Oil Spill Assistance
Oiled Piping Plover |
For a number of years SNEP has provided assistance to the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Area Committee in Providence, Long Island Sound and New York – New Jersey Harbor. SNEP biologists provide biological expertise for prioritization of sensitive habitats and the protection of "Trust Species" and Service Lands during an oil spill accident along the coast; this information is critical for the Coast Guard's Oil Spill Contingency Plan and other efforts.
The importance of such planning cannot be underestimated in terms of its value to the coastal environment: 4 billion barrels of oil and 2 billion barrels of gasoline move through the Port of Providence zone annually, as do 173 vessels, 40-60 cruise ships and 3.6 million ferry passengers. These statistics pale to the larger ports of Long Island Sound and NY – NJ Harbor.
SNEP biologists have served in several regionally significant oil spills which include four major spills: World Prodigy, North Cape, B120 Oil Spill and Athos I. SNEP biologists have assisted as the Federal Response Coordinator at B120 Oil Spill in Buzzards Bay, as Chief of Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation efforts at several spills, and in December 2004 our senior biologist was detailed to the Athos I spill on the Delaware River as an offshore reconnaissance boat captain and wildlife rescue team leader/boat operator.
In late 1999 and 2000 SNEP Senior Biologist worked with the RIDEM and Research Planning Inc. to produce “Tidal Inlet Protection Strategies for Oil-spill Response for the Coast of Rhode Island”. This document provides in depth resource-at-risk and protection strategies for 55 coastal ponds, inlets and salt marshes.
