Federal Oil and Gas: Interagency Committee Needs to Better Coordinate Research on Oil Pollution Prevention and Response

On June 25, 2014, the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research submitted its biennial report to Congress for Fiscal Years 2012 and 2013 and activities proposed for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015. The biennial report includes an appendix of prior committee member publications and past and future interagency committee member projects, and identifies broad research gaps such as arctic research. While the biennial report is primarily a summary of prior and ongoing research, the Oil Pollution Research and Technology Plan, which is scheduled for release in early 2015, will identify future research priorities and gaps. According to the report, the committee will review the Oil Pollution Research and Technology Plan every six years to include a retrospective analysis of completed research over the previous six years and a forecast of new research needs for the upcoming six-year period.

On June 25, 2014, the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research submitted its biennial report to Congress for Fiscal Years 2012 and 2013 and activities proposed for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015. According to the report, the committee made significant progress to update its Oil Pollution Research and Technology Plan, scheduled for publication in early calendar year 2015. The plan will include an Oil Pollution Research Categorization Framework to provide a common approach for member organization and outside parties to classify and organize research needs and projects.

Per USCG update as of April 2013, The ICCOPR has and continues to access and employ several sources of information to better understand ongoing research needs and activities within industry, academia, and the government. These include the consistent attendance of ICCOPR members at major conferences and workshops including: the International Oil Spill Conference, Interspill, Spillcon, Clean Gulf, Clean Pacific, and the Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program (AMOP) Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response. Additionally, the ICCOPR invites outside speakers and researchers to its quarterly meetings to update the membership on ongoing research activities in academia, industry, and the government. For example, the ICCOPR invited Dr. Lisa Kemp and Dr. Robert Lochhead from the University of Southern Mississippi on March 20, 2013 to discuss their research on Oil Anti-deposition Agents, Dr. Tim Nedwed from ExxonMobil on September 11, 2013 to discuss dispersant research sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute's Subsea Dispersant Workgroup, and Dr. John French on June 13, 2012 to discuss dispersant research sponsored by the Prince William Sound Regional Citizen Council. Additionally, the ICCOPR relies heavily on its website (www.iccopr.uscg.gov) to disseminate information about the Committee's activities as well as new research news and documents. An important element of the website is a comprehensive listing of ongoing conferences and workshops offered by academia, industry, and the federal government. In addition to its public communications on its website and through its Congressional Biennial Reports, the ICCOPR continues to explore new means for sharing and tracking information about ongoing research needs and activities. The ICCOPR has sent letters to the research programs in Alaska and Texas to better coordinate future activities and communications.