking coordination could be viewed as admitting to liability for harm to natural resources. Existing federal statutes also can be an obstacle because they bifurcate remediation and restoration. The economic, legal and policy issues relevant to the integration of remediation and restoration were examined, and how they might be used to encourage early coordination. Habitat equivalency analysis was used to illustrate the tangible natural resource service gains that can be achieved when the processes are coordinated. Selected site-specific examples were drawn upon where coordination occurred and documented. This information was augmented with the results of a survey of companies about their experience with coordination. Finally, we discuss the potential policy and legal approaches that might help bring remediation and restoration together and result in improved practices nationwide, and thereby provide benefits to industrial parties, government, and affected communities alike.

Ecological Harm and Economic Damages of Chemical Contamination to Linked Aquatic-Terrestrial Food Webs: A Study-Design Tool for Practitioners.

Contamination of aquatic ecosystems can have cascading effects on terrestrial consumers by altering the availability and quality of aquatic insect prey. Comprehensive assessment of these indirect food-web effects of contaminants on natural resources and their associated services necessitates using both ecological and economic tools. In the present study we present an aquatic-terrestrial assessment tool (AT2), including ecological and economic decision trees, to aid practitioners and researchers in designing contaminant effect studies for linked aquatic-terrestrial insect-based food webs. The tool is tailored to address the development of legal claims by the US Department of the Interior's Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program, which aims to restore natural resources injured by oil spills and hazardous substance releases into the environment. Such cases require establishing, through scientific inquiry, the existence of natural resource injury as well as the determination of the monetary or in-kind project-based damages required to restore this injury. However, this tool is also useful to researchers interested in questions involving the effects of contaminants on linked aquatic-terrestrial food webs. Stylized cases exemplify how application of AT2 can help practitioners and researchers design studies when the contaminants present at a site are likely to lead to injury of terrestrial aerial insectivores through loss of aquatic insect prey and/or dietary contaminant exposure. Designing such studies with ecological endpoints and economic modeling inputs in mind will increase the relevance and cost-effectiveness of studies, which can in turn improve the outcomes of cases and studies involving the ecological effects of contaminants on food webs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;00:1-11. Published 2023. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Using US Natural Resource Damage Assessment to understand the environmental consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Military conflict has led to large-scale environmental changes throughout recorded human history. Pollution from war contaminates surface water and soil, releases large volumes of greenhouse gases into the air, and directly harms wildlife and biodiversity. Although much is understood about the human toll of war, numerous examples of postwar reconstruction suggest that underestimating the severity of wartime damages to ecosystems and natural resources results in prolonged or incomplete recovery of the environment. A data-driven scientific approach closely aligned with the evidentiary rules standard in western legal systems is needed to quantify the injury, destruction, or loss of natural resources and inform the estimation of the reparations necessary to restore the environment fully. The US Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process and the European Union environmental liability directive are well-suited for a systematic and science-based analysis of the ecological injuries incurred during armed conflicts. Both approaches include a preliminary damage assessment process, which could be initiated during wartime to document and predict the likely severity of the injuries and prioritize, in advance, rehabilitation activities after the cessation of hostilities. In this article, we refer to news reporting of Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine as an example of how a preliminary damage assessment could be conducted remotely and later modified by in-country inspections and analysis to verify and refine the scale of injuries and to develop reparation proposals. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:366-375. © 2022 SETAC.

Discounting in Natural Resource Damage Assessment – Erratum

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Assessing Environmental Oil Spill Based on Fluorescence Images of Water Samples and Deep Learning

Measuring oil concentration in the aquatic environment is essential for determining the potential exposure, risk, or injury for oil spill response and natural resource damage assessment. Conventional analytical chemistry methods require samples to be collected in the field, shipped, and processed in the laboratory, which is also rather time-consuming, laborious, and costly. For rapid field response immediately after a spill, there is a need to estimate oil concentration in near real time. To make the oil analysis more portable, fast, and cost effective, we developed a plug-and-play device and a deep learning model to assess oil levels in water using fluorescent images of water samples. We constructed a 3D-printed device to collect fluorescent images of solvent-extracted water samples using an iPhone. We prepared approximately 1,300 samples of oil at different concentrations to train and test the deep learning model. The model comprises a convolutional neural network and a novel module of histogram bottleneck block with an attention mechanism to exploit the spectral features found in low-contrast images. This model predicts the oil concentration in weight per volume based on fluorescence image. We devised a confidence interval estimator by combining gradient boosting and polymodal regressor to provide a confidence assessment of our results. Our model achieved sufficient accuracy to predict oil levels for most environmental applications. We plan to improve the device and iPhone application as a near-real-time tool for oil spill responders to measure oil in water.

