ixtoc-i oil spill damage assessment program-1979

8/9/2019 Ixtoc-I Oil Spill Damage Assessment Program-1979

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IXTOC-I OIL SPILL

D M GE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

A Cooperative Federal and Sta te Program

Revised October S 1979

Prepared by:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationand

U S. Environmental Protect ion Agency Region 6

In cooperation with the followingFederal and State agencies:

U S. Department of the In t e r io r

Bureau of Land ManagementFish and Wildl ife Service

National Park ServiceU s. Geological Survey

Sta te of TexasDepartment of Water Resources

Bureau of Economic GeologyParks and Wildl ife Department

General Land OfficeCorpus Chris t i State Universi ty

Texas A I Universi ty

Texas A M Universi tyUniversi ty of Texas


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CONTENTS

Lis t of Tables and Figures

Acknowledgments

Executive Summary

I Introduct ion

I I Goals Object ives and Benefi ts

I I I Technical Approach

IV Ongoing MonitoringV Management Plan

VI Schedule

VII. Budget Summary

Appendix I Proposed Projects

Appendix I I Agency/ Personnel Par t ic ipants inPreparat ion o f EnvironmentalDamage Assessment Plan


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Figure I I 1 .

Figure I I 2 .

Figure I I I 1 .

Figure I I I 2 .

Table IV 1.

Figure V 1.

Figure VI 1.

Table VII 1 .

T BLES ND FIGURES

Objectives and General Benefits ShowingExamples of Specif ic Benefi ts Received

Benefi ts and Selected Users

Step by Step Process in Decision Making

Information Flow of Damage AssessmentProgram

Ongoing or Completed Monitoring Studies:IXTOC I Oil Sp i l l

Program Management Organization

Chronology of IXTOC I Oil Sp i l l andProposed Research Program

Funding Requirements in Mill ions of Dollarsfor Program Element of Damage AssessmentProgram by Years


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CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The contr ibut ions made to t h i s plan by individuals and organ i zat ions aregrea t ly appreciated and acknowledged. A complete l i s t of par t ic ipantsin t h i s e ffo r t i s included in Appendix 2

Special appreciat ion i s extended to Corpus Chris t i Sta te University forsupport f a c i l i t i e s and to the IXTOC I Damage Assessment Team who ac t ive lypar t ic ipa ted by dedicat ing endless days and nights to t h i s e ffo r t

This plan i s dedicated to the one individual who worked her f ingers tothe bone Dolly Ulna

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EXECUTIVE SUMM RY

The purpose of th is proposed cooperat ive federal and s t a t e programi s the assessment of damages to northwest Gulf of Mexico resourcescaused by the IXTOC I o i l s p i l l Oil has impacted the U.S. offshoreareas, barr ie r beaches and i n l e t s from Brownsville to f i f t een milesnorth of Aransas Pass. Although the seasonal change to southerly currentsi s now cur ta i l ing addit ional impacts, the expected sh i f t to northerlyflow during February w i l l again threaten the U S. coast with o i l par t icu lar lyi f attempts to control the well are unsuccessful.

State and federal respons ib i l i ty for assessment of damages frompollut ion incidents of t h i s type stems from l ega l mandates which designateagencies as publ ic t rus tees and protectors of the Nation s natura lresources. The damage assessment program coordinates the federa l /state/non-government response to the environmental and socioeconomicimpacts of the IXTOC I o i l s p i l l

The goal of the Damage Assessment Program i s to:

EVALUATE THE D M GE TO NORTHWEST GULF OF MEXICORESOURCES RESULTING FROM THE IXTOC I OIL SPILL.

To achieve the program goal, i t i s necessary to assess the impactson spec i f ic components of the ecosystem. The following f ive object ivesare formulated to meet the respons ib i l i t ies of federal and s t a t e governments:

• Assess potent ia l impacts on human heal th• Assess impacts on commercial and recrea t iona l f ishery resources• Assess impacts on marine mammals birds , and endangered species• Assess socioeconomic impacts• Develop an improved management and sc i en t i f i c approach to

damage assessment

Successful completion of the program object ives wi l l provide thef i r s t comprehensive evaluation and quant i f ica t ion of the t o t a l impact ofa major o i l s p i l l on nat iona l resources. s such i t wi l l provide thebasis for improved policy and management act ions within both governmentand private sectors .

The proposed approach focuses on important resources as determinedby economic use or l ega l mandate which have been ident i f ied as beingimportant by l eg i s l a t i ve mandate or economic use. Emphasis i s alsoplaced on habi ta t s and food resources known to be required to maintainthese important resources. A monitoring phase has been establ ished totrack o i l dis t r ibu t ion and quanti ty in water, sediments and biota , tohelp es tab l i sh leve ls of impact, and to determine the need for furthers tudies . Program elements wi l l be carefu l ly integrated to achieve af ina l damage assessment product.

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A program management plan has been designed to ensure tha t theprogram meets i t s objectives. In accordance with th i s plan, a ProgramManager selected from the lead agency NOAA), w i l l have responsibi l i tyfor the overa l l direction of damage assessment effo r t s , and wil l beass is ted in th is task through in terac t ion with two advisory committees,a sc ien t i f i c management team, a data management team and an administra-t ive group.

Budget requirements for the damage assessment program include4.2 mill ion during the f i r s t year and 5.6 mill ion to be dis t r ibuted

over the following two years for a t o t l of 9.8 mill ion to be requestedn supplemental funds.

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INTRODUCTION

Since 3 June 1979 a blowout on the dr i l l i ng r ig IXTOC I in the Bayof Campeche has resu l ted in the release of approximately 3 mill ionbarre ls of o i l in to the Gulf of Mexico. Attempts a t d r i l l i n g r e l i e fwells or capping the well have been unsuccessful to date. No r e l i ab leestimate of when the flow of o i l from the wel l may be stopped i s avai lable .The IXTOC I incident has resu l ted in the l a rges t s p i l l into the marineenvironment ever documented. In comparison the Amoco Cadiz s p i l lwhich caused s igni f icant environmental and economic damage along theFrench coast in 1978 released approximately 1.5 mi l l ion ba r re l s .

From June to September o i l was car r ied northward by Gulf currentsand has impacted the coas ta l environments of Texas. A mid-Septemberchange in prevai l ing winds and currents has caused the o i l to remain inMexican waters cu r t a i l i ng addit ional U.S. impacts. In February thecur ren ts a re expected to resume t he i r northward flow and the o i l wi l lagain threaten the U. S. coast l ine pa r t i cu l a r ly i f IXTOC I has not beencontrol led.

Oil from the IXTOC I s p i l l i s affec t ing a large geographical areaand a multitude of loca l and regional i n t e re s t s . Potent ia l ly impactedby the s p i l l i s a 2 b i l l i on tou r i s t industry and a 600 mil l ion commercial f ishery . In addit ion several threatened and endangered speciesmay have been affected. Given the extent and divers i ty of the affectedresources a cooperative damage assessment program which recognizes asmany in teres ts as poss ib le i s the only prac t i ca l means by which todevelop a comprehensive and accurate evaluat ion of t o t a l damage. Lackingsuch an evaluat ion i t i s d i ff i cu l t to separa te fac t from conjecture.Many questions wi l l go unanswered and future planning wi l l be ser ious lyhampered.

The damage assessment plan presented here i s designed to employs t a t e and federal multiagency capabi l i t ies under uni f ied di rec t ion norder to:

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measure o i l - re la ted in jury to resources in the NorthwestGulf coas t ;

est imate t o t a l losses i n terms of dollars orunquantif iable values; and

3 . improve techniques and methodologies for damage assessmentby evaluat ing the present program and developing ageneric model for future s p i l l s .

Results of the damage assessment pa r t i cu l a r ly the quanti tat ive est imateof losses , wi l l a s s i s t resource managers i n balancing the r i sks andbenef i t s of proposed act ions.

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HISTORICAL B CKGROUND

Over the past 15 years there have been a number of s p i l l s aroundthe world for which some kind of damage assessment has been attempted.Most of these studies have been aimed a t individual research questionsor a t a single aspect of the fundamental damage assessment problem.Even so the damage assessment problem has undergone considerable con

s t ruc t ive evolution as the following examples i l l u s t r t e .In U. S. waters the f i r s t major s p i l l for which damage assessment

was attempted was the Santa Barbara well blowout in 1969. The SantaBarbara studies focused on massive morta l i t i es of various types ofmarine fauna . In the l i t i ga t ion tha t followed the Sta te of Californiasued the o i l companies involved for damage to the s t a t e natura l resourcesand economy and for loss of taxes and proprietary income. A compromiseset t lement was reached without a lega l determination of the propermeasure of governmental damages.

