Abstract

Oil Spill Response Planning: Coastal and Marine Environmental Sensitivity Mapping
Track: Ocean, Coastal, and Marine Resources
Authors: Simon Ross, Maarten Kuijper

In the wake of the Gulf Spill many oil and gas companies are revisiting their spill response plans for both new and existing developments. Key to successful planning is understanding where the potentially sensitive environmental resources are, both on the coast and in the marine environment.

Based on the most recent IPIECA guidelines ERM has developed an initial desk-based mapping and sensitivity classification approach, using existing data sources and remote sensing interpretation as a pre-cursor to more detailed field surveys. This approach enables rapid assessment of potentially sensitive locations.

In addition to providing the analytic tools and central data repository, a GIS web application and supporting map services provide access to all project data and metadata. Web editing tools enable client and contractor personnel to plot and share proposed locations for response resources (e.g. staging areas) during the response planning stage. This aproach dramatically reduces reliance on traditional paper mapping.