Predicting response of migratory fish populations to dam removal

Abstract Dam removal is a potential habitat restoration alternative through which parties responsible for injuries to natural resources can provide compensation for reductions in fish populations. Predicting the potential response of migratory fish populations to candidate dam removal(s) is a critical step in the natural resource damage assessment process to evaluate whether the proposed action provides adequate compensation. There is currently no standard approach to making such predictions, particularly in cases where data on candidate streams with dams are limited. We considered six modeling approaches for addressing this problem and evaluated the features of each approach for this application. We judged that an approach based on habitat suitability indices and weighted usable area provides the best balance between predictive capacity and cost of model implementation. This balancing act evaluating the cost effectiveness of predictive models is worth consideration in a wide range of fisheries modeling applications.

Oil spill assessment maps of the central Salish Sea – Marine seafloor & coastal habitats of concern – A tool for oil spill mitigation within the San Juan Archipelago, Washington State, USA

The potential for oil spills within the San Juan Archipelago of the central Salish Sea of Washington State, USA, has been an increasing concern for some time. Within this region, the spectacular islands, coastline, and underwater environment has drawn tourists, fisher people, residents, and researchers from around the world to play, live, and study. The diverse biological resources of the region provide sustenance for many of the islanders and supports a valuable tourist industry for whale watching; salmon, crab, and shrimp fishing; and underwater diving – all of which can be adversely impacted by an oil spill.The present plans to ship more hydrocarbon products, including diluted bitumen (dilbit), from transfer sites located along the coastline of mainland British Columbia, Canada, has the potential to increase tanker vessel traffic seven-fold through the San Juan Archipelago (Seattle Times, June 22, 2019). This, along with other types of marine traffic such as cruise ships, tug-and-tow barges, articulated tank barges, bulk carriers, freighters, and general cargo shipping will increase the risk of a collision, grounding, or other events that may lead to a significant oil spill. To date, the central Salish Sea region is only marginally prepared for an oil spill tracking, containment, and recovery action. Thus, a need exists to stage equipment for the mitigation of an oil spill event if critical marine habitats are to be protected. We focus on some of these critical benthic habitats such as for rockfish (Sebastes spp.), lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), the forage fish Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes Personatus), eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows that are recruitment habitat for herring (Clupus herengus), and kelp (Nerocystis luetkeana) forests.To strategically locate or assemble any mitigation apparatus for a rapid response to an oil spill, a map showing critical marine habitats is a necessity. Such a map should highlight the most critical habitats along the marine transportation corridors (primarily Rosario Strait, Haro Strait, and Guemes Channel) as well as the relatively isolated sounds and bays including Padilla Bay, Samish Bay, and Fidalgo Bay that could act as depotcenters for oil accumulation. This study addresses that need and usefulness for such a map, as no longer can it be said that what lies beneath the sea's surface is “out-of-sight”, and thus “out-of-mind”. This means that this study is critical to the development of realistic Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) settlements and can be used to inform developments of future Geographic Response Plans (GRPs) of the State of Washington. The process described here is not unique to the central Salish Sea and can be used as a template elsewhere for NRDA's and other protective measures after being modified to account for specific habitats deemed critical to those areas.

Discounting in Natural Resource Damage Assessment

AbstractThe goal of natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) is to compensate the public for losses to natural resources from past or ongoing hazardous releases, including losses that may persist into the future. Compensation is delivered in the form of restoration projects. Resolving NRDA liability requires balancing losses and restoration benefits over multiple decades and converting them into a present value for calculating appropriate damages. For the past two decades, NRDA practitioners have used a real discount rate of 3 % to convert losses and benefits to a present value equivalent. That rate was based, in part, on real historical yields on risk-free debt (e.g., the real rate of return on 3-month Treasury bills). Declining interest rates on risk-free debt in recent years has led to suggestions to reexamine the historical consensus discount rate. This paper reviews two alternative conceptual paradigms for selecting a discount rate in NRDA cases: the social rate of time preference and discount rates for tort cases. We summarize historical data for empirically implementing the two paradigms and discuss the ramifications of the different options. Based on our review, we suggest maintaining the 3 % consensus as a practical solution to a range of empirical candidates within the two conceptual paradigms.

