Good morning/afternoon Mr. Chairmen, and Members of the Subcommittees. I am David Kennedy , Director, Office of Response and Restoration, Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management at the Department of Commerce = s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Thank you for inviting me to testify on NOAA = s implementation of the provisions of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) and the progress that has been made in responding to oil spills and protecting the Nation = s natural resources as a result of this statute. This legislation has significantly changed the way the federal, state, local, private and public interests conduct activities relating to the prevention, preparedness, response and restoration relating to oil spills and for the better. Since OPA was enacted in 1990, the number of reportable spills has declined, and we believe that OPA has helped contribute to that decrease. NOAA, in cooperation with other partners, is more efficient in responding to spills. Environmental restoration in the wake of oil spills is being accomplished around the Nation, and we are developing and promoting approaches that result in more timely and appropriate restoration. NOAA = s responsibilities for addressing oil spills have been significantly enhanced by OPA and we are aggressively implementing the demanding requirements of this law.

NOAA = S ROLE: PREVENTION

NOAA = s role at oil spills spans the broad continuum of activities that are addressed by OPA: prevention, preparedness, response and restoration. NOAA implements, and is constantly improving, many responsibilities that prevent oil spills, particularly its suite of navigation services. Nautical charts are being more rapidly updated due to improvements in technology, and are made available in electronic form to support the rapid advances in technologies used on the bridge of vessels. Our real time tides and current systems can provide mariners with the actual water depths and currents, information that is critical to safe and efficient maritime commerce. Our high-precision geodetic network provides the spatial reference system upon which navigational positioning is based, and our National Weather Service provides meteorological predictions and site specific forecasts that assist in planning safe maritime passage as well as efficient routing. All of these activities have been strengthened since the passage of OPA and contribute to the increased safety of maritime traffic.

NOAA = S ROLE: PREPAREDNESS

OPA recognized that preparedness is the key to effective response. The statute created Area Committees charged with the development of contingency plans based upon the participation and contribution of multiple interests at the local level. OPA also required the exercise of these plans in order to test their relevance and completeness, as well as the knowledge of the responders. NOAA, as the primary scientific advisor to the US Coast Guard for spills in the coastal zone, has had a very strong role in the preparation and testing of these plans. In 1998, NOAA = s Hazardous Materials Response program (HAZMAT) participated in 28 drills, sponsored by both industry and government. Such participation involves not only being a player during the drill, but also providing important background information, such as spill trajectories, resources at risk, and other environmental expertise required to prepare the > script = for the drill. NOAA has also actively participated in preparing and revising area contingency plans, with a focus on the environmental aspects of the plan. NOAA = s HAZMAT program has led the response community in the identification of environmentally sensitive areas, and the ranking and mapping of these areas. Such information provides the federal On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) with vital information with which to determine where protection and response efforts should be concentrated.

NOAA has also developed computerized tools for evaluating potential risk from spills, based upon spill trajectories developed with user-determined scenarios. This capability is now available through a desktop computer program that enables responders to improve their skill in making the rapid, scientifically sound decisions that are demanded in emergency response conditions. In fact, we recently undertook a pilot project with the Navy = s Supervisor of Salvage to provide this technology to assist them in determining the appropriate placement and level of response equipment. A Navy representative just began residency at our Seattle facility, and will begin applying this technology to the port of San Diego.

Another part of preparedness is training and > education = . NOAA has been extremely active in both of these areas. Many responders may only experience one spill in their worklife, making the sharing of spill experiences very important, especially since emergencies demand rapid decision making. NOAA = s HAZMAT program has been involved in spill response since 1976, when the Argo Merchant went aground off Cape Cod. Sharing the wealth of experience developed by the program has been one of the central activities in our preparedness activities. NOAA accomplishes this by conducting training courses on the environmental aspects of spill response, providing guidance documents, and developing software tools to assist other responders in preparing for spills. We believe that significant benefits have been reaped from such preparedness activities, as evidenced by responders = performance during drills and actual spills when addressing environmental issues.

