June 3, 2010
Mr. David Hayes, Deputy Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Dear Mr. Hayes and Dr. Lubchenco:
We are now more than 40 days past the explosion and sinking of the BP Deepwater Horizon drill rig and the start of the on-going oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. I am writing today to share some thoughts and concerns in regard to the planning for and implementation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and, in particular, the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA), which is now underway. Ocean Conservancy understands and affirms the importance of a strong NRDA program in order to document the injury, provide a basis for fully compensatory restoration, and improve understanding of and responses to future spill events. Toward this end, our scientific staff and science advisors have been working in the spill-impacted Gulf region, seeing the area first-hand and talking to people about the science needed to document its impacts.
We appreciate how difficult it is to design and field a damage assessment program during the initial emergency response to a spill, and we know that the NRDA teams in your respective departments have worked hard to do just that. As the NRDA program moves beyond the rapid assessment and planning phases, however, we hope that the federal trustees, in cooperation with state trustees and BP, will take stock of what is in place and look to where and how the program should proceed over a longer time horizon.
Based on the experience of our scientific staff and science advisors with the Exxon Valdez oil spill and other spills, such as at North Cape in Rhode Island, we offer the following comments, questions, and suggestions:
1. Be as transparent as possible—as quickly as possible—with the public in regard to what studies are being conducted and what is being learned. The information gathered and analyzed through NRDA studies is a critical part of the response to this disaster and should be highly visible. The people from whom we are hearing understand that it is too early to know what the injuries are beyond immediate, acute mortality; but they want to know what the governments are studying. We ask that you lay out your plans for stakeholder engagement in the NRDA process, make study plans available as quickly as possible, and provide public briefings on the scope and content of the program.
2. Incorporate external peer review into the process as early as possible. Empanel a board of outside experts to look at the overall NRDA program, as well as individual component studies, to help fine-tune them and identify what is missing or could be added to enhance their value. Ongoing, external peer review is essential to the credibility of the NRDA program.
3. Require integration among studies and across disciplines. Not only does this facilitate more efficient use of funds and people, it is essential for the quality and validity of the science and the conclusions that will be drawn.
4. Following on the preceding item, require NRDA projects to be designed from a long-term ecosystem perspective—not just to detect short-term injury to individual resources. It is critical that the NRDA projects be designed to detect indirect, lingering, and chronic effects across Gulf ecosystems over a period of years.
5. Ensure that studies are designed with sufficient sampling to maximize statistical power and the ability to detect change. Sampling adequacy is essential for the quality and validity of the science and the conclusions that will be drawn. This is no time to skimp on sampling; both the analysis and the efficiency of NRDA scientific studies depend upon an adequate array of samples.
6. Draw on local and traditional knowledge and resources in designing and implementing NRDA projects, and develop “citizen science” participation to complement and supplement the NRDA studies. Examples range from consulting local experts in regard to study designs, hiring charter boats and commercial fishing vessels as sampling and research platforms, and deploying affected fishermen to gather samples in the field (with appropriate training, sampling, and chain of custody protocols). This key step will not only help make the NRDA process more transparent but also provide opportunities for affected Gulf residents to make direct contributions to the damage assessment work.
7. Identify possible restoration measures early, so that studies can be designed to provide the information needed to evaluate and move forward with restoration options. It will be important to cast the net widely in terms of restoration options, and this will require public input and considerable effort to help people understand what is and is not possible and appropriate in the NRDA-based restoration program.
8. Conduct and support studies on the health, socioeconomic, and emotional/spiritual impacts on Gulf residents and oil cleanup workers. Although the NRDA program will necessarily emphasize damage to ecosystems and their restoration, the Gulf spill has profound consequences for the people of the affected areas. Understanding the harm they
are experiencing and implementing measures to assist them are fundamental to an effective and compassionate restoration effort.
Ocean Conservancy has worked in the Gulf region for more than 30 years, and we are committed to seeing the ecosystems restored and the people affected by the spill made whole. We appreciate how difficult this NRDA program will be, both scientifically and in terms of communication and public information; but we believe that a full, aggressive NRDA process is critical to recovery. Our organization is ready and available to help, and you will find attached a more detailed document on “Lessons Learned from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill,” which Ocean Conservancy’s science staff and advisors have prepared as additional guidance.
We would welcome the opportunity to learn more about the scope and content of the NRDA program—including transparency, public information, and stakeholder engagement—as well as to share our expertise and otherwise assist in this endeavor.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dennis Kelso
Executive Vice President
