NRDA Trustees Extended Comment Period for Draft Phase IV Early Restoration Plan; Sea Grant Seminar – Impacts of Oil on Coastal Habitats; Gulf Coast Vulnerability Assessment Public Review; Introducing Gulf Star

According to the press release issued June 16, 2015, “The Deepwater Horizon oil spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees (Trustees) have extended the public comment period for the Draft Phase IV Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessments (Draft). The Draft proposes an additional 10 early restoration projects with an estimated cost of $134 million across Read More

Deepwater Horizon Spill tied to Gulf Dolphin Deaths; Public Comment Opportunity; FIO Job Opportunity

Latest NOAA study ties Deepwater Horizon oil spill to the spike in Gulf dolphin deaths. Studies completed by independent and government scientists have found signs of illness associated with exposure to petroleum products, particularly in the form of rare lesions on their lungs and adrenal glands, in many of these bottlenose dolphin deaths. As stated Read More

Final Version of NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program’s Science Plan Released

From their announcement, “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released the final version of the science plan for the NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program.  The plan establishes ten long-term research priorities which will guide how the program invests its funds and explains how prior needs assessments for the Gulf of Mexico region and Read More

Senate Hearing – 5 Years After Deepwater Horizon: Improvements and Challenges in Prevention and Response

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will convene on April 29, 2015, at 9:30 AM ET for a hearing entitled, “Five Years After Deepwater Horizon: Improvements and Challenges in Prevention and Response.” More details including the witness list and live streaming can be found here.  Read More

House Hearing: Safety since Macondo; Reports Addressing Oil Spill Impacts by BOEM and TNC

Tomorrow, April 22, 2015 at 9:30 AM ET the House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources will be holding an oversight hearing on “Innovations in Safety Since the 2010 Macondo Incident.” The hearing memo including the witness list can be found here.  The hearing is available for live streaming here.   The Bureau of Ocean Read More

External Science Reviews of Gulf Restoration Council’s Proposals Available for Viewing

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council is currently evaluating submissions for potential funding under the Council-Selected Restoration Component. As part of this process, each submission was evaluated with respect to Budget, Science, Environmental Compliance, and consistency with the RESTORE Act and the Council’s Initial Comprehensive Plan. Context reports, including that of the external science review Read More

GISR Database of Oceanographic and Hydrocarbon Data Collected in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf Integrated Spill Research Consortium database of oceanographic and hydrocarbon data collected in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon spill is available for use. It is an online data repository that contains individual datasets pertaining to the Deepwater Horizon incident, as well as aggregate and standardized view that span multiple datasets. You can Read More

National Wildlife Federation releases report “Five Years and Counting: Gulf Wildlife in the Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster”

National Wildlife Federation addresses the status of the Gulf of Mexico in their new report, Five Years & Counting: Gulf Wildlife in the Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. Particularly, they look at how 20 types of wildlife are faring in the aftermath of the BP Oil Spill. While it may be years before we Read More

FL DEP Seeking Comments on Gulf Environmental Benefits Fund; Launch Restoration Project Tracker

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is now seeking comments on their future plans for National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Gulf Environmental Benefits Fund. You can view their presentation on the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund 2015 Cycle here. As requested in the last page of the presentation, comments due to Kelly.samek@myfwc.com by March 23, 2015. Read More

NRDA Trustees Respond to BP Report Addressing the Health of the Gulf of Mexico

This week BP released the report, Gulf of Mexico Environmental Recovery Restoration. In a message from Laura Folse, Executive Vice President, she states, “Areas that were affected are recovering and data BP has collected and analyzed to date do not indicate a significant long-term impact to the population of any Gulf species.” Many are saying Read More