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Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP) collaborates
with other agencies, industry, and citizens to protect and restore coastal and
marine resources threatened or injured by oil spills, releases of hazardous
substances, and vessel groundings.
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View and Print the DARRP Program's Quick Reference Fact Sheet.
This fact sheet provides a synopsis
of DARRP's mission and work protecting and restoring natural resources on our
nation's coasts. Read about DARRP's injury - to - restoration trusteeship as
well as its cooperative assessment and restoration planning with stakeholders.
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Field trip to Santa Cruz Island
On June 19, six congressional staff members from five different local and
national offices representing California attended a field trip to Santa Cruz
Island hosted by NOAA on behalf of the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program
(MSRP) Trustee Council. Invitations were sent out to local California district
offices that included regions near the site of impact and to California U.S.
Senators and Representatives. Members from Sen. Feinstein's and Rep. Lois
Capps' office were among the attendees on this field trip.
The day started with a boat ride on the Ocean Ranger Research Vessel owned by
the National Park Service to view seabird and bald eagle restoration efforts on
Santa Cruz Island. The group visited Orizaba rock where nesting boxes and
vocalizations are being used to attract ashy storm petrels, and also viewed the
Pelican Harbor bald eagle nest. The rest of the day was spent on the island
with a short hike up to Harvey's Lookout where staff discussed how MSRP is
addressing fishing impacts by enhancing Marine Protected Areas. Bob Haddad,
NOAA Director of the Assessment and Restoration Division addressed the group
during lunch, and discussed DARRP and RC programs and their various
capabilities.
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Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet Assessment Project
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Congress requested NOAA to evaluate the potential environmental impact of the
federally owned vessels in Suisun Bay, California. These vessels are maintained
by the United States Maritime Administration and include more than 70 obsolete
or decommissioned ships, sometimes referred to as the "Reserve" or "Mothball
Fleet."
The State of California and several bay area environmental groups have raised
concerns about the environmental impacts, and plans to move the vessels through
San Francisco Bay for eventual scrapping and disposal. Issues range from the
potential presence of heavy metals in paint that is peeling and falling off, to
antifouling agents used in bottom paint on the hulls, to PCBs and other
hazardous materials that may have been released from the ships.
NOAA will be conducting a field investigation and preparing documents to help
address these concerns.
Read more about the Suisun Special Project
for more information, or view the latest, July
2008 Status Report
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DARRP Roles and Responsibilities Discussed with Students at Louisiana State
University
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Dr. Maud Walsh, Associate Professor at Louisiana State University (LSU), invited
staff from OR&R's Assessment and Restoration Division and the Restoration
Center (RC) to speak to two undergraduate classes at LSU about the roles and
responsiiblities of DARRP, the RC, and NOAA, particularly in Louisiana. Dr.
Walsh has been working to incorporate the work of NOAA, and OR&R in
particular, into collegiate curriculum for a variety of environmentally-focused
classes. She recently completed a sabbatical in OR&R's Seattle office and
is continuing her work at LSU. NOAA's trust resources, SQuiRT tables, ESI maps,
removal of marine debris, and oil and chemical spills were discussed. Staff
from the NOAA Restoration Center spoke to Dr. Walsh's students about a variety
of issues. LSU and NOAA have a strong partnership on many topics, but this
opportunity is unique because of the students' role and Dr. Walsh's
participation. For more information, please contact
Troy Baker or Jean Cowan.
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Upcoming Events
June 29-July 2, 2008, Coastal Foot Prints Minimizing Human Impacts, Maximizing
Stewardship Coastal Society's 21st International Conference
The conference tracks are effective integration of coastal science, policy, and
management; international coastal management concepts and practices;
integrating social equity into coastal management; coastal energy siting,
production, and consumption; coastal land and watershed use; climate change
impacts; and working waterfronts and waterways. For details, see
http://www.thecoastalsociety.org/conference/tcs21/index.html
November 16-20, 2008, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 29th
Annual Meeting
More than 2,000 attendees, this meeting serves as a platform for
representatives from goverment, business, and academia to exchange ideas,
observe current trends, and present research in their areas of expertise. For
details, see http://tampa.setac.org/
December 8-11, 2008, A Conference on Ecosystem Serivces
ACES will provide a broad and open forum to discuss the latest and most
innovative methods, tools, and processes for assessing ecosystem services. For
details, see http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/ACES/
February 2-5, 2009 - 5th International Conference on remediation of Contaminated
Sediments
This conference combines scientific and engineering advances in sediment
remediation with assessment and management frameworks, along with governing
policies and regulations to achieve effective environmental protection goals.
For details, see http://www.battelle.org/sedimentscon
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What's New
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Grant Grant Funding For Estuarine Research: NOAA seeks to establish a national
estuarine research and technology program which operates in partnership with
the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. Funds are to conduct research
and provide tools to coastal managers on pollution and habitat degradation. For
more information on funding, see
Grants.gov.
DARRP resolves natural resource liability claims against the Dana Corporation at
the Cornell-Dubilier Electronics, Inc. Superfund Site in South Plainfield, NJ,
as part of a bankruptcy filing. Details of the settlement are included in the
U.S. Department of Justice's Press Release, June 2008.
Read about recent developments in the Buzzards Bay/Bouchard 120 oil spill case
in the April 2008 Status
Report.
A Draft Restoration Plan and
Environmental Assessment for the Galaxy/Spectron Site was released for
public review and comment, with comments due by April 30th. This plan proposes
removal of fish blockages and stream restoration of Scotchman Creek. See the
Public Notice for details on how to submit comments.
Lower Duwamish River Natural Resource Trustees seek public involvement in
June 6th and 7th meetings on the development of the Draft Restoration
Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.
American Petroleum Institute held a meeting March 5th among its membership and
invited trustee representatives, including NOAA, to inform one another on NRDA
interests. The intent is to determine how to further foster NRDA dialogue,
partnerships, and actions. For more information, please contact
Eli Reinharz.
Public meetings were held Jan 22 and
29, 2008 on the Cosco Busan restoration process and to seek information about
spill related injuries.
Read the Mulberry, Florida Draft
Estuarine Restoration Implementation Plan for the December 7, 1997 Alafia River
Spill, published August 17, 2007.
Read the Lower Duwamish River Restoration Plan Notice of
Intent.
Read the April 30, 2007 Record of Decision
for the Louisiana Regional Restoration Planning Program.
Read about DARRP's 15 year history of
protecting and restoring our nation's coastal resources.
Read and listen to
OR&R’s efforts in dealing with abandoned vessels following Hurricane
Katrina. 
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