Date: June 7, 2007 

Oil Spill Response Training to be Held
*Media Availability* 

MIAMI - Personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Carolina Department Health and Environmental Control, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Department of Natural Resources and representatives from the oil industry and oil spill response industry will participate in an intense five-day training course administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration beginning Monday at the Marine Corp Air Station in Beaufort, S.C.

Approximately 30 people will receive training that focuses on coastal oil spills and aftermath shoreline assessments.  The course, conducted by the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration's Emergency Response Division, will feature sessions by Dr. Jacqueline Michel , Dr. Miles Hayes, Brad Benggio, and others who are part of NOAA's Scientific Support Team for oil spill response. This team of scientists has worldwide spill experience, including the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska, the New Carissa grounding off the Oregon coast, the Prestige off the coast of Spain, and the 1993 Tampa Bay Oil Spill.

The training will focus on eight major objectives:

 1. understanding how oil behaves and how it affects sensitive resources including different shoreline and habitat types

 2. review of various response options and use decision criteria

 3. discussions of spill modeling techniques and other computer-based tools used for spill planning and response

 4. systematic techniques for conducting effective shoreline cleanup assessments

 5. field exercises to demonstrate and practice shoreline assessment methods

 6. prepare members of the spill community for participation as a member of Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team

 7. development of suggestions for local area committee projects and initiatives

 8. provide for open exchange of ideas, concerns, and priorities between USCG, the State, resource trustees, and industry

The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration's Emergency Response Division, formerly Hazardous Materials Response Division, supports emergency response and restoration activities for oil and hazardous chemical spills, provides preparedness aids for response communities, and offers training on the scientific aspects of oil and chemical spill response.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Field class portions of the training will be conducted Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Media interested in covering a portion of the field training should contact Brad Benggio at (206) 849-9923.

For further information about the course sponsors please visit:

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/

http://www.uscg.mil/d7

http://www.gadnr.org/

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