Conference Schedule

Registration Fee: $299; Lunch included

This 8-hour course will focus on skills required for the Hazardous Materials Technician with a Marine Tank Specialty as defined in NFPA 472. Participants will learn how to analyze incidents involving marine tank vessels to determine the magnitude of the problem by determining the type and extent of damage to the tank vessel and its cargo systems, predict potential behavior of the vessel and its contents, and stabilize the incident. Participants will plan and conduct a response to an incident, determine response options that are appropriate, and safely conduct a simulated response.

Registration Fee: $299; Lunch included

Dispersants are an oil spill countermeasure that has been used on a number of occasions including the DWH response, to reduce the adverse effects of spilled oil on the environment. This workshop will cover the basics of dispersant use including the science, effectiveness, limitations and future work.

Registration Fee: $149

During the DH response, in-situ burning was a widely used technology to reduce the amount of oil on the water and minimize the adverse effect of the oil on the environment. This in-depth workshop will discuss lessons learned from large scale, multiple in-situ burning.

Registration Fee: $149

This morning in-depth workshop will focus specifically on the DH incident and the lessons learned from subsea source control initiatives.

Registration Fee: $149

This course is designed to aid aerial observers in preparing for an aerial survey, identifying and describing oil slicks, standardizing documentation procedures, and reporting such information in a clear and consistent format.

Registration Fee: No Charge, Sponsored by Applied Science Associates, inc. & Environmental Research Consulting

Applied Science Associates, Inc. (ASA), assisted by Environmental Research Consulting (ERC), is pleased to present a workshop on oil spill risk assessment. A full assessment of oil spill risk considers 1) the likelihood of spills from various sources and causes, 2) the expected frequency distribution of spill sizes if a spill occurs, and 3) the potential consequences of the spilled oil to ecological and socioeconomic resources. The increasing availability of spill incident and environmental data, advancements in spill modeling capabilities, and modern high-speed computing tools allow sophisticated and reliable oil spill risk assessments to be efficiently performed that go well-beyond the traditional worst-case scenario analysis on a handful of hypothetical incidents. ASA and ERC have teamed on numerous oil spill risk studies, developing such quantitative approaches to address questions and issues arising during contingency planning, spill response, regulation development, and planning for natural resource damage assessment. Dr. Deborah French-McCay of ASA will provide an overview of the problem and approach; Dr. Dagmar Schmidt Etkin of ERC will describe techniques and data available to estimate likelihood of spills and expected frequency distribution of spill sizes, as well as modeling techniques to estimate response costs and socioeconomic impacts; and ASA will summarize modeling approaches and results for evaluations of spill consequences for applications ranging from cost-benefit analyses of spill prevention measures and prioritization of risks for policy development, to quantification of environmental salvage rewards. Finally, ASA will describe development of and demonstrate a new freely-available tool sponsored by Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) of UNH that provides guidance for oil spill response tradeoff decisions involving dispersant usage by estimating expected level of ecological impact of floating oil and water column contamination.

Registration Fee: $149

Wildlife response is a large component of the DH incident. This workshop will focus on issues related to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico including the effects of oil on wildlife, collection, triage, stabilization, cleaning and release, and working with volunteers.

Registration Fee: No Charge, Sponsored by Det Norske Veritas (USA) Inc.

Typically, major accidents lead to a review and revision of current practices and regulations with the objective of avoiding similar or other major accidents in the future. This also appears to be the case after the tragic Deepwater Horizon blow-out accident and subsequent oil spill.

DNV has taken a position to contribute to the on-going discussion on how to improve safety and environmental protection from oil spills during offshore oil and gas exploration, development and production. DNV’s position supports and complements the recommendation for a more systematic approach to safety and environment in the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) report on “Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf” (May 27, 2010).

It is DNV’s position that a step change can be achieved with respect to prevention and mitigation of major accidents through an effective and efficient safety regime for offshore energy exploration, development and production. Such a safety regime must be risk-informed, balancing the inherent risks with the benefits for society and must possess the following characteristics:

• Performance-based supplemented by prescriptive regulation
• Consideration of technology, organization and people
• Clear roles and responsibilities
• Enforced identification, reduction and control of risks
• Shared performance monitoring
• Practical and economic feasibility
• Balance between risk, control and condition

This workshop will consist of an interactive discussion from oil and gas risk management experts with members of the audience as to what legislative changes may lay ahead to improve safety and environmental protection during Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and gas exploration.

DNV has world wide experience within risk management in the offshore energy and maritime industries. DNV advises regulators on offshore safety regulation as well as executing key functions on behalf of authorities and industry in order to safeguard life, property and the environment.

Registration Fee: $149

Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) is the process of assessing injury and determining the appropriate restoration option to compensate the public for losses if the NRD Trustees determine injury to public trust resources has occurred. This workshop will focus on the basics of the NRDA process and explore some of the laws and regulations that require it, the player around the table, NRDA implementation, and lessons learned from the DH incident.

Registration Fee: $149

This course will provide an overview of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) and how to apply its principles.

The purpose of HSEEP is to provide common exercise policy and program guidance that constitutes a national standard for exercises. It can be applied to government, non-government organizations and private industry.