Texas City Y Spill ESA Section 7 Consultations April 2014 Presentation Prepared by: Paige Doelling, PhD NOAA SSC, District 8 Presented by: Commander Keith Donohue Commanding Officer USCG Pacific Strike Team

2 Consultation is a process, not a document

Details of the Spill Boat-barge collision at the intersection of the Texas City Ship Channel with the Houston Ship Channel (Texas City “Y”) on March 22 Collision resulted in a release of ~4,000 barrels of RMG 380 Some oil stranded in Galveston Bay area, some was transported into the Gulf of Mexico Offshore oil stranded on coastal barrier islands between Galveston and Port Mansfield

Offshore Movement 4 Oil slick prior to stranding, photo taken March 27. Note size of shoreline in comparison to slick NOAA trajectory predicted landfall in the vicinity of Matagorda Island

Extent of Oiling on Texas Coast 5

Consultation – First 48 hours Spill occurred on March 22, at 12:35 pm Within the first 48 hours –Listed species potentially affected were identified –Emergency consultation with Services initiated –Best management practices (BMPs) for Galveston Bay area received and implemented Other non-ESA consultations also in progress 6

NMFS Listed Species Affected 7 Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Green Sea Turtle Hawksbill Sea Turtle Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Consultation – First 96 hours By March 24, clear that substantial portion of the oil will be transported offshore and downcoast Update of listed species potentially affected Oil likely to come ashore on Matagorda Island, part of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Substantial FWS component in Environmental Unit of Matagorda ICP Additional BMPs developed for shoreline activities 8

Listed Species on Matagorda Island 9 Whooping Crane Northern Aplomado Falcon Piping Plover Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle

Map of Matagorda Island 10

Issues Heavy tarmats along several miles of South Matagorda Island beach Removal of tarmats unlikely without use of some mechanical equipment Dynamic beach – continued deposition and erosion of sand Remote – limited access, minimal infrastructure Balancing removal of oil with disturbance of wildife 11

On Beach Weathering of Oil 12 Photo Credit: NOAA April 8 Subsurface oil, under tarmat and extending towards waterline, still “fresh” March 29 Partially buried tarmats, On average, about 5 cm thick, roughly 2.5 m wide Photo Credit: SCAT

Oil in the Dune Area 13 Photo Credit: Coast Guard April 14 Surface tarmat weathering, compacting, subsurface oil band spreading and mixing with April 13 Oil in the foredune area, top layer mixed with sand, but subsurface still “fresh” Photo Credit: NOAA

Management of Workers and Vehicles in Sensitive Area 14

Partial Best Management Practices (BMP) List 15

Thoughts on BMPs Helpful in minimizing effects on species of concern Important to communicate intended use to field personnel Extremely useful to have pre-existing list Critical to resolve conflicts between BMPs prior to providing to field personnel Develop tracking mechanism to adapt as necessary and use for data collection 16

What Made it Work 17 Planning Communication Teamwork Documentation

Significant Steps Forward Extremely proactive approach to consultations Consultation plan Data sharing agreement Collection of BMP effectiveness data Approach to funding of Biological Assessment 18

Questions 19 After Cleanup – April 25

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