Public Outreach and Involvement

Notice of Intent to Conduct Restoration Planning, September 27, 2010

Laws and Regulations/Legal Documents

Referenced Laws, Regulations, and Agreements

Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.

Oil Pollution Act Regulations for Conducting an Natural Resource Damage Assessment 15 CFR 990

Preassessment/Injury Assessment Phase

NRDA Preassessment Workplans: Background Information

The Oil Pollution Act authorizes certain federal agencies, states and India tribes, collectively known as the Natural Resource Trustees (Trustees) to evaluate the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on natural resources. The Trustees are responsible for studying the effects of the spill through a process known as Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). As part of this process, scientists from each Trustee entity work together to identify potential injuries to natural resources resulting from the spill and to design studies that will be used to determine and measure spill-related injuries (or impacts) to natural resources and their human uses. For the Deepwater Horizon spill, NRDA activities to date have been divided into categories that focus on specific organisms, habitats or uses. These categories include, for example:

• Marine mammals and sea turtles
• Fish and shellfish
• Birds
• Deep water habitat
• Intertidal and near shore subtidal habitats (including sea grasses, mud flats, coral reefs)
• Shoreline habitats (including salt marsh, beaches, mangroves)
• Terrestrial wildlife and habitat
• Human uses of natural resources (e.g., recreational fishing, boating, shoreline recreation, subsistence, cultural uses, etc.)

The first step in the NRDA process is known as the Preassessment Phase. During this phase, the Trustees collect ephemeral data for the purpose of determining, among other things, whether injuries are occurring or are likely to occur, what resources may be injured, and whether it is appropriate to conduct a full injury assessment. This phase involves collecting information about how natural resources are exposed to the oil, what is likely to occur as a result of exposure, and over what period of time impacts are expected to occur. This phase may also include studies to document the condition of resources prior to exposure to the oil and to confirm the presence of oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident. The next step in the process, which is based on the Trustees’ decision to conduct a full NRDA, is the Injury Assessment Phase. During this phase, the Trustees will implement studies to evaluate the extent, severity, and duration of impacts from the oil spill. Some of these studies may need to go on for several years to fully assess the impacts to natural resources and determine the time needed for these resources to recover. Throughout the Preassessment and Injury Assessment, the Trustees will also consider how natural resources harmed by the spill may be restored through Restoration Planning, the final phase of the NRDA process. This phase will identify restoration actions which the Responsible Parties (“RPs”), including BP, will be required to pay for in order to fully compensate the public for the injuries to natural resources caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This may be accomplished through the implementation by the RP of specific restoration projects or by the payment of money damages to the Trustees. The projects, whether performed by the RP or the Trustees may include direct restoration or rehabilitation of the injured resources, or replacement or acquisition of resources equivalent to those injured.

The Trustees have and will continue to release study plans developed over the course of the spill. The process for development of each plan reflects input and advice from experienced Trustee scientists and resource managers as well as leading experts from outside the Trustee entities, including scientists who specialize in studying oil spills and natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico. The earliest approved plans are very brief as they were developed quickly to capture immediate, potentially perishable data during an evolving event. The plans also reflect the different nature of resources, data requirements, and associated study methods and techniques. Because study methods used for preassessment activities may also be applied in future injury assessment studies, some of the plans provide for both near term and longer term data collection or studies. As data from the studies become available, the Trustees may adapt study approaches or methods, or consider conducting additional studies, as needed, to ensure that the impacts of the oil spill can be fully identified and measured. This iterative process is intended to obtain the highest quality scientific information available to determine how much harm to resources has occurred and how much restoration is required.

As permitted under the Oil Pollution Act’s NRDA regulations, in some instances BP has been working cooperatively with the Trustees to collect preassessment data and to conduct NRDA activities. The Trustees have afforded BP the opportunity to provide input to the Trustees in the development of preassessment study plans and many of the plans have been signed off on by representatives of Trustees and BP. Cooperation facilitates the collection and sharing of reliable data, while allowing all parties to conduct their own analysis and interpretation of that data. Trustees for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill include agencies or officials of the following:

State of Louisiana
State of Mississippi
State of Alabama
State of Florida
State of Texas

U.S. Department of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
U.S. Department of the Interior, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Parks Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Affairs
U.S. Department of Defense

Preassessment Workplans

Note: the following summaries and objectives for each workplan below are often paraphrased from the plans. For more detail, see the plans.