A s p i l l from the barge Florida in West Falmouth Harbor Massachusettsin 1969 was the f i r s t major s p i l l for which an integrated sc i en t i f i c

assesssment was attempted. The study was concerned mainly with impactsto the benthos of Buzzards Bay Massachusetts and did not include anyassessment of economic damages. The data were never used to supportl i t i ga t ion .

A damage assessment following the NEPCO 140 barge o i l s p i l l in theSt. Lawrence River in 1976 was conducted during the 2 year period followingthe discharge. Study areas were ident i f ied by an In te rna t iona l Jo in tTeam which also served as a s teer ing committee throughout the durat ionof the s tudy. This team was the by-product of e ffo r t s sanct ioned in theNational Contingency Plan. Primary study object ives included assessmentof the s p i l l impact upon indigenous biological populat ions detect ion ofresidual petroleum hydrocarbons within affected ecosystems determination

of the extent of bioaccumulation of hydrocarbons assessment o f socioeconomicimpacts upon loca l communities and synthesis of the technical findingsinto a decis ion document for use by agencies as a management tool . Thestudy met i t s object ives and the resul t s have been published in a f ina lreport .

In 1976 the Argo Merchant ran aground off the coast of Massachusettssp i l l i ng 170.000 barre ls of No. 6 fuel o i l in to the northwest Atlant ic .Within 2 days a massive sc i en t i f i c invest igat ion began coordinated bythe NOAA/USCG Spil led Oil Research Team. The Argo Merchant s p i l l s tudiesalthough sc i en t i f i ca l ly sound were inconclusive and did no t for themost par t quantify impacts on natural resources in the region. Neverthelesst h i s sc i en t i f i c e ffo r t was the f i r s t step toward damage assessment

contingency planning in the United States. NO and EPA in a series ofj o in t ly sponsored workshops around the country assembled sc i en t i f i cinformation re la ted to o i l s p i l l s for both information exchange and thedevelopment of a coordinated system for assessing damages. In addit iona National Scient i f ic Team was created to respond to major s p i l l s ands p i l l s of spec ia l i n t e re s t with the following object ives:

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• to give sc ien t i f i c advice to the Federal On Scene Coordinator• to provide a framework for damage assessment• to take advantage of the research opportunit ies afforded by the

s p i l l

Scient i f ic support coordinators named by NO for the Gulf ofMexico and Southeast Atlantic, Alaska, and the Pacif ic 'Northwest have

been responding to s p i l l s for the l a s t 18 months. Spil lage of o i l fromthe barge Peck Slip off northeastern Puerto Rico in 1978 provided thef i r s t t e s t of the resources and planning of the sc ien t i f i c teams.

The outcome of a damage assessment of the Colocotroni s p i l l offthe southwestern coast of Puerto Rico in 1973 set legal precedent forthe use of sc ien t i f i c data to compensate for environmental damage.D i s t r i c t Judge Juan Torruella calculated the monetary value of thedamage by multiplying the number of organisms ki l led by a per-organismreplacement cost ( taking the low end of a range between 6¢ and 4.50from a biologica l supply cata log) . A judgement of 6.2 mil l ion wasentered against the defendant for damage to 20 acres of mangrove swamphabi ta t . Although assessment data were not su ff i c i en t to support

claims for a l l the associated losses , th i s decision established a basisin Federal common law for assessing natura l resource damage from a s p i l lof o i l or other toxic substance.

When the super tanker Amoco Cadiz was grounded on the coast ofBri t tany, France in March 1978 and subsequently broke up, i t releasedwhat was a t that time the greatest single s p i l l in maritime his tory,(1.5 mil l ion barre ls) . The spi l lage and spread of o i l to the beachesand wetlands was aggravated by strong onshore winds and high t ides . Twohundred and ten miles of the Br i t tany coas t were direct ly affec ted bythe s p i l l

Two dis t inc t s tudies of damage from the Amoco Cadiz are being

conducted--an ecological study of o i l impact and an economic investigation(conducted by NOAA of French losses through f isher ies , tourism, andindi rec t effects on the economy. Methodogical advances in economicdamage assessment from the l a t t e r investigation w i l l be employed in theproposed damage assessment, which in tegra tes the contributions (andconst ra in ts ) of chemical oceanography, biology, and economics.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

Although progress has been made in the techniques of managingdamage assessment, a quantum jump i s ca l l ed for within the context ofthe massive threat to resources posed by the IXTOC I s p i l l Due to thedis tance of the s p i l l from the study area, more lead time has been

avai lable for planning and implementation than in past inc idents . Thishas made i t possible to involve numerous federal and s ta te agencies inthe planning process and to adopt an in tegra ted approach which i s aimedtoward defined objectives and which wil l make optimum use of programfunds. Addit ionally, in view of the fac t that o i l s p i l l damage assessmenti s s t i l l in a formative stage, the IXTOC I s p i l l should be exploi tedful ly for a l l opportunit ies to develop r e a l i s t i c ways of quantifyingecological damage. Loop (Louisiana offshore o i l por t ) , the f i r s t superport

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in the Gulf of Mexico i s scheduled for completion next year. The TexasDeep Water Port Authority i s seeking approval for construct ion of asuperport previously known as Seadock off the Texas Coast. Additionalproposals for inshore deepwater port f a c i l i t i e s a t Galveston Texas andHarbor Is land Texas remain act ive. ny major o i l s p i l l from ei ther ofthese locat ions could severely impact na tu ra l resources in the proposedstudy area. mong the returns from the proposed program wi l l be thecreat ion of a permanent program plan t ha t can be act ivated quickly nfuture s p i l l s and a data base of fac tua l information on which resourcemanagers can base decisions concerning s imi la r offshore o i l and gasdevelopment.

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GOALS OBJECTIVES ND BENEFITS

The ult imate goal of the proposed damage assessment program i s toevaluate damage to the resources of the northwest Gulf of Mexico resu l t ingfrom the IXTOC I o i l s p i l l . Accomplishing the object ives of th i s programwi l l resul t in a number of benefi ts examples of these benefi ts arepresented in Figure I I -1 ) . I t i s these benef i t s tha t dic ta te the needfor the damage assessment program. ~ p e c i f i c a l l yprogram object ives areto:

• Assess potent ia l impacts on human hea l th• Assess impacts on commercial and recrea t iona l f i sh ing resources• Assess impacts on marine mammals, bi rds , and endangered species• Assess socioeconomic impacts• Develop an improved management and sc i en t i f i c approach to

damage assessment

The benefi ts tha t r e su l t from accomplishing each of these object ives arepresented below.

l ) Improve Public Awareness of and Decision Making with Respectto the Risks of Oil-Related Marine Act iv i t ies

In weighing benef i t s and r i sks of a proposed ac t iv i t y, thebenef i t s are usual ly immediate and cer ta in , while the r i sks invol v eprobabi l i t i es and unexplored causal re la t ions . Quantif icat ion ofdamages, where possible , and ident i f ica t ion of in jury to nonquant i f iab le values wi l l f a c i l i t a t e d i r ec t comparison of the r i sksand benef i t s of a proposed o i l development. This comparison wi l lgo in to the environmental impact statement required by the NationalEnvironmental Policy Act. Decisions on proposed o i l - r e l a t ed marinea c t i v i t i e s , such as OCS lease sa les , deep water ports , and coastalref iner ies , wi l l be improved by a comprehensive est imate of damagefrom a major o i l s p i l l based on s c i e n t i f i c a l l y val id and economically respectable methods. Such a damage est imate wi l l alsoa s s i s t Congress and s t a t e l eg is la tures in making laws on o i l s p i l ll i a b i l i t y. Invest igat ions of past o i l s p i l l s have been of sc i en t i f i ci n t e r e s t , but have not provided the comprehensive, quant i ta t iveloss est imate which the proposed damage assessment wi l l provide.

2) Protect Consumer Health by Assuring Quali ty Products

By law, s t a t e and federa l agencies are mandated t ensure thehea l th and safe ty of the populations within t he i r j u r i sd i c t i ons .