Poor pulmonary health in Barataria Bay dolphins in the eight years following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

TheDeepwater Horizon(DWH) disaster resulted in large-scale contamination of bays, sounds, and estuaries in the northern Gulf of Mexico, home to multiple stocks of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Inhalation, aspiration, ingestion, and dermal absorption of oil and its toxic components were all considered possible routes of exposure for dolphins living within the oil spill footprint. To determine if dolphins were adversely impacted, catch-and-release health assessments were performed in heavily-oiled Barataria Bay (BB), Louisiana, and in Sarasota Bay (SB), Florida, a comparison site with no DWH oil contamination. Initial studies were conducted as part of a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (2011-2014) and follow-on studies were performed between 2016-2018 with support from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Ultrasound was used to evaluate the dolphins’ pulmonary health, including the presence/absence of pleural effusion, nodules, masses, consolidation, and alveolar interstitial syndrome (AIS). When present, AIS was further graded by severity (mild, moderate, or severe) and distribution. Based on the presence and severity of abnormalities, each dolphin was given an overall lung disease score (normal, mild, moderate, or severe). Normal to mild scores were considered within expected limits for a wild population, therefore the prevalence of normal-mild versus moderate-severe scores was compared between the oiled and unoiled sites. Separate analyses were conducted for dolphins alive in 2010 (and in BB, presumably exposed to DWH oil), and those born after 2010. For the dolphins alive in 2010, temporal trends were also examined using generalized additive models (GAMs). Results showed a strong difference (p=0.000357) in moderate to severe lung disease between the two sites for dolphins alive in 2010, but no significant difference (p=0.6745) between the sites for dolphins born after 2010. In BB dolphins, the prevalence of moderate to severe lung disease did not decrease in the years after the spill, and in fact, potentially worsened (p=0.0644 for trend over years), with the highest prevalence (0.61) being in 2018. Moderate to severe AIS remained a persistent finding in BB dolphins, and several animals had a pattern of AIS that was more severe ventrally than dorsally, with evidence of chronic, progressive disease states.

Ecosystem-Service Scaling Techniques to Evaluate the Benefits of Marine Debris Removal.

While knowledge of the ecological impacts of marine debris is continually advancing, methods to evaluate the comparative scale of these impacts are less well developed. In the case of costly environmental restoration in marine and coastal environments, quantifying and comparing the ecological impacts of diverse forms of ecosystem injuries can facilitate a more efficient selection of restoration projects. This article proposes evaluating marine debris removal projects in an ecological service equivalency analysis framework that can be used to compare marine debris removal to other types of environmental restoration. Drawing on existing spatial and temporal data with respect to marine debris impacts on habitats and resources, we demonstrate how resource managers and organizations involved in marine debris removal can quantify the ecological service benefits of a removal project and use it to comparatively select between projects based on present value ecological benefits. This valuation can be useful in natural resource damage assessment restoration selection, and for directing limited funds to marine debris removal projects which produce the greatest gains in ecological services. This ecological scaling framework is applied to a seagrass injury case study to demonstrate its application for scaling marine debris removal as compensatory restoration.

Assemblage Structure of Larval Fishes in Epipelagic and Mesopelagic Waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico

The early life stages of fishes play a critical role in pelagic food webs and oceanic carbon cycling, yet little is known about the taxonomic composition and distribution of larval fishes in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) below the epipelagic (<200 m). Here, we provide the first large-scale characterization of larval fish assemblages in the GOM across epipelagic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic regions (0–1,500 m), using samples collected during the Natural Resource Damage Assessment conducted following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS). These data contain > 130,000 ichthyoplankton specimens from depth-discrete plankton samples collected across 48 stations in the GOM during six cruises conducted in 2010 and 2011. We examined indices of abundance and diversity, and used a multivariate regression tree approach to model the relationship between larval fish assemblages and environmental conditions. The total abundance of larval fish followed a generally decreasing trend with increasing depth, and family-level richness and diversity were significantly higher in the epipelagic than mesopelagic and bathypelagic regions. Fourteen distinct assemblage groups were identified within the epipelagic, with depth, surface salinity, and season contributing to the major branches separating groups. Within the mesopelagic, seven distinct assemblage groups were identified and were largely explained by variation in depth, season, and surface temperature. Bathypelagic assemblages were poorly described by environmental conditions. The most common epipelagic assemblage groups were widely distributed across the GOM, as were all mesopelagic assemblage groups, suggesting limited horizontal structuring of GOM larval fishes. Of the mesopelagic-associated fish taxa, four dominant families (Myctophidae, Gonostomatidae, Sternoptychidae, Phosichthyidae) comprised the majority of the catch in both the epipelagic (63%) and combined mesopelagic and bathypelagic (97%) regions. Dufrêne-Legendre indicator analysis confirmed that these dominant families were characteristic of epipelagic and mesopelagic assemblages; the larvae of less common mesopelagic-associated families largely identified with epipelagic assemblage groups. A lack of baseline data about the distribution patterns of early life stages of mesopelagic fishes in the GOM was apparent following the DWHOS, and these findings provide a valuable reference point in the face of future ecosystem stressors.