Water Column Workplans:

Field Plan for Cooperative Research Cruise (RV Weatherbird II, 5/4/10) Objectives: establish pre-impact baseline for organism abundance in Gulf of Mexico continental shelf waters near spill; characterize zooplankton distribution, abundance, and species composition at a minimum of 6 stations in the area to the southeast of the oil plume, and use SIPPER (Shadowed Image Particle Profiling Image Evaluation Recorder) technology to detect and document mortality of zooplankton and fish larvae in spill area; and characterize the distribution of crude oil droplets (number and size) in the vicinity of the oil plume, to 300 m depths. Sample collection includes invertebrate zooplankton, fish eggs, fish larvae and postlarvae, shrimp and groundfish, benthic (bottom-dwelling) invertebrates, tissue samples for toxicology and stable-isotope analysis, water and sediment samples.

Field Plan for Water Column Profiling Measurements (M/V Jack Fitz, 5/8/10) Objectives: a. measure discrete, free-oil droplet concentrations at multiple depths and b. measure dissolved phase (BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) and water-soluble lower-molecular-weight PAH (naphthalenes and phenanthrenes/anthracenes) at the same stations. Data to be used to calibrate 3-dimensional modeling of subsurface oil plume structure, fate (dissolution behavior), and transport.

Proposal to Extend Water Column Profiling Cruise (M/V Jack Fitz, 5/11/10) An extension of the original cruise of May 9 -10 to include May 10 - 15. The extension was needed to maximize the sampling window referenced in the original cruise plan, for the purpose of collecting samples at additional locations.

Sampling Plan for R/V TDI Brooks McCall Cruise (5/13/10) Objective: to obtain splits of whole water samples for NRDA from a response cruise on the RV TDI Brooks McCall. Samples will be analyzed for Trustee list of PAHs and VOAs.

Water Column Injury Data Collection Plan Cruise 2 M/V Jack Fitz (5/21/10) Objective; to document physical and chemical conditions of surface waters, including CTD, currents, subsurface oil via UV fluorescence, whole water samples for PAH, BTEX, TPH, dispersants, and oil droplet size. Also, surface oil photography and samples for weathering analysis

Water Column Injury Ephemeral Data Collection: ADCP Monitoring Plan (M/V Bunny Bordelon, 5/29/10) Objective: to monitor currents throughout the water column in the vicinity of the Wellhead via ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) to a. improve NRDA water sampling location selections and, b. refine data inputs into the SIMAP and CSIM models.

Water Column Injury Ephemeral Data Collections, Cruise 2: Surface Water Sampling Plan (M/V Jack Fitz, 5/31/10) A cruise originally planned for May 21 - 28, aboard the Jack Fitz, was extended to June 1 due to a vessel mechanical problem.

Water Column Injury Ephemeral Data Collections, Cruise 3: Surface water sampling plan for dispersant treated oil (M/V Bunny Bordelon, 6/5/10) Objective: to obtain surface and sub-surface samples of water impacted by oil. Water samples were collected for an analysis of physical and chemical conditions of surface waters. Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) was utilized for characterizing the surface mixed layer and pycnoclines; CDOM fluorescence for indicating the vertical distribution of hydrocarbons; whole water samples for measurement of PAH, BTEX, TPH, dispersant concentrations, and oil droplet size and distribution using FLOWCAM. Surface oil photography and samplings of water for oil weathering analysis were also collected. FLOWCAM and ZOOSCAN were used for plankton analysis, identification and density counts.

NRDA plan for samples of opportunity in support of a Water Column baseline (6/5/10) Objective: to obtain samples of whole water from the Coral Reef Monitoring Project in the Florida Keys. Chemical analysis of whole water, sub-surface discrete samples will augment or complement other baseline samples collected under other work plans.

Data Collection Plan for Gordon Gunter Cruise (6/5/10): Objective: to collect data and analytical samples to better quantify and model the distribution and weathering of oil (including dispersed and burned oil) released from the Deepwater Horizon platform. Water samples in the surface mixed layer will be collected to test for the presence of dispersed oil and droplet size. Sample locations are in areas of where oil dispersant was applied or suspected, and the area of a controlled burn. SIPPER (Shadowed Image Particle Profiling and Evaluation Recorder) will be used to measure plankton presence and distribution.