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Beneflta

Protect MaintainConsumer ConaiJIIM rllealth Confidence

Ob.J ec t1 ves

ActiveAssess Potential I ~ ~ p o u n d a r k e tforImpacts on Adultered (;ulf CoaetHu111an llealth Fishery Fishery

Productl Product•

Assess l •pactson Cotnnaerdaland RecreationalFishery R e s o u r c e ~

H

iAssess Impactson Marineh a • a l s Birds,and EndangeredSpecies

Deter. ine

Assess Effecta of

Soc ioeconomlc Losa ofImpacts Seafood .in

SeafoodProducts

Uevelnp anlaaprove •.

a n a ~ > o e n tandSctent J.r I.e r.ontinued ContinuedAppro 1cl1 to :•rotcctton ltaintenanceDamage Assess- of Consumer of Consumerment liealth Confid ence

Support Support SupportFishery and Coastal Regulatory Provide Prev"ent andWildlife Use and Basis for MitigateH a n a g e ~ ~ ~ e n tManagement Legis a t l ve Co•pensation ResourceDecisions Decisions Processes for D1111111ges Daaasea

Assist Easy l .D.Support Judicial of PotentialMandatory Process for HealthClosure of l leal th Proble111sElllhayments Settlement Related toto Fishing Claims Future Spil l

Support NewAdju s t Zoning Loss toFishing Ordinances Fi&hery" ReduceSeasons in I rohib t ng Data Fishinglleavily Encroachment Avallable Pressurelq>scted Bays of Residence for Econo tdc in Coastal& Estuaries Upon Lagoons Adjuster Lagoons

Reduce Establ ishRelocate Public Support for PermanentTurtle Brood Pressure Reduced "Loss of BirdStock to On Dredging of Birds Data CleaningUnhtpacted Impacted Channels in Available Capabil l tyBreedin& Rookery Impacted for Economic in Key Re-Sites Areas Areas Adjuster source Areas

Pr01a0te l.oss toR ec r ~ t at l o n a l Beach Vis1t01Dev elopment Days" Datain Noncri t l - Availablecal Resourc e {or EconomicAreas Adjuster

Better BetterBetter B e e r Support of A Cont l nually Pr e vention lo}lanase•cnt of tlanagetaent Regulatory I&Dprovtng J ga ionFishery and of Coastal and Bash of of Resour ce sWild He Use Legislat ive Compel"'sation From DamagesResources Procetlses for Damages By a Spil l

Figure 11-1. Objectives and General Benefits ShowingExamples of Specif ic Benefl ts Received

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PublicAwarenessof RiskAuoclatcd

lnfonnation with OCSTransfer Deve o p ~ ~ e nt

Rapid

Awarenessof Extension Risk toAgents of lluMl:lnSPotential From or sContaminatlo Development

Risk toCoowerclal &RecreationalFishin & Re-sources fro111o


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The heal th of the general public can be threatened by oil-contaminatedfoodstuffs reaching the commercial or recrea t iona l f i shery markets.Damage assessment provides a means by which potent ia l hazards topublic heal th can be evaluated, and by which mit iga t ive and preventivemeasures may be taken i n t h i s and future s p i l l inc idents .

3) Maintain Consumer Confidence i n Seafood Products

Commercial f i sher ies account for approximately s ix hundredmill ion dollars in the loca l and regional economies of the northwestGulf of Mexico For a large segment of the population of th isregion, t h i s commercial resource represents the so le source ofincome Widespread knowledge tha t public hea l th i s potent ia l lyendangered by the presence of contaminated f i shery products in themarketplace resul t s in a loss of confidence in the f i shery market.Without the damage assessment program, i t w i l l be d i f f i c u l t toprovide fac tua l information to the public concerning t h i s o i ls p i l l .

4) Support Fishery and Wildl ife Management Decisions

Fish and wildl i fe populations are among the most importantnatural resources . Bil l ions of dollars per year are contr ibuted toloca l economies in the northwest Gulf region as a r e su l t of theseresources tourism, recreat ion, and commercial i n t e re s t s ) . Whilei t may not be possible to prevent damage from the o i l s p i l l othermeasures can be taken tha t mitigate or reduce i t s impacts. Theproposed damage assessment w i l l f a c i l i t a t e fu ture m i t iga t ion e ffo r t s .

5) Support Coastal Use Management Decisions

s wi ld l i fe and f i sher ies are one of the most important l iv ingnatural resources, so a lso must the coas ta l zone be considered oneof the most c r i t i c a l nonliving resources. Population centersnatura l ly develop along the coasts and serve as focal poin ts forna t iona l and in te rna t iona l commerce I t i s important tha t there bea compatible mix of commercial and noncommercial uses of theseareas. Public opinion weighs heavily n decisions on how coas ta la reas a re used. The public has a need and r ight to know how eventssuch as o i l s p i l l s a ffec t the coas ta l zone, so t ha t decisionsconcerning coas ta l zone use can be judged from fac tua l information.

6) Provide a Basis for Compensation for Damage to Living andNon-living Resources

Losses to the public and pr iva te sectors from the o i l s p i l lmay reach many mill ions of dol la rs . The damage assessment programw i l l document and quantify these losses so tha t some form ofcompensation can be made to par t ies who experience losses caused bythe o i l s p i l l .

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7) Support Regulatory and Legislat ive Processes

A number of s t a t e and federal agencies are mandated by law toprotect the l iv ing and nonliving resources of our coastal zones.The assessment program provides for inputs from these agencies andt he i r par t ic ipa t ion in a unif ied e ffo r t so tha t t he i r i n t e re s t s are

taken into account and the object ives of t he i r mandates are sa t i s f i ed .

(8) Faci l i ta te Prevention and Mitigat ion of Future Oil Sp i l l Damage

With increased development of offshore o i l and gas resources,i t i s very l ike ly tha t large o i l s p i l l s wi l l continue to occur.Information gained in the assessment of damage by the IXTOC I s p i l lwi l l improve our ab i l i ty to mit igate damage from future o i l s p i l l s .

(9) Information Transfer to Fishery Association, Extension Agents,and Po l i t i ca l Bodies

Because the f i sher ies are an important natural resource around

the country, t h i s industry must be well-informed of the impacts tof i sher ies created by o i l s p i l l s . Disseminating t h i s informationwi l l enable those involved in the f i shery industry to develop t he i rown contingency plans for s imi la r s p i l l incidents .

10) Evaluation of Damage Assessment Program Design

The damage assessment program i s important to a wide spectrumo f users , including numerous federal and s t a t e agencies (Figure I I -2)as well as other public and pr iva te organizat ions. The continuousevaluation of the program design w i l l allow the documentation o f the v a l i -

i t y and l imitat ions of various types of data se ts and samplingapproaches for quant i fying changes in resources potent ia l ly a t r i s k

from sp i l led o i l .

(11) Improve Techniques of Economic Damage Estimation for Policyand Legal Uses

Economics i s the disc ip l ine t ha t t rans la tes measured environmentalimpacts into a standard uni t of value useful for policy and lega lpurposes. Some o i l effec ts bearing direc t ly on commercial a c t i v i t i e scan be evaluated by t rad i t ional economic methods. To obtain acomprehensive measure of o i l s p i l l damage, new economic approachesmust be developed to put a dollar value on non-market environmentalresources. NO i s now engaged i n t h i s development process inconnection with the Amoco Cadiz s p i l l . Economists t rans la t ional

ro le wi l l involve them in feedback to the bio logis t s to obtain thedata needed for input to economic models. The economists involvedwith the IXTOC I damage assessment w i l l also look forward to thel ega l problems of proof of damages and the types of decis ion thedamage assessment wil l ass i s t to make the product most useful .This in tegra t ion of na tura l science through economics to a publ ic lyuseful product wi l l be a major benef i t of the proposed damageassessment.

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12) Information Transfer to Managers of In t r i n s i ca l ly ValuableMarine and Coastal Environments

Certain marine and coastal environments have an i n t r in s i cvalue ar i s ing from public opinion and l ega l mandates. In thenorthwest Gulf, these environments include the Flower Gardens cora lreefs , Padre Is land National Seashore, Aransas Wildl ife Refuge andother areas of loca l , s t a t e and national importance. Habitats tud ies discussed in the Fisheries and ey Species sec t ions wi l lprovide valuable information on the kinds of damage suffered bythese environments.

