M1 AM Delaware River/Bay
Monday, 14 November 2005: 8:00 AM - 11:40 AM in Ballroom 1

(KRE-1117-815635) Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration and the Athos I Oil Spill – One Year Later.

Krest, S¹, Hoff, J², Sacco, J³, Sneath, S⁴, Fike, J⁵, Hartle, M⁶, Capouillez, B⁷, Hossler, R⁸, ¹ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Annapolis, MD, USA² NOAA, Silver Spring, MD³ New Jersey DEP, Trenton, NJ, USA⁴ PA DEP, Norristown, PA, USA⁵ PA DCNR, Harrisburg, PA, USA⁶ PA Fish and Boat Comm., Bellefonte, PA, USA⁷ PA Game Comm., Harrisburg, PA, USA⁸ DE Fish and Wildlife, Port Penn, DE, USA

ABSTRACT- Natural Resource Damage Assessment is a process used to determine the nature and extent of injury to trust resources caused by an oil spill or release of a hazardous substance. This process is being used by the Trustees (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Department of the Interior through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware) to assess injury and determine appropriate restoration activities resulting from the Athos I Oil Spill. This spill occurred on November 26, 2004, when a single-hulled vessel struck submerged objects lying on the bottom of the Delaware River. As a result, approximately 265,000 gallons of heavy Venezuelan crude oil were spilled and affected 214 miles of shoreline, marsh, and benthic habitat. Also impacted were birds and other wildlife, and recreation. The shipping channel and Salem Nuclear Power Plant were temporarily shutdown. The Trustees have formed a Joint Assessment Team and five Technical Working Groups, including a Bird and Wildlife Group; Shoreline Group; Aquatic Group; Lost Recreation Use Group; and a Legal Group. The Trustees are working cooperatively with the Responsible Party. Activities associated with these groups will be discussed. (Please note because this is an on-going case, some information cannot be shared at this time.)

Key words: NRDA, Oil Spill, Delaware River, restoration