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Japan Tsunami Marine Debris

Japan Tsunami Marine Debris. Actions taken by EPA Regions 9 and 10 and our Federal, State, and local partners to prepare for potential impacts from the tsunami debris. Region 9 RRT June 28, 2012. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program. EPA Region 9 Marine Debris Strategy . Water Division

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Japan Tsunami Marine Debris

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  1. Japan Tsunami Marine Debris Actions taken by EPA Regions 9 and 10 and our Federal, State, and local partners to prepare for potential impacts from the tsunami debris Region 9 RRT June 28, 2012

  2. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program • EPA Region 9 • Marine Debris Strategy Water Division Treatment and control of water into waterways Superfund Division Assessment of nature and extent of marine debris in North Pacific and clean-up • Ocean Assessment & Cleanup • Land-Based Prevention Outreach & Partnering Waste Division Reduce waste generated upstream by promoting source reduction practices and product stewardship • Land-Based Reduction

  3. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program West Coast and Hawaiian Island Tsunami Debris Planning • Overview of what we know and what we don’t know regarding the nature, location and movement of the Japan tsunami marine debris • Efforts to date: • Collaboration among Federal and State agencies • Over flight in the vicinity of Midway Atoll • Inter Agency Joint Information Center website • Development of debris assessment, notification and cleanup guidelines • Benefits and next steps

  4. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program March 11, 2011 • 9.0 magnitude earthquake • 217 square miles inundation • Japanese Ministry of the Environment estimates that 5 million tons of debris washed into the ocean. ~70% sunk leaving ~1.5 mil tons floating debris

  5. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program Tsunami Debris – soon after Courtesy US Navy Pacific Fleet Photo of the debris washed out to sea from the Japan tsunami soon after the event. The quantity, type and location of tsunami debris still floating is unknown. Debris washing up on shore may consist of drums, boats, tanks, cylinders, and tires.

  6. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program Land- and Ocean-based trash After every storm event, a surge of marine debris washes on shore throughout beaches in the Hawaiian Islands and along most beaches in the world. Plastic is estimated to make up 60% to 80% of marine debris. Photo Credit: NOAA

  7. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program • By the end of April 2011, commercial satellites • could no longer find the debris field • Best estimates of debris movement relied on University of • Hawaii and NOAA models, which are models of currents • that do not account for drag and buoyancy characteristics • of debris and the effect of wind and wave action • EPA convened multi-agency workgroup in Honolulu in June 2011 • MARAD notice issued in September 2011 • Increased collaboration with USFWS and NOAA at Midway Atoll since October 2011

  8. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program Hoisting up to the Pallada, a Japanese boat registered to the Fukishima prefecture. The boat was discovered, along with other debris, in the North Pacific 300 miles NW of Midway Atoll September 21 – 28, 2011 Image courtesy of the Pallada

  9. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program USCG C-130 Aircraft preparing 01/17/12 for over flight in the vicinity of Midway Atoll. Observers from USEPA, NOAA and USFWS on board flight.

  10. Over flight to search for debris x Midway Islands Hawaiian Islands Approximately 1000 miles: Distance from Sand Island at Midway to anticipated edge of Tsunami Debris estimated in December 2011 and most likely to impact Midway.

  11. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program Over flight to search for debris – debris field est. 1000 miles out from Midway

  12. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program 3 mil nesting birds – nighttime landing only Midway Atoll on approach to land on 01/17/12

  13. Recent Tsunami Debris Sighting Areas 404 sightings of potential tsunami debris – 9 confirmed

  14. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program Inter Agency Collaboration in CA EPA R9 and Cal/EPA met with NOAA, USCG, NPS and CA State and local emergency response agencies met in February to prepare for potential tsunami debris impacts on CA 

  15. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program • Cal EPA and EPA Region 9 formed a Multi Agency Coordination Group (MAC-G) • In March, EPA R9 worked with CA State, R10, and USCG to develop guidelines for: • tsunami debris contamination assessment • notifications • volunteer beach cleanup   • The guidelines have been distributed to first responders for all CA State, county and local agencies and to beach clean up entities.   • Also to R10 states, HI, and BC, as well as NOAA , USCG, Navy, and other inter agency partners. These are posted on the JIC website (next). 

  16. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program • Japan Tsunami Marine Debris Joint Information Center • One-Stop Shop for Official Public Information and Helpful Resources from Government Agencies • s Cal Emergency Management Agency, in collaboration with EPA, NOAA, and inter agency partners created a “one-stop shop” website with tsunami debris related information and linked websites.   It’s a collaborative portal for information and resources for CA, HI, OR, WA, AK, BC, NOAA and EPA and can be accessed at http://disasterdebris.wordpress.com/.  Some of the tools on the website:

  17. Japanese Cylinder ID Chart

  18. Japanese Boat Identification

  19. US EPA REGION 10- Marine Debris Program EPA Region 10 JMTD Program • Coordination between R10 Ocean Dumping Program, ER, and USCG in the event of another “ghost ship” • - important for USCG to understand EPA regulatory authorities. 164-foot Japanese “ghost ship” Ryou-Un Maru found 03/21/12 off the coast of British Columbia.