13) Produce Information Useful in Direct ing Effor t s to ImproveTechniques for Cleanup, Prevention and Mitigat ion of OilSpi l l s

While no studies spec i f ica l ly address improvement of technologyfor cleanup, prevention and mit iga t ion measures, i t i s anticipatedt ha t one of the benefi ts of the program wi l l be to point out theareas where more study i s needed. Specif ical ly, more study i sneeded in the ident i f ica t ion of pathways of damage. The ident i f ica t ionof pathways of damage wil l a s s i s t the Coast Guard and the EnvironmentalPro tec t ion Agency, the agencies responsible for improving cleanup,prevention and mitigat ion technology, in a l loca t ing t he i r researchand development funds.

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TECHNIC L PPRO CH

The damage resu l t ing from the IXTOC I o i l s p i l l wi l l ult imately bere f lec ted in impacts to man. Impacts may include loss of income fromdecreases in f i she r i e s tourism and recreat ion; impaired heal th; anddamage to non commercial wild l i fe such as bi rds and endangered species .The purpose of t h i s program i s to assess these impacts and recognizetha t a viable program must be l imited to resources tha t a re eas i lyident i f iab le . Technical measures of resource losses must be t rans la tedinto a common standard of value to be most useful to decis ion makers andthe public . By t h i s means the study elements of the program can befocused on a coherent endpoint defined by losses to human values .

Decision Making

Successful management of a damage assessment program depends uponthe development of standardized c r i t e r i a to support decis ion makingrequirements. Several important steps are included in making decis ionsin the technical management. Examples of major steps in managementdecis ions are:

o the locat ion and fa te of o i l i n re la t ion to spec i f ic resources

o necessary data se t s which may be feasibly obtained in orderto meet the object ives of damage assessment

o the appropriateness and qual i ty of proposed program studies

o the s tandard iza t ion and ca l ibra t ion of procedures equipmentand analyses

o p r i o r i t i e s of a l loca t ing ava i lab le funds among necessaryprojects

o the appropriate phasing of i n i t i a t i o n of the accepted proposals

o the methods of data handl ing and in tegra t ion of informationinto the f i na l damage assessment product

Decisional respons ib i l i ty wi l l be organized according to the managementplan. Through the combined e ffo r t s of the Objective CoordinatorsScience and Program Advisory Committees the Program and Data Managementa standardizat ion of c r i t e r i a for decis ion making wi l l be developed.Figure I I -1 summaries the stepwise decis ion process which wi l l a ff ec tthe content and qual i ty of data collected in the damage assessmentprogram .

Program Elements

The program elements required to achieve these object ives arebr ief ly defined below.

I I I -1


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l

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0

1

l

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0

I

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START

TRACE OIL FATETO OBJECTIVES

Figure I I I 1 . Step by Step Process inDecision Making

HUMAN HEALTH

FISHERIES

MARINE MAMMALSBIRDS E N D A N G E R I IED SPECIES

SOCIOECONOMIC

L' PROVED DAMAGEASSESSMENTAPPROACH

EXAMINE AVAILABLE BASELINED T

EVALUATE BASELINE LEVELS OFVARIATION

I I I 2


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30/75

Figure I I I 1 . Continued

YES

DESIGN DATA SETS NEEDED( S ~ L I N G / S T A T I S T I C S )TOHOW GREATER TH.A. ' BASELINE

~ E V E L SOF VARIATION AND ORCAUSALITY

CAN

DATA BE

COLLECTED WHICHCAN BE EFFECTIVELY

COMPARED TO

BASELINE DATA?

NO

YES

DETERMINE FEASIBILITY FOREACH DATA SET

DESIGN MONITORING OFOBVIOUS EFFECTS SHOWING

ACUTE CAUSALITY

u

DANALYZE

THE RETURNSPER COST OR EFFORT

CHOOSE AND PRIORITIZEDATA SETS

RELEASE REQUEST FORPROPOSALS

RECEIVE PROPOSALS

I I I 3

NO

E L I M I ~ T EFROM

OPERATIONAL PROGRAM


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l

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NOIS STUDY

APPROPRIATETO

OBJECTIVES?

YES

STANDARDISE CALIBRATEBASELINE AND OTHER OBJECT

STUDIES

DESIGN TRANSLATION OF D TPRODUCTS INTO ECONOMIC/LEGAL TERMS ND FORM T

Figure I I I 1 .Continued

YES

~ I N ESAMPLINGANALYSIS PROCEDURES

ND QUALITY OF CONTROLSFOR E CH D T SET IN

PROPOSAL

III 4


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n]

1. The Potential Impacts to Human Health

Crude o i l contains many components known to be toxic to man . Acutetoxic i ty to humans wil l probably not be encountered since object ionablet a s t e and odor wi l l v i r tua l ly el iminate the consumption of foodstuffsgrossly contaminated with o i l residues. At the same t ime the L ~ T O Io i l contains components that may be carcinogenic. These carcinogenic

compounds and t he i r metaboli t ies may be accumulated and re ta inedn

theedib le t i ssue of harvested f i sh and she l l f i sh and represent a pathologicalthrea t a t contamination l eve ls which would probably not be detected byconsumers. I t i s not feas ib le to i n s t i tu t e the extensive and long-termhuman epidemiological s tud ies which would be required to prove t h i s kindof heal th impact. However i t i s poss ib le to address potent ia l r i sksof t h i s s p i l l to human health. The necessary s tud ies would includeanalyses of the f ishery products being consumed and est imates of ther i sks associated with hydrocarbons and other o i l const i tuents of metaboli t iesfound in those products.

2. Commercial and Recreational Fisheries

The primary measure of the impact of the IXTOI

s p i l l on thef ishery resources wi l l re ly on a careful analysis of catch/effor t s t a -t i s t i c s compiled by the Gulf States and the National Marine Fisher iesService. The assessment i s complicated however in tha t these catchs t a t i s t i c s f luctuate from year to year due to natural or other non-sp i l lre la ted causes. I t i s es sen t i a l therefore tha t the resul t s of thedamage assessment program show a l i nk between the o i l s p i l l and anyreductions in the f i sher ies populations at t r ibuted to the o i l Theestablishment of t h i s l i nk wi l l r e su l t from a coordinated biological andchemical sampling program which includes observations for h i s topa thologica land genetic aberrat ions. This program w i l l provide ind i rec t evidencethat i den t i f i e s the IXTO I o i l as the cause of the f i sher ies impacts.

Because impacts to f i sher ies resources are d i f f i c u l t to documentusing population surveys the proposed projects wi l l focus on organismals tudies and the inves t iga t ion of food and habi ta t parameters whichprovide essent ia l support to the f ishery populations. The organismalstudies include histopathological analyses toxic i ty bioassays andbehavioral studies.

In past s p i l l s i tua t ions the environmental s tud ies pursued were ofsc ien t i f i c in teres t but had no defined endpoints did not es tab l i shcause and effec t relat ionships and were not in tegra ted with otherre la ted work. To assure tha t the proposed s tud ies a t t a in the presentprogram objec t ives only those environmental factors which are essent ia lto the growth and surv iva l of important f i sh and she l l f i sh populations

w i l l be invest igated. For example cer ta in habi ta t types within theGulf coast ecosystem have been ident i f ied as important to the survivaland growth of commercial f i sh and she l l f i sh larvae for cover she l t e rand food. In the Laguna Madre these habi ta ts include seagrass bedsmangroves and s a l t marshes; on the Gulf side of the bar r i e r i s landsystem the i n t e r t i da l infauna and nearshore ner i t i c species form animportant par t of the die t of some f i shes . Offshore the soft-bot tom

I I I -5


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the hard bottom and reef communities are essent ia l to the production ofcommercial f i sh . While recognizing tha t i t may not be possible toes tab l i sh exact correspondence between the number of acres of habi ta tdestroyed and the number of adult shrimp l o s t as a resul t of the s p i l lby assessing the changes o i l brings about in the avai lab i l i ty or functionof these support fac tors some ind i rec t evidence can be presented t ha tprovides a l i nk between resource damage and the IXTOC I s p i l l .

3. Impacts to Key Species

Key species are animals tha t may or may not have a direc t economicor ecological importance but which have an i n t r in s i c value establ ished bynational policy. This category includes marine mammals bi rds andendangered species . Assessing impacts on these species wi l l involvestudies s imilar to those outl ined in the previous sect ion. Because manyof these species occup y the beaches for pa r t i f not a l l of t he i r l i veso i l impacts to beach habi ta t s wi l l receive major emphasis in achievingt h i s object ive. Certain organismal and chemical studies on non-endangeredspecies wi l l be required to support the habi ta t and population surveys tud ies .

