Dispersant Workgroup Update

May 20thth, 2015CDR Bo Stocklin, USCG

Current Status•In process of formal Endangered Species Act Section 7 consultation with USFWS & NMFS.•Dispersant Work Group (DWG) has been addressing each issue as it is raised.•USFWS has issued Biological Opinion (BO), no changes required to latest version of Dispersant Plan.•Waiting for NMFS to issue final (BO); drafts indicate no further changes will be required to Dispersant Plan (already made minor mod to short-tailed Albatross and North Pacific Right whale areas; will be addressed in Subarea plans.)

Road Ahead

•Our understanding is that all ARRT members (especially dispersant signatories) are still in concurrence with draft plan as it stands.•Assuming final NMFS BO does not require changes to the Dispersant Plan, DWG will begin process to update Unified Plan (UP) as per Annex D of UP.

•DWG will distribute draft comments & responses from Tribal Consultation & Public Comment to ARRT (~July 2015- 2 week turn around).•DWG will address ARRT identified issues with draft comments & responses and re-distribute final draft of those, along with final draft of Dispersant Plan, to ARRT for approval.•Upon ARRT approval, Dispersant Plan is sent to signatories, and public comments & responses are posted on the ARRT Website.

Road Ahead 2

•Five Signatory Action Agencies will sign & publish.•This will begin 24 month clock for subareas to designate any additional areas within their zones that should not be pre-authorized (will revert to case-by-case approval), and industry to come into compliance. •DWG will develop mitigating strategies based on BOs and consultations, and incorporate into an Environmental Compliance Annex to the UP.