State R & D Programs

Some states maintain active oil pollution R&D programs or have oil spill response offices that work closely with academic institutions in their respective states. This page provides descriptions and links to these state programs.

Program  Description  Links / Documents
Texas General Land Office The Texas General Land Office is a national leader in oil spill research. Groundbreaking work on oil dispersants, shoreline cleaners, bioremediation and high-frequency radar have been funded by the Land Office research and development program. Through the R&D program, the Land Office is improving response technology and developing alternative methods for removing oil from coastal waters. www.glo.texas.gov/what-we-do/
caring-for-the-coast/oil-spills/
research-development.html
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) As a result of judgments entered in the criminal cases for the Exxon Valdez oil spill, funds were appropriated for use by the State of Alaska to enhance the ability of the State and industry to respond to oil spills. A total of $2,500,000 was made available to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for projects under this program. The funds are used for research programs directed toward the prevention, containment, cleanup and amelioration of oil spills in Alaska. In cooperation with other stakeholders, DEC has developed a list of over thirty research and development projects dealing with such subjects as cleanup technology, non-mechanical response techniques, the fate and effects of spilled oil, oil-spill contingency planning and preparedness, spill response training, incident-management systems and spill prevention. Research has been conducted by Alaska oil-spill response cooperatives, private consultants, universities, and other State and federal agencies. www.dec.state.ak.us/spar/
perp/research.htm
Louisiana Oil Spill Research and Development Program The Louisiana Applied and Educational Oil Spill Research and Development Program (OSRADP) is a part of the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, Office of the Governor. The OSRADP's mission is to provide the Oil Spill Coordinator with peer-reviewed, scientifically valid tools in the following four categories:
  • spill-of-opportunity;
  • education, training and public awareness;
  • mapping; and sensing
  • spill response, cleanup and harmful ecological consequences.
 		 www.osradp.lsu.edu/index.html
Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force   The Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force was authorized by a Memorandum of Cooperation signed in 1989 by the Governors of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California and the Premier of British Columbia following the Nestucca and Exxon Valdez oil spills. These events highlighted their common concerns regarding oil spill risks and the need for cooperation across shared borders. In June 2001 a revised Memorandum of Cooperation was adopted to include the State of Hawaii and expand the Task Force's focus to spill preparedness and prevention needs of the 21st century. Now in its second decade, the Task Force provides a forum where its members can work with stakeholders from the Western U.S. and Canada to implement regional initiatives that protect 56,660 miles of coastline from Alaska to California and the Hawaiian archipelago.   Website:
www.oilspilltaskforce.org/
Document:
 
California Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response  As both a prevention and response organization, the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) has the Department of Fish and Game's public trustee and custodial responsibilities for protecting, managing and restoring the State's fish, wildlife, and plants. It is one of the few State agencies in the nation that has both major pollution response authority and public trustee authority for wildlife and habitat. This mandate ensures that prevention, preparedness, restoration and response will provide the best protection for California's natural resources.   www.dfg.ca.gov/ospr/Science/  
Minnesota - National Crude Oil Spill Research Site Minnesota - National Crude Oil Spill Research Site Description: The National Crude Oil Spill Research Site dates back to 1979, when a dramatic pipeline rupture released 10,000 barrels of crude petroleum to the land surface and shallow subsurface. In 1983, research began at the site through the support of the U. S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Toxic Substances Hydrology Program. Continuing USGS support has allowed hundreds of scientists from across the globe to visit this "underground observatory" and study the effects of a terrestrial crude oil spill including the physical, chemical and biological processes driving the degradation and transport of crude petroleum. Research from the site has been included in more than 200 scientific papers. In 2008 and 2009, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Enbridge Energy LLC, the USGS and Beltrami County created several agreements to formally establish the "National Crude Oil Spill Research Site in Bemidji, Minn." The objective of these agreements is to create a self-sustaining research facility that brings academic researchers and practitioners (consultants, petroleum and pipeline industry representatives and pollution control officials) together thereby linking novel ideas to practical, on the ground applications.   

 

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Last Modified: 8/28/2017