Molecular Markers of Biogenic and Oil-Derived Hydrocarbons in Deep-Sea Sediments Following the Deepwater Horizon Spill

Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS), the formation of an unexpected and extended sedimentation event of oil-associated marine snow (MOSSFA: Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation) demonstrated the importance of biology on the fate of contaminants in the oceans. We used a wide range of compound-specific data (aliphatics, hopanes, steranes, triaromatic steroids, polycyclic aromatics) to chemically characterize the MOSSFA event containing abundant and multiple hydrocarbon sources (e.g., oil residues and phytoplankton). Sediment samples were collected in 2010–2011 (ERMA-NRDA programs: Environmental Response Management Application – Natural Resource Damage Assessment) and 2018 (REDIRECT project: Resuspension, Redistribution and Deposition of Deepwater Horizon recalcitrant hydrocarbons to offshore depocenter) in the northern Gulf of Mexico to assess the role of biogenic and chemical processes on the fate of oil residues in sediments. The chemical data revealed the deposition of the different hydrocarbon mixtures observed in the water column during the DWHOS (e.g., oil slicks, submerged-plumes), defining the chemical signature of MOSSFA relative to where it originated in the water column and its fate in deep-sea sediments. MOSSFA from surface waters covered 90% of the deep-sea area studied and deposited 32% of the total oil residues observed in deep-sea areas after the DWHOS while MOSSFA originated at depth from the submerged plumes covered only 9% of the deep-sea area studied and was responsible for 15% of the total deposition of oil residues. In contrast, MOSSFA originated at depth from the water column covered only 1% of the deep-sea area studied (mostly in close proximity of the DWH wellhead) but was responsible for 53% of the total deposition of oil residues observed after the spill in this area. This study describes, for the first time, a multi-chemical method for the identification of biogenic and oil-derived inputs to deep-sea sediments, critical for improving our understanding of carbon inputs and storage at depth in open ocean systems.

Planting after shoreline cleanup treatment improves salt marsh vegetation recovery following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010) resulted in ~100 km of heavily oiled salt marsh shorelines with severe marsh vegetation impacts. Approximately 27 km of these shorelines had marsh cleanup treatments aimed at limiting oil spread and facilitating ecological recovery. Heavy oiling impacts and disturbance from intensive cleanup treatments left marsh shorelines largely bare of live vegetation. Following operational-scale shoreline cleanup and experimental planting of Spartina alterniflora, we compared oiling degree and vegetation recovery among three types of heavily oiled salt marsh plots over three years: oiled control (no cleanup treatment, no planting); mechanical cleanup treatment (unplanted); and mechanical treatment coupled with planting. Nearby reference plots were used to define recovery targets and determine recovery progress. Mechanical treatment with planting showed the most improvement in oiling conditions and was most effective in re-establishing vegetation cover and dominant plant species composition approaching reference conditions. In contrast, the oiled controls and mechanical treatment plots without planting were similar and showed much slower recovery trends. Vegetation planting should be considered as a shoreline treatment or restoration approach for heavily oiled salt marshes, especially where oil impacted areas are left largely unvegetated, natural recovery is delayed, marsh shorelines are at risk of erosion, and as a possible condition for the use of intensive cleanup treatments. Vegetation planting following oil spills could be incorporated into shoreline treatment operations during emergency response as shoreline stabilization and for oil removal via phytoremediation, or as emergency restoration under the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) process, to limit the degree and duration of natural resource impacts.

Application of the original site point method in determining a baseline for two different types of sites in northern China.

