Abstract
The goal of this extended internship was to evaluate and improve the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) capabilities and readiness to respond to potential environmental emergencies, with specific focus on the Research Vessel R/V F.G. Walton Smith. Once a determination of status was completed, we worked with university and response agencies leads to develop and implement a process improvement plan to enhance the University’s capabilities and readiness posture. We performed an analysis of current readiness levels, developed a training improvement program on a variety of subjects, from individual training through collective tasks, culminating in a Full Scale Exercise (FSE) conducted under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) standards. We determined there were many opportunities to modernize programs notification rosters, revised the University’s Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan, updated the Oil Spill Response Organization (OSRO) protocols, and significantly increased the scope and capabilities of the campus emergency spill response kits. We also greatly improved RSMAS’ professional working relationships with the over 40 federal, state, and local agencies that participated in this year-long project, and their relationships with researchers. Further modernization of spill-response training and continued responder-researcher collaborations will lead to improved states of readiness and greater opportunities to protect the environment from spill-spill related impacts following both man-made and natural catastrophes.