4 . Socioeconomic Impacts

Socioeconomic impacts can be evaluated in terms of market-valuedresources nonmarket resources and regional impacts . Market-valuedresources are goods and services tha t are commonly bought and sold andthus already have establ ished dol lar values. Spil led o i l potent ia l lyaffec ts such market-valued resources as the commercial f i sher ies catchthe t ou r i s t industry f ishing gear and boats .

The economic damages to market-valued resources may be derived fromsuch conventional s t a t i s t i c s as expendi tures to restore or replacedamaged equipment and the loss in net revenue to the affected sec tors .Baseline data for many of the market-valued resources already ex i s t .The pr inc ipa l research e ffo r t wi l l be di rec ted a t quantifying changesfrom basel ine l eve ls of ac t iv i t y .

s dist inguished from market-valued resources nonmarket resourcesare goods and services tha t are produced and consumed without any exchangeon organized markets. Spil led o i l potent ia l ly affec ts a very wide arrayof nonmarket ac t iv i t i e s and rQsources including tourism recrea t ionrecrea t iona l f ishing aes the t ics endangered species wi ld l i f e andhuman heal th. Measurement of the economic value of nonmarket resourcedamages i s d i f f i c u l t and must re ly upon innovative and imaginativeresearch techniques.

Regional impacts r e f e r to the secondary economic impacts from thes p i l l . Changes in the s ize of commercial f i shery landings have secondaryimpacts on f i sh processors wholesalers. r e t a i l e r s and wages of workers i nthe f ishing industry as well as on suppliers o f gear and other supportto the commercial f ishing sector. Similar ly reductions in tourism andrecreat ion wi l l have repercussions on res taurants regional gasol ineou t l e t s and a host of other suppliers to the t ou r i s t sector.

I I I -6


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5. Improved Damage Assessment Program

I t i s recognized tha t assessment of damage from o i l sp i l l s is are la t ive ly new process with a developing matrix of s c i e n t i f i c and management exper t i se . While the present program owes a grea t deal to pastassessment programs, much remains to be learned. Although i t i s designedfor the assessment of the IXTO I s p i l l the present plan i s intended todevelop a generic model tha t can be applied to future s p i l l s . The planand the management s t ruc ture u t i l i z e inputs and par t ic ipa t ion by loca l ,s t a t e , and federal agencies. Under t h i s program element, sc i en t i f i c andmanagement reviews by object ive evaluators from outs ide the program wi l lbe used to continuously update and improve the program plan to ensuretha t data col lec t ion i s s t a t e -o f - the -a r t and s c i e n t i f i c a l l y sound, andtha t management i s e ff i c i en t i n meeting program object ives.

Changes made during implementation of the present program or recommendedfor future damage assessments wi l l be documented and made avai lable toregulatory agencies and oil-response decision makers to f a c i l i t a t eimproved est imation of losses from future o i l s p i l l s .

Program In tegra t ion

There wi l l be coordination of a l l the program elements with economiststo assure tha t the bio logica l pro jec t s wi l l produce the da ta needed asinputs to the economic models to t rans la te environmental impacts intoeconomic damages. Figure I I I -2 depicts .schematical ly the flow of informationfrom the bio logica l program elements through the socioeconomic elementto produce a f ina l damage assessment. This product flows from thesocioeconomic program element as dol la r values are a t tached to thedamaged market, non-market, and regional resources.

The human hea l th s tud ies wi l l assess the hea l th r i s k from theconsumption of hydrocarbon-contaminated f i sh products and di rec t exposureto IXTO I o i l . Economic evaluation of these heal th r i sks uses data oncontamination of the f i shery products and expert opinion on heal thr i sks . Through techniques t ha t sample consumer preferences, an economicloss can be attached to the hea l th r i sk to workers and the generalpublic .

The next program element examines impacts on commercial and recreat ionalf i she r i e s . One object ive i s to estimate the e ff ec t of IXTO I o i l onpresent and future catch/effor t ra t ios of Gulf of Mexico commercialf i she r i e s . Data generated through th is program element wi l l be used asan input to the socioeconomic s tud ies , which wi l l eva lua te commercialf i sher ies losses as one of the market commodities damaged by the s p i l l .Findings on commercial f i sher ies w i l l ass i s t in determination of recreat ionalf i sher ies losses.

The other biological program element focuses on non-fishery wildl i fe .Such wi ld l i f e , including marine mammals birds , and endangered specieshave t angib le value to soc ie ty ; numerous examples ex i s t in which valuablegoods and services have been expended to view, study or preserve them .Establ ishing the economic value of any injury to these species wi l l beextremely d i f f i c u l t but i t i s hoped tha t interviews with recrea t ionis t sand others impacted by the o i l s p i l l can be used to es t ab l i sh socie ty swill ingness to pay to prevent such damage.

I I I - 7


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ONGOING MONITORING:

IV

OIL DISTRIBUTION OIL FATE ND ACUTE BIOLOGICALEFFECTS

Optional development of damage assessment s tud ies depends upon theknowledge of o i l dis t r ibu t ion and fa te . I t i s th i s informaion whichforms the foundation fo r decis ions concerning i n i t i a t i o n or cont inuat ionof damage assessment s tud ies including other monitoring projec ts . Suchinformation a l so inf luences the complexity of these a c t i v i t i e s

In order to meet the damage assessment objec t ives a monitoringprogram has been implemented to determine o i l dis t r ibu t ion fa te andacute bio log ica l effec ts ; the monitoring object ives pa ra l l e l those ofthe general damage assessment. The program represents the essent ia lf i r s t step to ensure tha t necessary information i s ava i lab le fo r effec t iveimplementation of the damage assessment e f f o r t In addi t ion to determiningwhether or not o i l has been deposited in resources of concern theprogram i s expected to resu l t in the development of improved o i l fa te monitoringtechniques for future use. Complete and ongoing monitoring s tud ies forthe IXTOC I incident are l i s t e d in Table IV-1.

IV 1


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1.

2.

3.

4.

5 .

6.

7.

8.

9.

Table IV-1

Ongoing or Completed Monitoring Studies: IXTOC I Oil Sp i l l

Collect ion and analysis of i n t e r t i d a l and bar/ t rough core samplesfrom Rio Grande to Aransas Pass.Prespi l l : July 1979Postsp i l l : September 1979J . W Tunnell Corpus Chris t i Sta te University

Use of color infra-red photography to monitor wetland vegetat ion.Presp i l l Overflight: August 1979Postsp i l l OVerflight: September 1979R. Benton Texas A M Universi ty

Collect ion and analysis of beach infauna samples from Rio Grandeto Port Aransas.Prespi l l : July 1979Postsp i l l : August 1979 September 1979Research Planning I n s t i t u t e Inc.

Vulnerabi l i ty index and beach prof i les .Completion: September 30Research Planning I n s t i t u t e Inc.

Directory of sc i en t i f i c personnel and bibliography of ava i lab lel i t e ra tu re .Completion: December 1979J W Tunnell Corpus Chris t i S ta te University

Documentation of dis t r ibut ion and abundance of bi rds in four areas :Aransas Pass South Padre to Mansfield Pass MalaquiteBeach to Mansfield Pass Mustang Is land to South PadreIs land.Ongoing.B. Chapman, Corpus Chris t i Sta te University

Monitoring of commercial f i sh products for o i l contamination.Ongoing.National Marine Fisheries Service United Sta tes Food and DrugAdministration Texas Department of Health and Texas Parks

and Wildlife Department.

Monitoring of she l l f i sh for hydrocarbon contamination.I n i t i a l sampling: September 1979P. Parker Universi ty of Texas

Forecasting of o i l movement in the western Gulf of Mexico.In i t i a t ed : 12 June 1979G Galt Hazardous Materials Response Program/NOAA

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00

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Table - Continued

10. Underwater o i l search and survey MOUSSE I .Duration: August 4-8 1979T. Amos, Universi ty of Texas

11. Study of ~ o n c e n t r t i o ngradient of hydrocarbons along the TexasMexican C?ast MOUSSE I I .Duration: Mid-August 1979Universi ty of Texas and Energy Resources Company

12. Study of physical chemical and bio logica l e ffec ts of IXTOC I o i l .Cruise durat ion: 6-27 September 1979D. K. Atwood NO

13. IXTOC I chemical character izat ion and acute biological effec tsstudies .Project i n i t i a t ed : July 1979

Report issued: August 1979P. Parker University of Texas

IV-3


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M N GEMENT PLAN

Program Management

A program management organizat ion Fig. V-1) has been designed toensure that the damage assessment program meets user needs, i s comprehensiveand can command and coordinate l l necessary sc i en t i f i c and administra-t i ve support funct ions.

