A plastic drift card released on December 27, 1976 near Nantucket, Massachusetts was found 3,000 miles away and 48 years later on the Isle of Coll in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Barbara Payne, a longtime resident of the Isle of Coll off the coast of Scotland, was cleaning up after a storm on October 22, 2024. The storm tossed seaweed and other debris on the track to her house. While cleaning up the road, she was careful to sort through and remove any plastic debris. As an avid beachcomber, Barbara noticed among the debris a red, credit-card size piece of plastic that had some writing on it.  The card, and thousands like it, were intentionally distributed into the ocean as a tool to help track oil pollution from the stricken tanker Argo Merchant. 

The West Coast region is home to many diverse communities of people who use these coastal resources for commercial, recreational, subsistence, and spiritual enrichment. However, densely populated urban and industrial centers can be the source of pollution from oil spills and hazardous waste discharges. Oil production, storage, and transportation and vessel traffic present oil and chemical spill risks throughout the region, including in remote areas. From 2019-2023, NOAA and co-trustees secured 13 pollution settlements in the West Coast region worth almost $95 million. These funds are used for restoration projects that benefit the impacted communities.

In October, OR&R provided scientific support for 11 marine pollution and coastal emergencies— including eight new incidents in five states and one territory (Guam). Four of the new incidents were actual or potential oil spills, one involved threats of pollution from hurricanes, and three were chemical spills (or oil and chemicals mixed).

In September, OR&R provided scientific support for 19 marine pollution and coastal emergencies—including Hurricane Helene, which came ashore in Florida, but ultimately affected six states (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia).

In 2024, NOAA and co-trustees secured $40 million from four hazardous waste pollution settlements for the restoration of U.S. waterways.

In August, OR&R provided scientific support for 27 marine pollution and coastal emergencies—including 17 new incidents in eight states, one territory (U.S. Virgin Islands), one new international response in the Red Sea, and an ongoing international response in the Philippines.

In July, OR&R provided scientific support for 23 marine pollution and coastal emergencies— including 19 new incidents in seven states, one in Puerto Rico, and one international response in the Philippines. Seventeen of the new incidents were actual or potential oil spills, one was a chemical spill, and one involved tracking marine debris—a broken wind turbine blade.

NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration is providing important information to aid in tracking the path of wind turbine parts after the offshore wind energy company, Vineyard Wind, noticed a broken blade on one of its wind turbines offshore of Martha’s Vineyard.