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NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration Responds to Hurricane Katrina
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In their Seattle "war room," OR&R scientists coordinate efforts to respond and assess damage.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) is a federal leader in preparedness, response, damage assessment, and restoration for oil spills, chemical spills, and hazardous waste sites. As a natural resource trustee, OR&R's mission is to minimize harm to the environment during an incident response, and protect and restore coastal ecosystems. OR&R works with federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to develop best practices and decision-making tools for cleanup and assessment of oil spills and hazardous waste sites.
OR&R Responds to Hurricane Katrina
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, OR&R is providing invaluable scientific support to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in their response efforts. OR&R and NOAA Restoration Center are also working with state and federal partners to assess the impacts to natural resources and to plan for restoration, within the context of the broader recovery efforts.
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Flooded street in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Response
- Assisting the USCG, EPA, and the states to identify, assess, prioritize, and mitigate nearly 400 reported releases of hazardous material, such as hundreds of stranded drums of unknown materials. (http://www.incidentnews.gov)
- Focusing efforts on 16 significant pollution incidents and conducting preliminary reconnaissance of spills.
- Conducting systematic offshore overflights to identify and document offshore sources of spilled oil.
- Preparing guidance to help minimize physical injury to shoreline habitats during vessel salvage.
- Preparing flood level maps of New Orleans.
Assessment and Restoration
- Conducting shoreline cleanup assessments in Mobile to document the extent of shoreline oiling from sunken and stranded vessels.
- Coordinating efforts to collect data and understand the scope of natural resource impacts from oil spills and hazardous releases in the region.
- Collecting data that will provide pre-assessment information for the larger spill sites.
- Investigating ways to work cooperatively with our co-trustees and industry to expedite restoration that will benefit both the communities and natural resources of the region.
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Removal of damaged vessels from Mississippi and Alabama requires the efforts of more people than just the contractors who can remove the vessel from the water. Representatives from the Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, State of Alabama, Navy Superintendent of Salvage, and NOAA meet at the entrance of Bayou La Batre in Alabama. Their mission is to coordinate the process of removing damaged vessels while also minimizing damage to the wetlands.
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Rebuilding the Gulf in the Aftermath of Katrina
NOAA is committed to restoring the Gulf Coast region by working with state, local, and federal agencies to facilitate improved spill prevention and preparedness through the development of updated tools and training activities. OR&R stands ready to work in conjunction with other NOAA programs and our natural resource trustee partners to assess resource injuries and develop and implement restoration options that address the contaminant impacts of Hurricane Katrina.
For more information
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- IncidentNews Visit our IncidentNews Web site for regularly updated reports on OR&R efforts in response to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. [leaves OR&R site]
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Related photos
Visit our Image Gallery to view photos of OR&R in action in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. |
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