Disabled T/B DBL 152 vessel discharges oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2005.
Download here (Credit: ENTRIX, Inc.)
N.O.A.A. today released a outline damage assessment and restoration project addressing environmental injuries from the 2005 Tank Barge DBL 152 oil spill in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
The outline project describes the steps N.O.A.A. has taken to see if natural resources, such as marine habitats, were injured by the nearly 2 million gallon spill, as well as the extent of those injuries. The spill began on November 11, 2005 when the Tank Barge DBL 152 struck submerged remains of a pipeline service platform that collapsed during Hurricane Rita approximately 50 miles southeast of Sabine Pass, Texas.
"Sometimes effects of oil spills are immediate and clearly visible, but often the effects are less obvious and require expertise and time to properly evaluate," said Troy Baker, NOAA's Assessment and Restoration Division acting southeast branch chief who has been leading this project, "Developing this outline project and the review period for it is the next step in an ongoing process."
The outline project also describes environmental restoration suggested by N.O.A.A. to compensate the public for environmental injuries resulting from the oil spill. To help address this, N.O.A.A. has suggested estuarine shoreline protection and a salt marsh creation plan at the Texas Chenier Plain National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Galveston Bay. Once the project is finalized, N.O.A.A. would apply to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund -- which is funded through costs and penalties recovered from polluters as well as taxes on the petroleum industry -- to fund the restoration.
Public comments on the outline project may be submitted by mail or electronically through April 15. Written comments may be sent to: NOAA, Office of General Counsel, Natural Resources Section, Attn: Chris Plaisted, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4470, Long Beach, California 90802; or electronically at http://www.regulations.gov (Docket I.D.: NOAA-NMFS-2013-0034). The Restoration Project is accessible at: http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/southeast/dbl152/admin.html
Following the public review period, N.O.A.A. will consider any comments received and release a final restoration plan. This review period is the last step before restoration plans are selected and backing is sought from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
As a designated natural resource trustee agency under the Oil Pollution Act, N.O.A.A. is authorized to act on behalf of the public under federal law to assess natural resource damages and recover the costs for those damages. Costs recovered are then used to Project and implement actions to restore, replace or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources injured by the contamination.
NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.