A Program Manager having overa l l t echnica l and administrat iverespons ib i l i ty for the program wi l l be suppl ied by the lead agenc y , theNat ional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA). This personwil l ensure tha t damage assessment a c t i v i t i e s sa t i s fy program object ivesand are developed and implemented ~ planned.

Reporting to the Program Manager are two Advisory Committees Programand Scient i f ic ) , the Scient i f ic Management Team, the data managementgroup and the administrat ive group.

The Scient i f ic Management Team wi l l ac t as the executive body ofthe discipl inary working groups. The Team wi l l consist of f ive object ivecoordinators and two support coordinators ; and wi l l be supported by as t f f which wi l l function as a communication l ink among the operat ionalgroups. The Team wi l l be responsible for working with pr inc ipa l invest igatorsand other Team members to ensure the in tegra t ion and coordinat ion of l lsc i en t i f i c ac t iv i t i e s . The Team wi l l be responsible for es tab l i sh ingpr io r i t i e s and c r i t e r i for studies which are consis tent with programobject ives.

A Program Advisory Committee wi l l be made up of representat ives ofs t t e and federal agencies. The Committee wil l suggest modifications ofprogram object ives, coordinate intergovernmental projects and evaluateprogram accomplishments.

A Scient i f ic Advisory Committee wi l l be comprised o f s c i e n t i s t sfamil iar with the Gulf of Mexico and assessment of damages . The Committeew i l l s s i s t in ident ifying research needs and information requirementsin addit ion to reviewing proposals for technical meri t .

Data Management

Management of data acquired within the framework of the DamageAssessment Program consists of es tab l i sh ing and monitoring schedules forthe col lec t ion , processing, val ida t ion , and archiving of data for agiven t a sk and re la t ing tha t task to other tasks within the Program.

V-1


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Specif ic da ta management funct ions m y be defined as :

1.

2.

3.

4.

Establishment of c r i t e r i for information products required bythe various users .

Design and implementation of standardized methods of recordingand report ing f i e ld and laboratory data .

Design of data organizat ion for t imely and cost effec t iveaccess.

Data reduct ion, val ida t ion and analysis of data for the variousprogram par t ic ipants and potent ia l users .

The data management system supports both short- term response andthe long-term damage assessment. The short- term response July 1979-January 1980) wi l l be fu l ly compatible with the data processing ac t iv i tyo f a cent ra l archive f c i l i t y and wi l l input information to tha t f c i l i t yfor the long-term program.

The long-term program i s designed to conduct or support data ana lys i s ,report writ ing,and wi l l provide a feedback mechanism to allow fo radjustments of f ie ld researeh programs. The program wi l l be designed tosupport quick access to the archive data v ia general ized inqui r ies . Int h i s way analysis of data re la t ing to o i l damage can be eas i ly a t ta ined .

V J


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VI

SCHEDULE

The chronology of the IXTOC I s p i l l and proposed damage assessmentprogram are shown in Figure VI-I. The s p i l l i s unique because of i t slocat ion in Campeche Bay 500 to 600 miles from U S. waters. Thisdistance creates uncer ta in t ies associated with forcast ing the spa t i a land temporal dis t r ibu t ion of the o i l because of complicated geographicand seasonally generated variances in wind and current pat terns. Addit ionaluncertainty stems from not knowing when the wild well wi l l be broughtunder control . Oil was t ransported into U s. offshore and coastalareas during August and September 1979 by prevai l ing summer winds andcurrents from the south. The expected autumn current reversa l hasoccurred and i s preventing further apparent in f lux of IXTOC I o i l in to

U S. waters. However secondary oi l ing impacts may resu l t from physicalchemical and/or biological processes which cause red is t r ibu t ion of o i lalready present within U. S. boundaries; the durat ion of such impacts i sindef in i te .

Currently the damage assessment program i s in an intensive planningphase with the completion of the f ina l program plan scheduled forOctober 5 1979 and a dra f t technical plan for mid-October. Supplementalfunding wil l be requested to enable implementation of the program; u n t i lsuch funds become ava i lab le f inancial support for p ro jec t s which cannotbe delayed must be obtained from individual agencies . Several immediatelyneeded basel ine and monitoring studies have been i n i t i a t ed since July1979 u t i l i z ing exist ing funds within various agencies . Some projects

have been completed while others are s t i l l underway. Additional immediatestudy needs have been i den t i f i ed i n Appendix 2 and wi l l be s ta r ted assoon as agency funding can be obtained.

Program evaluat ion w i l l be continuous in order to ensure tha ta l t e rna t i ve approaches to damage assessment wi l l be examined . Formalprogram review by the management s t f f and i t s advisory groups wi l loccur a t quarter ly in te rva ls to make cer ta in the or ig ina l focus of theprogram wi l l be retained. At the conclusion of damage assessment c t i v i t i e s ~a c r i t i c l evaluat ion of the en t i r e e ffo r t w i l l be incorporated in thef i na l repor t and wil l serve as a guide for future s p i l l damage assessments.

VI-1


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c=J L C J c: :J r = J c: :J c=J c:::J c:::J C::.: c : : J c : l c:::J C J . . - . . . ; _ _

<t-1

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1979 1980 98 11982 983

JUN I JUL I UG I SEP I OCT I NOV I DEC JAN 1 F ~ rM R 1 APR 1 M YBLOWOUT CAPPING RELIEF WELL 1

?OILING OF

- -I u.s. AREAS II NORTHERN CURRENTS I SOUTHt:RN I - ---------- CURRENTS NORTHERN CURRENTS

I SECONDARY OILING ? ) 11OILING OF U.S. AREAS

OILING OF OTHER COASTLINES

? . .

CLEANUP OF SPILLED OIL U.S.) ? )t - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _________ ... .... . ___ ~PROGR M DEVELOPMENT PLAN

I lTECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

1 I ~

INDIVIDUAL GENCY FUNDING1- _ _ _ _ _ IMMEDIATE PROJECTS t

SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING

I IMMEDIATELY NEEDED STUDIES 1

I STUDIES TO \ ~ I TFOR SUPPLa ENTAL FUN DSI

Figure VI-1. Chronology of IXTOC I o i l s p i l l andproposed research program

_.


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VII

UDGETSUMM RY

Funding requirements for the program elements of the damage assessmentprogram by years i s shown in Table VII-1. t i s expected t ha t approximately

4.2 mil l ion wi l l be needed during the f i r s t year, the remaining 5.6mil l ion wi l l be dis t r ibuted over the following two years.

The budget est imate accounts for monitoring of s p i l l movementuptake of hydrocarbons within various resources and ac tua l damage assessmentstudies for various resources. Program and data management elements areincluded.

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Table VII-1. Fundingprogramyears .

Program Elements

Human Health

Fishery Resources

Marine M a m m a l s ~Birdsand Endangered Species

Socioeconomic

Improved Approaches

Support function:Chemistry

Program Management

Data Management

TOTALS

requirements in mill ions of dol la rs ) for theelements of the Damage Assessment program by

Year 1 Years 2 and 3 Total

178 3 4 1

734 319 1 53

1 38 1279 2317

353 277 63

167 333 5

734 1166 19

547 1 95 1642

47 94 141

4,2 21 5 ~ 6 3 9 ~ 8 5 3

VII -2


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]

D

]APPENDIX

PROPOSED PROJEC S

JI

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c J L....:: c= c J c l C J r - - - c::J c J c::J C J C J c:::J c=JPOTENTIAL IMP CTS TO HUM N HE LTH

r- - · .. . ··- . · · - -Iate to be CostProjec t Tit le Duration Completed Thousands Scope o f Work. · - .aL.Dollal:.s)

1 . Organoleptic screening of 1 1/2 years 1980 31 Dockside laboratory productGulf of Mexico seafoods qual i ty tes t ing of commercial

landings of se lec ted f i n andshe l l f i sh

2 . Survey of petroleum 3 years 1982 320 Determination of .amount andresidues in se lec ted type of hydrocarbons presentGulf of Mexico f i shery in f i sh and she l l f i sh samplesspecies maintained by NMFS

3. Monitoring of petroleum 1 year 1980 so Monitor of o i l derived compoundsuptake in humans in body f lu ids of huma ·ns exposed

to sp i l l ed IXTOC I o i l a t wel ls i t e


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r - - ··

Projec t Ti t l e

1 . Effects of IXTOC I o i lon commercially importantpenaeid shrimp and se lec tedf inf i sh .