DWHOS Plan for Adaptive Water Column NOAA-NRDA Sampling Cruise Plan - American Diver 1 & Ocean Veritas 9 (7/29/10) Two cruises in July were proposed to conduct an adaptive focused sampling strategy that was to target portions of the water column and areas where oil was detected within 20 km of the wellhead. Many categories of data were collected, including, but not limited to: salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, along with concentrations of hydrocarbon, suspended sediments, plankton, and pyrosomes. Analysis of data during and between cruise deployments will aid in determining the need for additional sampling efforts or any modifications for additional sampling efforts.

Amendment to DWHOS Plan for Adaptive Water Column NOAA-NRDA Sampling Cruise Plan (American Diver 1 & Ocean Veritas 9) (7/31/10) The cruises in July were delayed due to logistics, storms, and staff scheduling and rescheduled from July to late July-early August.

Other Workplans:

Canyon 252: Baseline sediment and water collection and analyses for NRDA in Florida Keys (6/29/10) Objective: to initiate the protocols and sampling sites that would be used for the collection of baseline water and sediment samples to represent conditions prior to any oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill affecting the Keys.

Submerged Oil Reconnaissance Plan (6/610) Objective: to conduct an initial reconnaissance of very shallow (<3m) subtidal habitats in the very nearshore water column (within 100m from the shoreline). The sampling would target areas where submerged oil is observed or is expected to be found based on shoreline assessment observations, to characterize the extent of oiling and document exposure of the water column and benthos to hydrocarbons. The method used to detect the submerged oil is through the use of chain-weighted snare drags using devices know as V-SORS along designated transects identified from incident response or NRDA shoreline assessment observations. Additionally, as able, survey teams will conduct opportunistic biological sampling using small seine or trawl nets, and/or ponar grab samples to characterize the biological communities at the snare deployments.

Mississippi Canyon 252 (Deepwater Horizon) Texas Baseline Survey & Sampling Work Plan (8/4/10) The purpose is to document baseline environmental conditions at key locations in advance of shoreline oiling along the Texas coast. Objectives include the documentation of: baseline PAH concentrations of water and sediment; baseline occurrences of relevant biota in intertidal or shallow subtidal habitats; baseline deposition of dead and stranded wildlife (may also be conducted post-incident); and baseline conditions of sites using a detailed and systematic photographic technique and field documentation. A maximum of 21 sites identified for sampling will be selected by the Trustees and will be geographically located and designed to represent current pre-impact conditions for front beach habitat types which are anticipated to receive oiling from the Deepwater Horizon; an additional 10 samples may be selected at other specially selected locations.

Deepwater Horizon/MC252 Shoreline/Vegetation NRDA Pre-assessment Plan Data Collection Plan (7/30/10) Objective: to determine the shoreline areas that were exposed to potentially harmful levels of oil and to characterize the habitat, vegetation, and fauna on those shoreline resources that were exposed to DWH oil. This purpose of this pre-assessment study is to collect the information necessary to map the extent of shoreline exposure to oil and select locations so that further potential injury assessment studies can be identified.

NRDA Pre-Impact Sampling Plan for West Coast of Florida: Hernando County through Collier County (7/28/10) This sampling plan identifies sample sites and types of samples that will be collected for the region from Hernando and Collier Counties. Collection types include sediment, subtidal sediment, and water samples. The approximately 59 sites identified were chosen to represent the key habitats of southwest Florida, including beaches, open water, salt marshes, and mangroves.

Southeast Florida Water and Sediment Baseline Sampling Plan (7/28/10) The purpose of this water and sediment sampling plan is to determine the background concentration of oil compounds in the southeast Florida region, prior to exposure and potential impacts from the DWH spill. The plan was developed to identify representative sites (approximately 35 sites) across the extent of the region, along with additional criteria to determine sites, including sensitivity or uniqueness of habitats, threatened and endangered species presence or habitat utilization, and the availability of historical data.

