T/V Athos I Oil Spill Response Philadelphia, PA Services:       Emergency Response Environmental Unit Leader in the Incident Command System Project Management for Environmental Studies Technical Reports   Schedule: 7 Months Spill Response Cost: $168 Million  Tasks:   Tracked and Communicated Cleanup Progress Directed Spring Methods Assessment Teams Co-authored Spring Resources at Risk Plan Provided General Cleanup Guidance to 1800 Cleanup Workers Reviewed Alternative Cleanup Methods Assisted with Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Developed an Industrial Water Intake Consortium Managed Special Interest Snare Samplers to Monitor Submerged Oil Authored and Managed Tarball & Oiled Debris Removal Plan Participated in Public Presentations Managed Cultural Resource Assessments   Project Highlights:     With the assistance of O’Brien & Gere’s Air Quality Solutions team, the EU applied for and received, with one day’s notice, a Philadelphia Air Management District permit to operate a large boiler for producing hot water for shoreline cleanup. Coordinated cleanup activities at an island located at the confluence of the Schuylkill River and the Delaware River with the New Jersey SHPO. The NJ SHPO requested that a member of the EU observe cleanup activities to ensure no disturbance to important historical/archeological resources. Coordinated with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and biologists from Drexel University who were conducting population surveys of nesting turtles in wetland units impacted by the spill. An industrial water intake consortium was developed as a cost-effective means of monitoring the amount of submerged oil in the river. Water quality professionals from 12 facilities along the river were requested to visually monitor their intakes for oil, tarballs, and sheen and to report results to the EU. O’Brien & Gere also worked closely with Emergency Management teams in all three states to develop a plan to monitor for possible oil deposition on previously unaffected areas. An O’Brien & Gere representative attended and spoke at public meetings with the Delaware River Yachtsmen's League, the Delaware Riverkeeper as well as members of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. Applied for and received a permit from affected states to discharge decanted water from the pooled oil recovery effort.   Return to Project listing