2. a) Time ser ies ana lys i sof commercial shrimplandings data

b) Time ser ies ana lys i sof ground f i sh data

c) Time s e r i e s analysisof commercial menhadenlandings

3. Assessment of hydrocarbonimpact on eggs of menhaden

4. Impact of IXTOC I o i l onpost - la rva l shrimp andla rva l f inf i sh

5. Survey of commercial f i shand she l l f i sh for h i s to -pathologica l morphologicalabnormali t ies

: C - . c:::l I c::J

IMPACTS TO FISHERY RESOURCES

Duration

1 year

1 year

1 year

1 year

3 cruises

3 years

1 year

c::::J c J t : : : l

Date to beCompleted

1980

Nov. 80

Nov. 80

Mar. 81

Dec. 79Jan. 80Feb. 80

1982

1980

; ,__ . , ;... ..._ .

Cost(Thousandsaf n n l l A r Q \

190

60

65

18

40

200

90

c : l L..:

Scope o f Work-

Laboratory toxic i ty s tudies( le thal and sublethal) todetermine e ff ec t s on variousl i f e s tages of shrimp andse lec ted f inf ish .

Impact of o i l on 'catch effor tfor shrimp.

Impact of o i l on catch effor tfor se lec ted groundfish.

Impact of o i l on catch e ffo r tfor menhaden.

Testing v iab i l i t y of menhadeneggs and l a rvae subjected tohydrocarbon t reatments.

Monitor changes in abundanceof post - la rva l shrimp and la rva lf inf i sh as they enter Texas bays.

Determine his topa thologica l andmorphological changes and ab -normal i t i es i n examinedf i sh and she l l f i sh using micro-scopic techniques.

....__. : _ _ J

- 1


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c: :J c:::J L r--1 - . . r - 1 r 1 . i r l r-1 r - 1 : - - f l o r - - 1 c : J

IMPACTS T MARINE MAMMALS BIRDS, ND ENDANGERED SPECIES (Continued)

~ ; = r Date to beProjec t Ti t l e ..... Duration j_ OII>pleted

6. Assessment of effec ts ofo i l on migratory waterbirds

7. Assessment of the effec tsof o i l on the reproductivesuccess o f sea t u r t l e s

8. Toxicity, histopathologyand o i l f ingerpr in t ingfor b i rds a ffec ted by o i l

9. Effect of o i l on Fal l andSpring migration rou tes ofbi rds

10. Assessment of the effec tsof o i l on other endangeredspecies (Whooping crane,bald eagle , brown pel icanand a l l i g a t o r .

3 years

3 years

3 years

1/2 year

3 years

1982

1982

1982

1980

1982

Cost(Thousands

· n f n n 11 .. r ' : '

850

150

750

125

30

Scope o f Work

Assess effec ts o f o i l on repro-ductive success, dis t r ibut ion ,behavior and population l eve lsof migratory waterbirds alongaffec ted shore l ines .

Determine how o i l - affec ts repro-duction of sea t u r t l e s , behaviorphysiology and hatching success.

Laboratory t e s t s of e f f e c t s ofP ~ 1 E Xo i l on hatchabi l i ty o feggs, and on t i ssues , includingf ingerpr in t ing of the o i l .

Assessment of present F a l l andSpring migration movements ofmigratory coas ta l bi rds in re-la t ion to the d i s t r i bu t i on ofo i l .

Examination o f d i r ec t o i l ing ofind iv iduals , ingestion throughfood items (where carcases arefound), determination of theeffec t of o i l on essent ia lhabi ta t , and the effec ts ofo i l on reproductive success.


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IMPACTS TO MARINE MAMMALS BIRDS ND ENDANGERED SPECIES Continued)

/

· · ··

- n -

1 IDate to be Cost I

Projec t Ti t l e Duration Completed Thousands Scope o f Work·- ·- o f D o l l a r s _

11. Assessment of o i l on 1 year 1980 180 Assess effec ts of o i l onessent ia l habi ta ts i n es tuar ine product iv i ty.Nueces/Corpus Chris t i Provide comparison withBays, Texas base l ine data , and possibly

ident i fy effec ts of the s p i l lon Nueces/Corpus Chris t i Bays.

12. Assessment o f the effect** 3 years 1982 500 Monitor d i s t r i bu t i on , productiv-of o i l on essent ia l habi ta t i t y and hydrocarbon content offor wildl i fe aquat ic vege ta t ion tha t includes

submerged seagrasses, mangrovesand other vege ta t ion used bywildl i fe .

**Not included in budget; however, i f the assumption tha t o i l did not enter estuary system by monitoringe ffo r t s , such a study may be deemed necessary .

L L _ _ : t : : : j c:::J . .__, 1 --__ . . . ; _ _ . . J


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J _ c:::J C J C J..__ C J..__ ,_

SOCIOECONOMIC IMP CTS

Date to beC 4- =r;P r o j e c t Ti t l e I Dura t ion _ Completed1. Market goods base l ine

da ta col lec t ion

2. Nonmarket goods base l ine

3. Secondary reg iona lbase l ine data col lec t ion

4. Harket good impacts

5 . Norunarket goods impacts

6. ~ c o n d a r yregional impacts

3 months 198

4 months 198

3 months 198

2 years 1981

2 years 1981

2 years 1981

c:::J C J c::J C J C c J

Cost L .Thousands Scope of Work

o f p a l l a r s l - - - - - - - - -

1

20

25

175

3

100

Collect data on f inf ishand she l l f i sh landingsin region.

Determine magnitude andna ture of recrea t iona l

a c t i v i t i e s in reg ion .

Collect data on tourismexpenditures; f i sh processingand other secondary a c t i v i t i e s

s t o r e s , shops, res taurants ,e t c .

Assess damage to commercialf i n f i sh and she l l f i sh ca tch ,damage to personal gear, boats ,e t c . and public seawalls ,beaches, e t c . property andother market goods.

Measure impacts on wil l ingnessto pay for recrea t ion ,a e s t h e t i c s , endangered spec ies ,human heal th , e t c .

Assess impacts on tourism,f i sh process ing , and othersecondary a c t i v i t i e s s t o r e s ,shops, res taurants , e t c .


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c Projec t Ti t l e1. Evaluation o f damage

assessment program.

2. Local Sc i en t i f i c Advisory

Coordinator*

___ c J c c J

DEVELOP IMPROVED D M GE ASSESSMENT PROGR M

Duration

3 years

5 months

c l c J c J

Date t o be j Cost ICompleted (Thousands Scope o f o r ~

o f D o l l a r s

1982

Feb. 80

C J ~ . . . - . . . ;

500

18

. . . ,_, '

Maintain ongoing evaluation andre f in ing of damage assessmentprogram.

1) Ident i fy loca l exper t i se

2) Compile data bases

3) Annotated bibliographyo f bio logica l s tudiesi n region .

c J ..__.. __, _ J


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. . . . _ c : J c = c::::J c J C J c:::J c:: J c : J C J [=: : c : J c=J 1

FATE DISTRIBUTION ND TRANSPORT OF OIL AND HYDROCARBON CHEMISTRY

[ . .: ~ j : ~ ~ - T : : e I Duration I ~ : : ~ : ~ e ~ ; - f _ T _ h - ~0u : a td s : ~ S c _ o _ p _ e _ o _ f _ W_____

__________________ ________ ___ __ · _ ~ f D o l l a r s _ _

1. I d e n t i f i c a t i o n of IXTOC Icrude: Determine chemicalparameters needed to conf i rm the i d en t i t y ofenvironmental o i l withs t a t i s t i c a l v a l i d i t y

2. Estab l i sh h e i r a r c h i a l( layered) a n a l y t i c a lapproach for chemicalana lys i s of damageassessment samples

3. Quali ty Assurance forchemical ana lys i s program

4. Fate and s p a t i a l d i s t r i -bution of petroleumhydrocarbon in offshore ,

nearshore environmentsand a t major passes .

