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ISBN:
Category : Delegated legislation
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Author: U.S. Department of the Interior
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781508752073
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
The Gulf of Mexico is a priceless national treasure. Its natural resources – water, fish, beaches, reefs, marshes, oil and gas – are the economic engine of the region. The Gulf of Mexico is likewise vitally important to the entire nation as a bountiful source of food, energy and recreation. The Gulf Coast's unique culture and natural beauty are world-renowned. There is no place like it anywhere else on Earth. On April 20, 2010 the eyes of the world focused on an oil platform in the Gulf, approximately 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. The mobile drilling unit Deepwater Horizon, which was being used to drill an exploratory well for BP Exploration and Production, Inc. (BP), violently exploded, caught fire and eventually sank, tragically killing 11 workers. But that was only the beginning of the disaster. Oil and other substances from the rig and the well head immediately began flowing unabated approximately one mile below the surface. Initial efforts to cap the well were unsuccessful, and for 87 days oil spewed unabated into the Gulf. Oil eventually covered a vast area of thousands of square miles, and carried by the tides and currents reached the coast, polluting beaches, bays, estuaries and marshes from the Florida panhandle to west of the Mississippi River delta. At the height of the spill, approximately 37% of the open water in the Gulf was closed to fishing. Before the well was finally capped, an estimated 5 million barrels (210 million gallons) escaped from the well over a period of approximately 3 months. In addition, approximately 771,000 gallons of dispersants were applied to the waters of the spill area, both on the surface and at the well head one mile below. It was an environmental disaster of unprecedented proportions. It also was a devastating blow to the resource-dependent economy of the region. While the extent of natural resources impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and response (collectively, “the Spill”) is not yet fully evaluated, impacts were widespread and extensive. The full spectrum of the impacts from this spill, given its magnitude, duration, depth and complexity, will be difficult to determine. The trustees for the Spill, however, are working to assess every aspect of the injury, both to individual resources and lost recreational use of them, as well as the cumulative impacts of the Spill. Affected natural resources include ecologically, recreationally, and commercially important species and their habitats across a wide swath of the coastal areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and a huge area of open water in the Gulf of Mexico. When injuries to migratory species such as birds, whales, tuna and turtles are considered, the impacts of the Spill could be felt across the United States and around the globe. This ERP/EA serves as the Trustees' final selection of Phase I early restoration projects, taking into account the suite of potential projects proposed, the NRDA and Framework Agreement process, and public comment on the Draft Phase I ERP/EA. Per the Framework Agreement, the Trustees will move forward with agreements with BP to fund projects and commence implementation, as described in more detail throughout this document.

Author:
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ISBN:
Category : Continental shelf
Languages : en
Pages : 498

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Describes the potential environmental impacts of the Proposed Final 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program (PFP), which establishes a schedule that is used as a basis for considering where and when oil and gas leasing might be appropriate over a 5-year period.

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309440378
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Gulf Coast communities and natural resources suffered extensive direct and indirect damage as a result of the largest accidental oil spill in US history, referred to as the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. Notably, natural resources affected by this major spill include wetlands, coastal beaches and barrier islands, coastal and marine wildlife, seagrass beds, oyster reefs, commercial fisheries, deep benthos, and coral reefs, among other habitats and species. Losses include an estimated 20% reduction in commercial fishery landings across the Gulf of Mexico and damage to as much as 1,100 linear miles of coastal salt marsh wetlands. This historic spill is being followed by a restoration effort unparalleled in complexity and magnitude in U.S. history. Legal settlements in the wake of DWH led to the establishment of a set of programs tasked with administering and supporting DWH-related restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. In order to ensure that restoration goals are met and money is well spent, restoration monitoring and evaluation should be an integral part of those programs. However, evaluations of past restoration efforts have shown that monitoring is often inadequate or even absent. Effective Monitoring to Evaluate Ecological Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico identifies best practices for monitoring and evaluating restoration activities to improve the performance of restoration programs and increase the effectiveness and longevity of restoration projects. This report provides general guidance for restoration monitoring, assessment, and synthesis that can be applied to most ecological restoration supported by these major programs given their similarities in restoration goals. It also offers specific guidance for a subset of habitats and taxa to be restored in the Gulf including oyster reefs, tidal wetlands, and seagrass habitats, as well as a variety of birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals.