NOAA'S ROLE: RESPONSE

The adequacy of preparedness activities is really tested when a response to an oil spill is required. Since the early eighties, NOAA has placed Scientific Support Coordinators (SSCs) in the US Coast Guard (USCG) offices to assist them, in their role as federal On-Scene Coordinators (OSC) in addressing the multiple and complex scientific issues that arise during a response. This relationship has continued to grow and evolve over time, and we are extremely proud of the record that this combination of staff and expertise has produced. In fact, NOAA is developing a Memorandum of Understanding with the USCG = s Office of Response, as well as the National Pollution Fund Center, to document the > best practices = that we have learned over the years. During a response, NOAA = s SSCs serve on the federal OSC = s staff and support the Unified Command. SSCs lead a team of scientists who provide support to the spill management structure in such areas as pollutant fate and transport, resource protection strategies, shoreline cleanup assessment, natural resource trustee coordination and information management.

Since all spills are different, NOAA = s support of each incident is tailored to the incident characteristics. Such support may range from telephone support, where the incident poses a relative low environmental risk, to a large incident where significant or potentially significant environmental consequences may result. In the significant spills, NOAA will send a scientific team on-scene varying the make-up of expertises to match the requirements of the incident. This on-scene team is supported by an offsite group of scientists who have the advantage of working in a less stressful environment. This strategy has been effective for rapidly responding to the continually changing scientific issues that are raised during a spill event. Even though the number of spill events has decreased since the passage of OPA, NOAA still > responded = to 76 oil spill events in 1998.

NOAA = S ROLE: DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND RESTORATION

NOAA = s responsibilities continue beyond the response phase to assessing damage and restoring injured natural resources. Under the natural resource damage provisions of OPA, trustees act on behalf of the public to restore natural resources injured by oil spills, thereby preserving the Nation = s natural resource heritage for Americans today and for future generations. I will highlight the progress NOAA has made over the past nine years in conducting natural resource damage assessments and in restoring coastal and marine resources injured by oil spills.

Under OPA, if natural resources are injured or lost, or if the use of these natural resources is impaired, natural resource trustees are directed to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the injured natural resources. To implement these provisions, NOAA developed regulations for conducting damage assessments that focus on returning injured natural resources and services to their pre-spill condition and compensating for the losses that occur from the time of the spill until restoration is complete. Issued in January of 1996, these regulations represent a fundamental change in measuring damages and are based upon the cost of environmental restoration. The damage assessment process envisioned under these regulations emphasizes expedited and cost-effective restoration, provides an opportunity for the responsible party to cooperate in the assessment, and promotes an open process involving public comment, as required by OPA.

Earlier damage assessment procedures emphasized determining a monetary value for the loss of use of the injured resources. Criticisms of this approach led NOAA to conduct an in-depth review, involving all segments of the public, including the affected industries. NOAA = s goal was to reduce the regulatory burden on the affected industry while protecting the marine and coastal environment. As a result of this review, NOAA developed regulations that focus on damages measured by the actual cost of restoration. This approach builds upon NOAA = s experience in the Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (DARP), which fulfills natural resource trustee responsibilities assigned under OPA, the Clean Water Act, the Superfund Act, and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. NOAA = s experience with natural resource damage assessment led to the following conclusions:

$ working cooperatively with responsible parties can expedite restoration and reduce costs;


$ restoration planning should begin as early as possible; and


$ focusing on determining the appropriate scale of restoration projects is preferable to focusing on the monetary amount of damages.

These principles are embodied in the OPA regulations. Instead of collecting damages, then determining how to spend that money on restoration, the goal of assessment is now focused on timely, cost-effective restoration of the natural resources that have been injured

To support the efforts of other Federal, state and tribal trustees to pursue natural resource damage assessments under OPA, NOAA issued six guidance documents. These documents provide direction on the damage assessment phases outlined in the OPA regulations, including pre-assessment, injury assessment, primary restoration, scaling compensatory restoration actions, and restoration planning.

Since 1990, NOAA, working with state, Federal and tribal trustees has recovered from those responsible for harming public resources more than $45 million to repair the damage from 20 oil spills around the Nation. Damage assessment activities under OPA are bearing fruit for the Nation. Coastal and marine resources are being restored and natural resource trustees are finding ways to expedite the damage assessment process and get to restoration faster. I = d like to provide some examples of coastal restoration projects that demonstrate the benefits of OPA.