5. Microbial degradation andphoto-oxidation of IXTOC Io i l

6. Dis t r ibut ion and movemento f IXTOC I o i l in suspendedphases with in the WesternGulf of Mexico

5 months 3/15/79

5 months 3/15/79

3 years 1982

3 years 1982

1 year 1980

3 years 1982

50

50

150

1200

50

200

Chemically analyze both f reshand weathered o i l in both impactedand unimpacted environmentalsamples, e s t a b l i s h s t a t i s t i c a l l yval id ident i f ica t ion scheme forIXTOC I crude.

Estab l i sh a four t i e r analy t ica lscheme fo r chemical ana lys i s ofdamage assessment samples.

Estab l i sh and monitor qual i tycont ro l procedures for chemicalana lys i s of environmental samples

Monitor and study fa te ofpetroleum hydrocarbon in the soutTexas marine environment.

Study the microbial and photooxida t ion weathering processesof IXTOC I crude o i l .

Measurement of suspended loadof nephelomelog and res idueana lys i s o f IXTOC I o i l insuspended mat te r.


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__;

FATE DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSPORT OF OIL AND HYDROCARBON CHEMISTRY Continued)r - • o• • - · ~

Projec t Ti t l e

7 . Geophysical fac torsaffec t ing the t ranspor tand f a t e of IXTOC I o i lin Western Gulf of Mexico

r: __: : c::J ..._ -

Duration

3 years

- - ' c:=:J

Date to be CostCompleted Thousands

... ·- o..f.....DolLu:sScope o f Work

1982 200

..___. _ - . . . . . _ ;

Determination of the t ranspor tand fate of IXTOC I o i lcomponents within the impactedregions and understanding themechanism of o i l t ranspor t .

.J . . l _ ; - _

I


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1

1

]l

0J

n

0J

0D

J

APPENDIX 2

AGENCY PERSONNEL PARTICIPANTSIN PREPARATION OF

ENVIRONMENTAL D M GE ASSESSMENT PLAN

Names Taken From Regis t ra t ion Lis t


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0 I . Federal AgenciesA. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

1. Bob Anderson Washington D.C.2. Joe Angelovic Washington D.C.3. Michael Bancroft Washington D.C.4. Dail Brown Washington D.C.

15. Susan Brunenmeister Galveston Texas6. Elaine Chan Washington D.C.7. Bud Cross Beaufort North Carolina8. Don Ekberg St. Petersburg Flor ida9. Jack Foreman Washington D.C.

10. Bob Hannah Bay St . Louis Miss iss ipp iD11. Bi l l Het t le r Beaufort North Carolina

12. Don Ross Beaufort North Carolina13. Harry J i t t s , Aust ra l ia NOAA v i s i t o r14. Bi l l Lindal l St . Petersburg Flor ida15. Nancy Maynard Anchorage Alaska16. Sam McKeen Washington D.C.17. Malcolm Meaburn Charleston South CarolinaD18. Norm Meade Washington D.C.19. Robert Pavia Bay St. Louis Miss iss ipp i20. John Robinson Boulder Colorado21. Stan Warlen Beaufort North Carol ina22. Glade Woods Bay St. Louis Miss iss ipp i

DB. Environmental Protect ion Agency

0 1. William P. Davis Bears Bluff South Carolina2. Bob Forres t Dallas Texas3. John Henderson Dallas Texas4. Richie Marple Dallas Texas5. Ju l i a Schwartz Dallas Texas

C. U.S. Geological Survey

1. Henry Berryhil l Corpus Chr i s t i Texas2. Arnold Bouma Corpus Chris t i Texas

3. Richard Foote Corpus Chris t i Texas

J

J


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D. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1. Alan Fisher Albuquerque New Mexico2 . Paul Fore Albuquerque New Mexico3. Johnny French Corpus Chris t i Texas4. Wayne Kewley Albuquerque New Mexico5 James Kirkwood Atlanta Georgia6. Roy Perez Corpus Chris t i Texas7. John Rogers Washington D.C.8 . Charlie Sanchez Albuquerque New Mexico9. Larry Shanks Sl ide l l Louisiana

10. Dave Smith Sl ide l l Louisiana11. Jack Woolstenhulme Albuquerque New Mexico

E. National Park Service

1. Chris t ine Schonewald Washington D.C.2. Steve Shabica Bay St . Louis Mississippi3. Bob Whist ler Corpus Chris t i Texas4. Jim Woods Corpus Chris t i Texas

F. Bureau of Land Management

1. Ken Adams New Orleans Louisiana

I I Sta te Agencies

A. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

1. Dick Harrington Corpus Chris t i Texas2 . Tom Hef fernan Rockport Texas3. Ed Hegen Rockport Texas4. Jim Roberts Austin Texas5. Roy Spears Rockport Texas

B. Texas General Land Office

1. John Batter ton Austin Texas2. Lloyd Mull ins Aransas Pass Texas3. Meg Wilson Austin Texas

C. Texas Department of Water Resources

1. Bert Bates Deer Park Texas2 . Jim Bowman Corpus Chris t i Texas3. Mike D i ck Austin Texas4. John Glasscock Austin Texas5 John Latchford Austin Texas


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D. Texas Bureau of Economic Geology

1. Tom Calanan Austin Texas2. Glenn Li t t l e ton Austin Texas

E. Florida Department of Environment Regulation

l 1. Greg Lee Tallahassee Flor idaF. Florida Department of Natural Resources

1. Dale Beaumariage Tallahassee Florida2. Bob Lee Tallahassee Florida

G. Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management

1 1. Pat Hughes

l I I I UniversityA. Corpus Christ i Sta te Universi ty Corpus Chr i s t i Texas

1. Brian Chapman Biology Corpus Chr i s t i Texas2. Bart Cook Biology Corpus Chris t i Texas3. Quenton Dokken Graduate Student Corpus Chr i s t i Texas4. Wes Tunnell Biology Corpus Chr i s t i Texas5. Linda Weber Secretary Corpus Chris t i Texas

J B. Texas A M Universi ty1. Bob Benton Remote Sensing College Sta t ion Texas

2. Sea Grant/TAMU - County Marine Extension Agents

J a. Je ff Messinger Rockport Texasb . Russ Miget Corpus Chris t i Texasc. Jack Rickner San Benito TexasC. Texas A I Universi ty Kingsvi l le

J1. Allan H. Chaney Biology Kingsvi l le Texas


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D Universi ty of Texas Ins t i t u t e of Marine Science Port Aransas Texas

1 . Warren Fl in t Port Aransas Texas2. Pat Parker Port Aransas Texas3. Nancy Rabalais Port Aransas Texas

E. Universi ty of New Orleans

1 . I R Deleon New Orleans Louisiana2 . George Lowler New Orleans Louisiana3. John L. Laseter New Orleans Louisiana4. Edward D Overton New Orleans Louisiana

F. Rice Center Houston Texas

1. Rosine Hall Houston Texas2. Charles Heimsath Houston Texas

IV. Private In teres ts

A National Audubon Society

1. David Blankenship Rockport Texas

B Computer Science Corporation

1. Bonnie Boynton Bay St . Louis Mississippi2. Carl Jones Bay St. Louis Mississippi3. Pete Orl in Bay St. Louis Mississippi4. Judy Sanders Bay St . Louis Mississippi

C. Welder Wildl ife Foundation

1. Gene Blacklock Sinton Texas

D Science Applicat ions Inc.

1. Tiger Cheng La Jo l l a Cal i forn ia2. Ken Fucik Boulder Colorado3. Barbara Morson Boulder Colorado4. Ivan Show La J o l l a California


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D

0 E. URS Company Seat t le Washington

01. Bob Dexter Seat t le Washington

2. Dave Maiero Anchorage Alaska3. Spyros Pavlou Seat t le Washington

D F. Energy Resources Company Cambridge Massachusetts1. Paul Boehm Cambridge Massachusetts2. Dave Fe i s t Cambridge Massachusetts3. John Patton Cambridge Massachusetts

J G. Research Planning Ins t i t u t e o l u m b i a ~South Carolina0 1. Dan Domerachi Columbia South Carol ina2. Chuck Getter Columbia South Carol ina3. Erich Gundlach Columbia South Carol ina

4. Je ff Scot t Columbia South Carolina

]H Marine/Fisher ies Biology Consultant

1 1. Henry H Hildebrand Corpus Chris t i Texas

0 I . Center for Law and Social Policy1. Cli ff Cur t i s Washington D.C.

0 J Graphics0 1. Paula Kolda Corpus Chris t i Texas

K Independent Consultant

1. Dolly Ulna Parts Unknown Texas

0


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ixtoc-i oil spill damage assessment program-1979

Documents