Biota Workplans:

Aerial Surveys for Marine Mammals and Turtles (5/5/10): Objective: to conduct aerial surveys using helicopters and Twin Otter aircraft to document the exposure of the diverse marine mammal community of the Mississippi canyon area to impacts from the oil spill. In addition, the flights will allow documentation of acute adverse effects, if any, through behavioral changes or distribution shifts. Data collected from the Twin Otter flights will allow quantitative estimation of the abundance and spatial distribution of marine mammals and sea turtles within the surveyed area.

Proposed Data Collection Plan to Assess Injury to Florida Manatees from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (6/9/10) Objective: 1.To estimate abundance and assess distribution of Florida manatees in areas affected by and adjacent to the oil spill (before, during and after impact); and 2. to conduct an aerial assessment of impacted areas to document locations of marine mammals in fouled areas, locate fouled, distresses or dead animals, and to inform manatee rescue efforts.

Preassessment and Data Collection Plan -Manatees out of FL Waters (6/9/10) Objectives: 1. to estimate abundance and assess distribution of Florida manatees in areas affected by and adjacent to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (before, during and after impact); 2. to conduct an aerial assessment of impacted areas to document locations of marine mammals in fouled areas, locate fouled, distresses or dead animals, and to inform manatee rescue efforts.

Proposed Data Collection Plan for LA and MS Estuarine Dolphin Stocks (6/9/10) (including Addendum) Objective: to assess polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and other contaminant exposure to dolphins associated with the DWH incident and to determine potential effects on fecundity and survival and document changes in abundance. This plan identifies the required sampling of dolphin tissues to assess contaminant exposure and hormone levels, and photo-identification mark-recapture surveys to establish baseline abundance, prevalence of calves and to identify individual animals to support longitudinal study for survival analysis. An addendum also states that biopsy samples will be analyzed for sex and stock identification. For this plan, there are 4 areas that are targeted for sampling and include: Chandeleur Sound, LA; Mississippi Sound, MS; Barataria Bay, LA; and St. Joseph Bay, FL. Sampling was planned to begin in May and continue through December.

Work Plan for the Collection of Data to Determine Impacts on Endangered and Protected Marine Mammals in the Northern Gulf (6/14/10) This plan proposes a study of sperm whales and other protected marine mammals in four areas of the deep-water habitats of the north-central Gulf of Mexico impacted by the oil spill. The study will provide information on the acute effects of the spill, monitor spatial distribution in the near-term, and develop information with which to evaluate longer-term chronic effects. Specifically, the objectives of the study include the collection of data to (1) identify the incidence of exposure to oil through photo documentation, visual and passive acoustic monitoring, and satellite tags; (2) cetacean distribution related to oil exposure or other factors through passive acoustic, satellite tags, and visual and passive acoustic monitoring; (3 )information on population demographics of Sperm and Brydes whales through tissue biopsy; (4) habitat information to characterize water column productivity and prey resources; and (5) necropsy analysis and/or sampling of discovered carcasses.

Work Plan for Estimating Mortality of Birds using Beached Bird Surveys in Louisiana (5/22/10) Objective: to estimate the rate of spill-related bird carcass deposition in beach habitat of coastal Louisiana. Since carcass deposition continues over time, periodic surveys of the same beaches are used to estimate the deposition curve for carcasses over the life of the spill.

Work Plan for Secretive Marsh Bird Mortality (6/7/10) Seabirds, colonial waterbirds, coastal marsh birds, and shorebirds may be susceptible to impacts from the oil. Several work plans have been developed to concurrently evaluate oil spill related injuries to these different avian guilds. This plan specifically seeks to address injury to secretive marsh birds (species that live in dense marsh vegetation and are difficult to see) by: 1. quantifying abundances and densities of secretive marsh bird species in un-oiled representative habitats; 2. quantifying the proportion of live oiled and live un-oiled birds in representative habitats through active capture of live individual birds; 3. estimating representative marsh bird mortality rates using radio telemetry; and 4. quantifying fiddler crab burrow densities to supplement our understanding of marsh-specific rail densities.

Work Plan for Estimating Oiling Rates among Pelagic Birds using Ship Based Surveys (7/16/10) This plan proposes to plan proposes to put bird observers on ships involved in sampling or other resource surveys in deep water in the vicinity of the spill and at locations where currents are likely to concentrate oil. The objectives are to (1) collect data describing the proportion of pelagic seabirds encountered along the ships path that are not visibly oiled or that fall into pre-defined oiling categories; (2) collect data to support an estimate of the density of seabirds along the ships path; and (3) document the location and state of bird carcasses encountered along the ships path. Methods include strip transects, point counts, and dead bird observations.