In June of 1989, the tanker vessel World Prodigy ran aground on Brenton Reef off Newport, Rhode Island spilling 290,000 gallons of fuel oil into Narragansett Bay. Following the spill, NOAA undertook a natural resource damage assessment in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Rhode Island. A settlement was reached that provided a little over $567,000 for restoring natural resources injured by the spill. Four restoration projects were undertaken, each of which was designed to restore to the American public the coastal resources that were injured by the oil spilled from the World Prodigy:

$ Thirteen acres of salt marsh where restored at the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in the spring of 1998 by altering the hydrological regime.


$ Eelgrass transplanting efforts were undertaken at several sites in Narragansett Bay in 1996 and 1997.


$ Cobble reefs were created in the spring of 1997 on a half-acre site in Dutch Island Harbor to provide habitat for lobsters. In the summer of 1998, 2,500 hatchery-reared lobsters were seeded on the created reefs.


$ Spawner sanctuaries were opened in 1997 and 1998 when local watermen worked with NOAA to move almost 300,000 lbs of quahogs from polluted areas to cleaner water.

In January of 1995, an inactive wellhead owned by Chevron Inc. broke open in Dixon Bay, Louisiana, releasing a mixture of crude oil, natural gas and production water before being closed 31 hours later. Oil slicks covered large areas of the Bay until a series of weather fronts pushed the oil through a marsh bordering the eastern edge of Dixon Bay and into the Gulf of Mexico. As compensation for the injury to natural resources, Chevron created a river diversion in the Mississippi River "Birdfoot" Delta to create approximately 25-50 acres of new wetlands. The project involved excavating a ditch that allows sediment-laden water to flow out into a shallow open water area, creating mud flats that are being transformed into new marsh habitat.

In July of 1997, the 326-foot M/V Fortuna Reefer ran aground off the southwestern coast of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. The grounding and subsequent salvage efforts crushed a large area of the reef and severely impacted large Elkhorn coral colonies by breaking off branches. Without intervention, most broken corals would have died, causing significant long-term impact to the marine ecosystem. Under OPA, DARP and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico recovered $1.25 million from the responsible party for restoring the injured coral reef. To stabilize dislodged coral fragments prior to the onset of the winter storm season, DARP pulled together staff from across the nation to contribute the necessary scientific, technical and administrative expertise. At Mona Island, restoration efforts were initiated eight weeks after the grounding and resulted in over 1,850 pieces of live coral being reattached to the reef in just under one month. In all, 6.8 acres of heavily injured coral reef were stabilized and restored. The expeditious settlement between the natural resource trustees and the responsible party allowed restoration work to begin within weeks of the incident and insured the work was accomplished quickly and successfully.

NOAA believes that damage assessment and restoration activities have made responsible parties more aware of releases of hazardous materials and their detrimental impacts on the nation = s coastal and marine resources. In addition to restoring injured resources, the process provides incentives to the private sector to prevent injury, makes the polluter pay to restore public resources, and demonstrates that small investments in the damage assessment process yield big returns in restoration. OPA = s damage assessment activities have benefited the nation by restoring public resources and enhancing awareness among the general public of stewardship.

NOAA = S ROLE: RESEARCH

Before I close, I want to highlight one other activity that NOAA conducts as part of its responsibilities under OPA. NOAA is committed to conducting research that improves the Nation = s response and damage assessment capabilities. As a science agency, NOAA = s credibility hinges on the application of sound science. An excellent example is the application of results from our continuing study of Prince William Sound and the consequences of the cleanup methods used during the Exxon Valdez spill. This study has help change the thinking of the response community away from cleanup decisions that attempt to remove every last bit of oil from the environment. NOAA = s study concluded that the effects of the high pressure, hot water washing diminished the recovery of the environment, and that other methods may have been more appropriate in facilitating the recovery of these areas. The study also highlighted the importance of leaving some areas not cleaned, or > set-asides = , to allow for a comparison of the effects of different removal actions, including no cleaning. Developing a sound scientific basis upon which to make wise decisions is often ignored during the response, especially after the media interest has diminished. Longer term scientific studies are critical to improving our understanding of how to effectively protect and mitigate the harm that oil spills can cause.

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to talk about NOAA = s important role under OPA. I look forward to any questions that you may have.