  20. US EPA REGION 10- Marine Debris Program EPA Region 10 JMTD Program • Region 10 states are developing hazardous debris contingency plans with EPA and USCG input • - Vast and remote shoreline presents challenges • Difficult to protect sparse population On 04/18/12 a hiker discovered a Harley Davidson motorcycle in a container washed up on HaidaGwaii.

  21. Japanese Fishing Boat Washed Ashore • Cape Disappointment State Park, WA on June 15 • Boat was assessed for hazmat and radiation • Est. 10,000 boats washed away during the tsunami

  22. The Dock • Came ashore June 4 on Agate Beach, Newport, OR • Made of concrete, Styrofoam, and steel • 1 of 4 fishing docks swept away (2nd one just found off HI) • 66 ft. long, 19 ft. wide, 7 ft. high • covered with thriving Asian aquatic organisms • tested for radiation and hazmat – none • navigational hazard • should have been able to spot it at sea?

  23. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program Beyond Tsunami Debris Preparation • Guidelines for notification and assessment of potentially hazardous materials and/or radioactive contamination are in place extending along the entire North American West Coast, from Alaska to California, including British Columbia, as well as the Hawaiian Islands.   • These guidelines and the response coordination that has been developed will be useful in the event of any large emergency impacting the Western U.S. 

  24. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program Benefits: • Response has created great opportunities for improved collaboration • Agencies include EPA, USCG, Navy, DOI (FWS and NPS), State Department, Department of Commerce (NOAA), States, and British Columbia Next Steps: • Outreach • NPS, State, County park agencies, tribes • Recon • Navy and USCG over flights and ship scouting in SPAs • Coastal Zone Current Monitoring (CODAR) • Response Coordination • Activate the CA MAC-G and other response coordination entities should the need arise

  25. US EPA REGION 9- Marine Debris Program Contacts Region 9 Dan Meer. 415. 972. 3132 Anna-Marie Cook. 415.972.3029 John Kennedy. 415. 947.4129 Bill Robberson. 415.972.3072 Region 10 Chris Field. 206.553.1674 Calvin Terada. 206.553.2141 Josie Clark. 206.553.6239 Dale Becker. 206.553.6235

  26. Coastal Zone • USCG is the lead for OPA and CERCLA response actions in the Coastal Zone • http://epamap35.epa.gov/jba/default.html

  27. Hawaii, Contaminated Debris Sites

  28. Petaluma Precedent A Submerged Three Car Garage

  29. Federal Authorities to Address Aquatic Debris • Rivers & Harbors Act of 1899 (RHA) created the Federal removal authority (Army Corps of Engineers) under Section 19 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. § 414: • “The Corps” has the authority to remove sunken vessels and other obstructions from “navigable channels” under RHA : • those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport …commerce. …applies over the entire surface of the waterbody... 33 U.S.C. §§ 409, 414 -15. • The Corps’ authority to remove obstructions from navigable has been upheld by the courts, even from shallow or seldom-used waterways. Generally applied discretion in authority to “federally maintained channels”.

  30. EPA & Coast Guard NCP Duties & Jurisdiction • CERCLA 104 and CWA 311 response authority is delegated to USCG OSCs (Captains of the Port or COTPs) and EPA Federal On-Scene Coordinators. Under Section 311(c)(2) of CWA, if the discharge or threat of discharge poses a substantial threat to the public health or welfare, the FOSC shall direct all actions to remove the discharge or to mitigate or prevent the threat of discharge. • The USCG is responsible for the removal of oil discharges and hazardous substance releases that occur in the coastal zone. EPA is responsible for the emergency removal of oil, pollutants, hazardous materials and their containers from inland zones. • Two limitations on the Coast Guard OSC’s delegated authority: (1) The OSC may not “summarily remove or destroy a vessel;” and (2) The OSC may not take “any other action that constitutes intervention under CERCLA.” 33 C.F.R. § 1.01-70(g)(1) and (2) (CG commandant must authorize).

  31. Marine Debris Writ Large

  32. Federal Pollution Response Authorities are a Solution to Addressing Marine Debris • MD should be addressed at Sites where debris poses an imminent threat human health and the environment in U.S. Waters. • “Environmental” authorities that come through the NCP should be applied to the problem as appropriate. • At least 3 Federal Agencies, including EPA, have authority and capability to remove and Marine Debris as defined. Some State authority as well. • Precedents include off-shore debris in 1987 NJ coast and 2006 Hurricane Katrina • Enhanced Federal, State and Local response coordination in CA on this issue is a success waiting to happen.

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