Work Plan for Aerial Surveys and Photographic Census for Birds in the Vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon (MSC 252) Oil Spill Bird Study #2 (6/7/10) Objective: to provide data to determine the number of water birds and seabirds in the region potentially affected by the DWH oil spill. It will be accomplished by aerial surveys at sea, along potentially affected shorelines, and by photographic census of breeding bird colonies. Survey types include marine, outer coast, barrier island, and near shore surveys.

Work Plan for Estimating Oiling and Mortality of Breeding Colonial Waterbirds (7/19/10) In this plan, waterbird colonies and roost sites where oiling has been recorded will be surveyed initially along the Louisiana coast in areas where observations can be made from a boat or on foot. In addition to the intensive initial focus area in Louisiana, a sample of colonies will be monitored at a lower density along the coasts of TX, AL. MS and FL. A reference area outside the of the oil spill zone will be selected. Specifically, the objectives include: (1) estimate the percentage of adult birds that are visibly-oiled within representative areas containing colonies or roosts; and (2) estimate of colony-specific mortality rates of adult birds determined via radio and satellite telemetry in both oiled and unoiled areas.

Work Plan for Determining Injury to the Piping Plover (8/4/10) The objective in this plan is to collect data that will facilitate the evaluation of potential injury of the DWH oil spill on the piping plover. The study will include the evaluation of over-winter survival on oiled and un-oiled areas in 2010/2011; evaluation of winter population abundance and distribution in the oil impact area (and reference areas) through April 2011; and the evaluation of oiling of piping plovers in the impact area in 2010/2011.

Mississippi Canyon 252: NRDA Tier I for Deepwater Communities (7/10/10) Objectives: 1. systematic photo-surveys of previously surveyed sites of mesophotic reefs, deep water corals, and chemosynthetic communities; 2. increase pre-exposure baseline data for biota at non-oil exposed sites, if any; 3. obtain tissue samples to document exposure, abnormalities , further NRDA assessments; 4. document and measure other initial injuries; 5. deploy two new sediment trap moorings at sites ; and 6. retrieve passive oil samplers (SPMDs), deployed previously.

Shallow Coral Tier 1 Plan (7/26/10) This work plan has three major objectives with a geographic focus for documenting baseline conditions for shallow water corals, including documenting baseline/pre-impact condition of: 1. shallow-water corals along the Florida Reef Tract; 2. shallow-water corals in the Florida Middle Grounds; and 3. shallow-water corals in the East and West Flower Garden, Stetson, and Sonnier Banks. Each method focuses on different aspects of the ecosystem and generates unique measurement endpoints.

Preassessment Plan to Determine Potential Exposure and Injuries of Nesting and Hatchling Loggerhead Sea Turtles (8/2/10) The purpose of this Plan is to determine potential exposure to DWH oil and dispersants and associated injuries of the nesting adult loggerhead turtles that reside in and nest along the U.S. shores of the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the DWH spill. Objectives: 1. assessing nesting female physical condition, inter-nesting movements and blood chemistry, egg and hatchling toxicity; and hatching and emergence success as a function of concentrations of DWH oil; and 2. measuring chemical, toxicological and physiological levels for DWH oil and constituents in sand samples, nesting females, eggs and hatchlings along beaches in the Gulf of Mexico to evaluate potential exposure to oil and determine if there is a concentration gradient of oil across the study area.

Preassessment Plan to Determine Potential Exposure and Injuries of Nesting and Hatchling Kemp's Ridley Turtles (9/7/10) The purpose of this Plan is to determine potential exposure to DWH and dispersants and associated injuries of the nesting adult Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles that reside in the Gulf of Mexico and nest along the Texas shoreline. The objectives include: 1. Assessing nesting female physical condition, inter-nesting movements, and blood chemistry as part of the normal annual assessment. In addition, the Plan calls for assessment of potential egg and hatchling toxicity impacts and hatching and emergence success to determine the potential relationship between MC252 oil exposure and injury; and 2. assessing possible toxicological and physiological effects and impairments in nesting females, eggs, and hatchlings along beaches in the Gulf of Mexico within Texas.