THE DEEP WATER HORIZON-MACONDO 2010 SHORELINE CLEANUP ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUE (SCAT) PROGRAM

The Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) program for the Macondo oil spill response in 2010 was characterized initially by a dynamic situation in which oil was continuously discharged. During this period, the SCAT field teams focused on an initial assessment of the scale of the problem followed by surveys that responded to reoiling events. Shoreline cleanup operations were planned following previously established procedures whereby Shoreline Treatment Recommendations (STRs) were developed based on oiling conditions SCAT teams developed Shoreline Inspection Report (SIR) forms for segments where there was No Oil Observed (NOO) or where no treatment was recommended: a No Further Treatment (NFT) condition. The first ground survey was conducted on 4 May and, typically, between 15 and 20 SCAT teams were deployed each day. By the end of 2010, the total length of shoreline oiled at some point in time after April was 1,053 miles of which 336.6 miles had been recommended for treatment. A significant point is to recognize that the length of the coastal wetlands in the affected area of Louisiana is more than 10,000 miles, based on GIS mapping conducted for this project, and that much of these are back-bay areas that were protected by the front-line wetlands and never oiled. A total of 2,760 miles of wetland were surveyed from the ground. Due to the on-water response strategies and the outflow from the river, of this total 15.6% (430.5 miles) was oiled and only 6.4% (175.5 miles) was in the Heavy or Moderate Oiling categories. In the Eastern States (Mississippi, Alabama and Florida), the degree of oiling was predominantly (79%) in the Very Light or Light Oiling Categories. The 2010 level of effort can be summarized as follows: (1) >105,000 miles flown as part of the shoreline aerial reconnaissance surveys in Louisiana in May 2010, (2) SCAT teams completed more than 1,700 field days (not including aerial surveys, monitoring and other field activities), (3) 4,223 miles of shoreline and 5,469 segments were surveyed, and (4) >30,000 pits were dug or augured on sand beaches.