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Case: Cooper River, M/V Everreach, SC

Date of incident: September 30, 2002.

Location: Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.

Trustees:

Case status: Restoration Planning.

Overview:

On or about September 30, 2002, #6 fuel oil was discharged into the waters of the Cooper River and Charleston Harbor, in South Carolina, from the containership M/V EVERREACH as that vessel prepared for or left the harbor for its next port of call. The volume of oil discharged has been estimated to be approximately 12,500 gallons. The distribution of oil was predominately concentrated along the western shore of the Cooper River between the Interstate 526 Bridge and the Cooper River Bridge, in the vicinity of the North Charleston Terminal and the Old Navy Base piers and docks, but other shoreline areas were also exposed to the oil in varying degrees. In all, the oil ranged over approximately 30 linear miles of shoreline comprised of a variety of shoreline types, including tidal flats, fringing marshes, intertidal oyster reefs, sandy beaches and manmade structures (i.e., docks, piers, bulkheads), and their associated sediments. The oil spill also resulted in the oiling of a number of shorebirds, a shellfish bed closure, and a temporary disruption to recreational shrimp-baiting in area waters. The natural resource damage assessment is being pursued under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (Draft RP/EA) for the 2002 M/V EVERREACH Oil Spill was released for public review on July 24, 2009 by NOAA and its natural resource co-Trustees, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, acting for the United States Department of the Interior. The Draft RP/EA summarizes the injuries to natural resources that likely occurred as a result of the discharge. The Draft RP/EA also presents restoration actions that the Trustees consider appropriate and are proposing be implemented to compensate for the ecological injuries caused by the spill. Public recreational uses of some resources were also disrupted, and those losses assessed, but restoration planning to address recreational losses will occur after those damages are recovered. Comments on the proposed restoration plan will be accepted for 30 days (through August 24, 2009). Comments received during the public comment period will be considered before adopting a Final RP/EA for the ecological injuries.

For more information, contact Howard Schnabolk at Everreach.Comments@noaa.gov or 843-740-1328.

 



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