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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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Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet Assessment Project
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.
For more information, view the March 2008 Status
Report or the April Update
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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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NOAA's Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program Celebrates 15
Years of Coastal Protection and Restoration
May 23, 2007
On Wednesday, May 23rd, NOAA’s Chief of Staff Scott Rayder was joined by Senator
Maria Cantwell, Representative Vernon Ehlers, and dozens of congressional staff
and partners to celebrate 15 years of NOAA coastal protection and restoration.
The event, titled Healing our Coasts, Protecting our Future, commemorated the
15th Anniversary of the Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program
(DARRP) and highlighted DARRP’s successes, partnerships, and innovations.
read more
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Upcoming Events
April 23, 2008 - Portland Harbor/Lower Willamette River Meetings, Portland, OR
The Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustees recently invited potentially
responsible parties to participate in a cooperative process aimed at
efficiently resolving their liabilities and restoring injury to natural
resources. This invitation extends to PRPs that expressed an interest in
participating after attending a meeting with Trustees on March 11. Interested
PRPs have been invited to hear more from the Trustees at a meeting in Portland
on April 23rd, 2008. Subsequent to the April 23rd meeting, PRPs that agree to
participate will provide funding for a phased injury assessment process,
including the development of an injury assessment plan. The Trustees anticipate
that significant effort will be focused on injury assessment in the coming
year.
May 4–8, 2008 - International Oil Spill Conference, Savannah, GA
This will be the 20th Triennial International Oil Spill Conference on
Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Restoration. Over 2,000 attendees from
50 countries around the world are expected to attend the technical session and
view more than 250 exhibits. The conference provides an opportunity for
professionals from the international community to highlight and discuss
innovations and best practices across the spectrum of prevention, preparedness,
response, and restoration. For more information, please visit the conference’s
website: http://www.iosc.org/. 
May 26 - 30, 2008 - Society of Wetland Scientists Annual meeting, Washington
D.C.
This meeting aims to bring together wetland scientists from all fields to
explore the most recent findings in wetland science, learn new techniques, and
exchange information on wetland policy. This year, SWS is joining with the
Association of State Wetland Managers
and the Society for Ecological Restoration
to produce a national election year program that will bring wetland issues and
research to the forefront of media and congressional attention. Numerous DARRP
staff will be in attendance and will also be presenting results from their
restoration efforts. For more information, please visit the conference's
website: http://www.sws.org/meetings/
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What's New
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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 about the Great Lakes Habitat
Restoration Program and apply for a Program
Grant to fund a
habitat restoration project.
Read and listen to
OR&R’s efforts in dealing with abandoned vessels following Hurricane
Katrina.
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