NOAA
Community/NGO Perspective:
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Response
University of New Hampshire
October 28, 2014
Audra Melton
Dave Martin
Gerald Herbert/AP
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
✤
11 lives lost
✤
87 days from explosion until well was capped
✤
Estimated 4.9 million barrels spilled
✤
88,522 square miles of fisheries closures (6/2010)
✤
More than 4.6 millions pounds of oiled material
removed from coastlines in 2013
EPA
Gulf oil spill 'five times' larger than estimated
“US coastguard says 5,000 barrels a day of oil are spewing from a
well beneath site of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion.”
The Guardian, April 28, 2010
0
1
Incident Command System (DWH)
✤
Unified Area Command in
Louisiana and additional
ICPs set up across Gulf.
✤
One key function of ICS is
to incorporate federal,
state, local and
Response Personnel
into response and
planning activities.
Mike Kittrell, al.com
Volunteer Field Observer
Program
“…maintaining situational
awareness along the Gulf Coast
from Florida to Louisiana
presented significant knowledge
gaps, so the Volunteer
Coordination Team
operationalized the Volunteer
Field Observer Program (VFOB).
The VFOB program bolstered the
Incident Management Team‘s
exposure to real- time and
verifiable on-scene information.”
NRT Use of Volunteers: Guidelines for Oil
Spills
Joint Information Command (JIC)
“The JIC provides a structure for developing and delivering
incident-related coordinated messages. It develops,
recommends, and executes public information plans and
strategies; advises the IC, UC, and supporting agencies or
organizations concerning public affairs issues that could affect a
response effort; and, controls rumors and inaccurate information
that could undermine public confidence in the emergency
response effort. It is the central point of contact for all news
media at the scene of an incident.”
- Department of Homeland Security, National Incident Management System, December 2008.
I can’t imagine losing
the Gulf…
We weren’t ready for this
Is it safe?
Who’s running the show?
I don’t believe you.
Affect on Communities
✤
Short and Long-term
Environmental Impacts?
✤
Economic Impacts?
✤
Societal Impacts?
Julia Rendleman/The Houma Courier/AP
Oil Spill Commission
Recommendations
✤
Bolster state and local involvement in oil spill contingency
planning and training and create a mechanism for local
involvement in spill planning and response similar to the
Regional Citizens Advisory Committee mandated by OPA 90.
-Update of ACPs
- No progress on RCAC
✤
Add a local on scene coordinator position in the Unified
Command Structure
Oil Spill Commission
Recommendations
✤
Amend National Contingency Plan: EPA should
develop distinct plants and procedures to address
human health impacts during a spill of national
significance.
✤
Increase training and involvement of state and local
entities.
Additional Recommendations
✤
Identify and include local community leaders in the
Joint Information Command (JIC)
✤
Establish a corps of trained volunteers who can be
mobilized for various activities in the event of an
incident. Provide training on ICS and utilize them to
serve as community liaisons and primary points of
contact for volunteer and community efforts.
USE OF VOLUNTEERS GUIDELINES FOR OIL
SPILLS
September 2012, National Response Team
✤
EPA and USCG federal OSCs may use the services of volunteers in oil
spill responses. The Incident Command/Unified Command should make
that decision on a case-by-case basis, weighing the interests of the local
volunteer community and benefits of volunteer efforts against health and
safety concerns, resources needed for volunteer supervision and
training, liability concerns, and other relevant issues.
✤
Each AC should evaluate the specific needs and resources of its area to
develop a list that is relevant to the local area. This Guidance should
serve as a catalyst for Area Contingency Plan (ACP) revitalization, to
include stakeholder outreach and increased volunteer management
planning efforts at the local, state, and regional levels.
Thank You.
Bethany Carl Kraft
(504) 638-8123