NOAA OIL RESPONDERS HELP IN BUZZARDS BAY, MASS., SPILL

May 2, 2003 — NOAA oil spill response and restoration experts were on scene the day after a barge carrying more than 4 million gallons of fuel oil hit an unknown obstruction on April 27 that cracked the hull and caused a 15,000 gallon leak, creating a 13-mile long oil slick in Buzzards Bay, Mass. (Click NOAA image for larger view of Buzzard's Bay as seen from the NOAA Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Waquoit, Mass. The nearly 15,000 gallon spill affected a nine mile stretch of the coastline from Cape Cod to the Rhode Island shore. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.”)

The team from the Office of Response and Restoration in the NOAA Ocean Service has two roles in the spill. NOAA responders act as chief scientific advisors to the U.S. Coast Guard, who is responsible for directing the spill response operation. NOAA oil spill response experts provide the science to ensure the clean up is as environmentally sound as possible.

OR&R scientists determine the type of product spilled, the potential direction and range of the product, the damage it could cause and how the effects of the spill could be reduced. NOAA experts on the scene provide this information to the Coast Guard, calling on NOAA experts at OR&R’s office in Seattle and other state and federal agencies to provide the in-depth information that is needed in these areas. NOAA responds to more than 100 hazardous materials and oil spills every year.

For Buzzards Bay, NOAA experts have done overflights of the spill area, and provided trajectory information, natural resource at risk information and response options.

NOAA oil spill responders also act as trustee on behalf of the public to restore coastal and marine resources injured by spills. After an oil spill, OR&R, works with state and federal trustee agencies to conduct a natural resource damage assessment.

The damage assessment determines the nature and extent of injuries to resources and the restoration actions needed to reverse these losses. Information is collected from the spill site and studies are conducted that provide, for example, estimates on how many fish died or how many fishing trips did not occur as a result of the oil spill. Once the full extent of injuries is known, NOAA and co-trustees identify and implement restoration projects. Restoration may involve, for example, replanting wetlands to improve fish habitat and increase fish stocks.

The NOAA response team in Buzzards Bay is collecting data for the natural resource damage assessment in cooperation with the barge owner and the other natural resource trustees—the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Department of the Interior. The joint damage assessment team has made evaluating shoreline and bird injuries, and shellfish closure impacts a priority. Other resources at risk are also being studied and evaluated.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation’s coastal and marine resources. NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration

NOAA Damage Assessment and Restoration Program

Incident News — Updates and News Releases (after 3 p.m. EDT today)

Media Contact:
Scott Smullen, NOAA, (202) 482-6090
(Photo courtesy of Jordan St. John, NOAA public affairs.)