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030929889X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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U.S. Arctic waters north of the Bering Strait and west of the Canadian border encompass a vast area that is usually ice covered for much of the year, but is increasingly experiencing longer periods and larger areas of open water due to climate change. Sparsely inhabited with a wide variety of ecosystems found nowhere else, this region is vulnerable to damage from human activities. As oil and gas, shipping, and tourism activities increase, the possibilities of an oil spill also increase. How can we best prepare to respond to such an event in this challenging environment? Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment reviews the current state of the science regarding oil spill response and environmental assessment in the Arctic region north of the Bering Strait, with emphasis on the potential impacts in U.S. waters. This report describes the unique ecosystems and environment of the Arctic and makes recommendations to provide an effective response effort in these challenging conditions. According to Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment, a full range of proven oil spill response technologies is needed in order to minimize the impacts on people and sensitive ecosystems. This report identifies key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. The Arctic acts as an integrating, regulating, and mediating component of the physical, atmospheric and cryospheric systems that govern life on Earth. Not only does the Arctic serve as regulator of many of the Earth's large-scale systems and processes, but it is also an area where choices made have substantial impact on life and choices everywhere on planet Earth. This report's recommendations will assist environmentalists, industry, state and local policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of this special region to preserve and protect it from damaging oil spills.

Author: Curry L. Hagerty
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437934730
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 51

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Book Description
On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). This resulted in 11 worker fatalities, a massive oil release, and a national response effort in the GoM region by the federal and state governments as well as BP. Contents of this report: (1) Intro.; (2) Setting in the GoM: Oil and Gas Recovery; Weather and Ocean Currents; Biological Resources; (3) Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling Technology; (4) Fed. Statutory Framework; (5) Fed. Regulatory Framework; (6) Environmental and Economic Impacts; (7) Labor Issues; (8) Reorganization of Minerals Mgmt. Service; (9) FEMA Issues; Exxon Valdez; Recent Regional Disaster History; (10) Conclusion. Charts and tables.

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309211794
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon platform drilling the Macondo well in Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (DWH) exploded, killing 11 workers and injuring another 17. The DWH oil spill resulted in nearly 5 million barrels (approximately 200 million gallons) of crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The full impacts of the spill on the GoM and the people who live and work there are unknown but expected to be considerable, and will be expressed over years to decades. In the short term, up to 80,000 square miles of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) were closed to fishing, resulting in loss of food, jobs and recreation. The DWH oil spill immediately triggered a process under the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) to determine the extent and severity of the "injury" (defined as an observable or measurable adverse change in a natural resource or impairment of a natural resource service) to the public trust, known as the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA). The assessment, undertaken by the trustees (designated technical experts who act on behalf of the public and who are tasked with assessing the nature and extent of site-related contamination and impacts), requires: (1) quantifying the extent of damage; (2) developing, implementing, and monitoring restoration plans; and (3) seeking compensation for the costs of assessment and restoration from those deemed responsible for the injury. This interim report provides options for expanding the current effort to include the analysis of ecosystem services to help address the unprecedented scale of this spill in U.S. waters and the challenges it presents to those charged with undertaking the damage assessment.

Author: Merv Fingas
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470455519
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 641

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Book Description
Provides a scientific basis for the cleanup and for the assessment of oil spills Enables Non-scientific officers to understand the science they use on a daily basis Multi-disciplinary approach covering fields as diverse as biology, microbiology, chemistry, physics, oceanography and toxicology Covers the science of oil spills from risk analysis to cleanup and through the effects on the environment Includes case studies examining and analyzing spills, such as Tasman Spirit oil spill on the Karachi Coast, and provides lessons to prevent these in the future

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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"The purpose of this report is to document the response to the oil spill that resulted from the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore drilling unit on April 20, 2010. On scene coordinator report, Deepwater Horizon oil spill, submitted to the National Response Team, September 2010. On November 18, 2010, the National Response Team (NRT) requested submission of an On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) report for the Deepwater Horizon spill to the NRT Response Committee, pursuant to the National Contingency Plan (NCP). The NART's request listed 33 specific topics be addressed in the report. The list of specific topics addressed in the report expanded to 56 to cover additional focus areas of the Federal On-Scene Coordinators (FOSCs)"--Executive summary.

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309478219
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
Whether the result of an oil well blowout, vessel collision or grounding, leaking pipeline, or other incident at sea, each marine oil spill will present unique circumstances and challenges. The oil type and properties, location, time of year, duration of spill, water depth, environmental conditions, affected biomes, potential human community impact, and available resources may vary significantly. Also, each spill may be governed by policy guidelines, such as those set forth in the National Response Plan, Regional Response Plans, or Area Contingency Plans. To respond effectively to the specific conditions presented during an oil spill, spill responders have used a variety of response optionsâ€"including mechanical recovery of oil using skimmers and booms, in situ burning of oil, monitored natural attenuation of oil, and dispersion of oil by chemical dispersants. Because each response method has advantages and disadvantages, it is important to understand specific scenarios where a net benefit may be achieved by using a particular tool or combination of tools. This report builds on two previous National Research Council reports on dispersant use to provide a current understanding of the state of science and to inform future marine oil spill response operations. The response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill included an unprecedented use of dispersants via both surface application and subsea injection. The magnitude of the spill stimulated interest and funding for research on oil spill response, and dispersant use in particular. This study assesses the effects and efficacy of dispersants as an oil spill response tool and evaluates trade-offs associated with dispersant use.