Determining an ecological and environment damage baseline is the foundation of natural resource damage assessment. In complex damage assessment, the importance of a baseline is often underestimated or ignored. Existing baseline determination methods are insufficiently accurate and poorly available in practical application, which affect the damage assessment work. Based on the definition of baseline and the shortcomings of existing baseline-determination methods, this paper suggests the original site point (OSP) method as a determination principle. The baseline calculation area can be directly determined according to the site conditions in a sludge storage site with clear pollution distribution, and the OSP method has the advantage of determining the baseline rapidly. For a waste oil sludge storage site with unclear pollution distribution, the baseline calculation area should be determined according to preliminary and detailed sampling data. The calculation results of the two sites indicate that the baseline determined using the OSP method and the reference point (RP) method are similar, and the results of the environmental standard (ES) method are superior to those of the other two methods. The order of accuracy of baseline determination methods is the historical data (HD) method > the OSP method > the RP method > the model calculation (MC) method > the ES method. Through two application cases, this paper discusses the applicability of the OSP method and finally establishes the determination steps of the method. The OSP method has proven effective in determining the baseline, and the fast and accurate baseline determination method is more helpful for damage assessment. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:1263-1273. © 2021 SETAC.

The Oil Spill Science Triad: Viewpoint on the Coexistence and Optimization of Models, Laboratory Tests, and Empirical Field Observations and Data for Natural Resource Damage Assessments

667037 ABSTRACT This paper provides a viewpoint on ways to blend and optimize the use of various scientific tools to address information needs as part of oil spill natural resource damage assessments (NRDAs). Oil spills are complex events of multidisciplinary interest, requiring the application of a blend of established, generally accepted approaches to answer the many scientific questions related to oil spill response and NRDAs arising during and after each spill. Each spill scenario is unique and demands different information, but central to all assessment strategies are questions around the needs for and the feasibility of collecting adequate representative field data versus (or more productively in concert with) the application of spill models, remembering that models alone can't create facts. Useful information also comes from considering the degree to which the processes and ambient measures in a new spill can be represented by extrapolations of data and information from prior spills. Through a discussion of a three-part “toolkit” or “triad” applied to different types of oil spill NRDAs, this discussion offers insights and suggestions, largely from a strategic scientific perspective, for optimizing the blend of these tools to sufficiently address the assessment of injuries to natural resources so restoration can be appropriately evaluated, scaled, planned, and implemented.

Cost Anatomy of A Vessel Spill Response

The focus of this paper is to highlight cost issues that have arisen during actual spill responses in the United States including issues related to a Responsible Party's (RP) named Spill Management Team (SMT), its named Oil Spill Response Organization (OSRO), the USCG, the National Pollution Fund Center (NPFC), and state/local government agencies. In addition, there will be a brief discussion related to third party claim costs and management. The author's sincere hope is that this paper will generate meaningful discussion concerning the issues raised that, in turn, will lead to reasoned changes resulting in lower, and more palatable response costs. The purpose of this paper is to highlight issues, not to criticize or embarrass individuals or entities. Accordingly, no company or individuals will be identified. This paper is not all inclusive and does not include costs related to Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), fines, or legal fees. In addition, while recognizing that entities other than vessels are covered under OPA 90, this paper, as noted in the title, concerns only spills from vessels. All opinions expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.

Emergency Oil Spill Response: Data Collection Automation, and Dissemination

ABSTRACT The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) has employed Geographic Information System (GIS) technology for oil spill planning and response since the early 1990's, adding remote sensing tools to the mix by the turn of the Century. Discussed herein are OSPR's current smartphone and tablet-based field data collection applications. We use an off-the-shelf tool for pre-response protection strategy planning and use customized tools developed in-house for California Sea Otter Surveys, Wildlife Search and Collection and the Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT). The benefits of automated field data collection include the omission of transcription errors during manual data input and streamlined data processing. This results in accurate and timely information delivered to responders, thus enhancing their capability for informed decision making. OSPR uses the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Environmental Response Management Application® (ERMA), a web-based GIS data viewer as the Common Operational Picture (COP) for data dissemination throughout the incident response community during an oil spill event, and for the post emergency response cooperative Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). OSPR also uses ERMA a planning tool by uploading significant data layers from the U.S Coast Guard's (USCG) six Area Contingency Plans (ACP) for coastal California and OSPR's Geographic Response Plans for inland waters of the state with higher risk of an oil spill. These response planning data are freely downloadable from the ERMA platform. In the Summer/Fall of 2019 at the Cymric Oil Field in Kern County, California, over 1,000,000 gallons of oil, mud and steam seeped into a dry stream bed from several “surface expressions”. Direct access to the spill site was not permitted for Health and Safety concerns. OSPR used an off-the-shelf small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS, aka drone) equipped with a standard high definition (HD) camera and a thermal infrared camera for SCAT reconnaissance, resources at risk evaluations, and regularly scheduled mapping missions for overall site situational awareness.