National Academies Press: OpenBook

A Review of Genwest's Final Report on Effective Daily Recovery Capacity (EDRC): A Letter Report (2013)

Chapter: APPENDIX B--A Review of the EDRC Project Final Report

« Previous: APPENDIX A--ROC Model Discussion
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX B--A Review of the EDRC Project Final Report." National Research Council. 2013. A Review of Genwest's Final Report on Effective Daily Recovery Capacity (EDRC): A Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18579.
×

APPENDIX B

A Review of the EDRC Project Final Report

Statement of Task

An ad hoc National Research Council committee will review the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s Effective Daily Recovery Capacity (EDRC) Project Final Report for oil skimming systems.

Specifically, the review will address the following questions:

    Methodology

•     Are the methods used to estimate an oil skimming system necessary and scientifically sound?

•     Does the proposed three-day model address conditions expected to be encountered on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf?

•     Are there any data or methodological gaps that would preclude the use of this report for decision making? If so, how should they be addressed?

•     Can this report and associated computer-based methodology be used as a scientifically credible source to appropriately support rule-making?

    Applicability

•     Does Genwest’s use of units throughout the report align with the actual factors?

•     Are the variables used to determine a system’s efficiency properly defined?

•     Is the use of the unit “Day” to describe thickness an appropriate metric?

•     Does the Estimated Recovery System Potential (ERSP) process appropriately incorporate operational period, thickness factors, and “batch” or “continuous release” scenarios?

    Computer Model

•     Are the assumptions underlying the computer model correct and adequate?

•     Does the model run as described without compounding errors?

Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX B--A Review of the EDRC Project Final Report." National Research Council. 2013. A Review of Genwest's Final Report on Effective Daily Recovery Capacity (EDRC): A Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18579.
×
Page 29
Next: APPENDIX C--Biographical Sketches of Committee Members »
A Review of Genwest's Final Report on Effective Daily Recovery Capacity (EDRC): A Letter Report Get This Book
×
Buy Ebook | $9.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) enforces compliance with oil spill response requirements for facilities located seaward of the coast line. It commissioned Genwest Systems, Inc., to assess the existing planning standard for response to offshore oil spills with mechanical oil skimming systems, known as the Effective Daily Recovery Capacity (EDRC), and to consider improvements to that standard. In its report, Genwest proposed an Estimated Recovery System Potential (ERSP) calculation as an alternative to EDRC. BSEE specifically asked the National Research Council committee to consider three aspects of the ERSP approach in the Genwest report: the proposed methodology of ERSP, its applicability, and the computer model behind ERSP.

A Review of Genwest Effective Daily Recovery Capacity (EDRC) Project Final Report is an objective technical evaluation of the report produced by Genwest Systems, Inc., on the Effective Daily Recovery Capacity (EDRC). This report evaluates the scientific basis of the methodology, applicability, and modeling approach used in the Genwest report. In response to its statement of task, the authoring committee found the new approach for estimating the efficiency of oil skimmers presented by Genwest, (ERSP), to be basically sound and a substantial improvement over methods currently employed by BSEE in its rule-making. However, there are a number of simple improvements that can and should be made to the ERSP approach that would be extremely useful. This report examines the methodology and applicability of the ERSP calculation and discusses Genwests’s computer model.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!