NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) has been working with Research Planning, Inc. (RPI) on issues related to Abandoned and Derelict Vessels (ADV) since 2002, when RPI was tasked to conduct a survey on ADVs for NOAA in the waters surrounding U.S. territories in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Islands region. In 2014, RPI was contracted again by the MDP to help them develop an Information Hub (InfoHub) for ADVs as part of their marine debris program website. The NOAA ADV Infohub is a web-based tool designed for the purpose of providing federal, state and local ADV decision makers with comprehensive information on ADV legislation, state and federal programs, best practices and other resources that will be beneficial to the wider ADV community, both in the US and internationally. In addition to helping design the InfoHub, RPI was tasked with providing the content for the ADV InfoHub which included:
- ADV Legislative and Administrative Reviews – RPI completed extensive reviews of current laws and administrative rules, including state funding mechanisms, pertaining to ADVs for the 30 coastal and great lake states in the U.S. and 4 U.S. territories, summarizing them into legal review documents which are now available to the public through the NOAA MDP InfoHub (https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/discover-issue/types-and-sources/abandoned-and-derelict-vessels).
- ADV Case Studies – RPI completed a series of 23 comprehensive case studies on ADV removal projects which highlight the challenges faced and successes achieved by state and local ADV programs.
- Large Event Case Studies – RPI researched and completed a series of case studies focused on ADV response and clean-up after large natural disaster events, which include Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy and the Japanese Tsunami of 2011.
- State ADV Program Information – RPI provided comprehensive information on each state and territories ADV program status, funding mechanisms and relevant agency contacts.
Research Planning, Inc. also played an integral role in planning and hosting the ADV workshop that was held on 21-22 April 2015 at the NOAA Disaster Response Center in Mobile, Alabama. The workshop focused on the myriad of challenging issues associated with ADVs in order to strengthen program effectiveness and improve collaborative efforts among government agencies (at the local, state, federal level), non-governmental agencies, and other entities working on ADV related issues. The workshop hosted over 50 ADV professionals from 15 U.S. states and four federal agencies, including international participants from Canada, to promote the sharing of information and experiences and provide a forum where participants could learn about the successes and challenges encountered by ADV programs across the country which have different legal and funding mandates.
