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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
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APPROACHES FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES VALUATION FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO AFTER THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL

INTERIM REPORT

Committee on the Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon-252 Oil Spill on Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of Mexico

Ocean Studies Board

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under contract number DG133R08CQ0062. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-21179-6
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number-10: 0-309-21179-4

Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu

Copyright 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
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COMMITTEE ON THE EFFECTS OF THE DEEPWATER HORIZON MISSISSIPPI CANYON-252 OIL SPILL ON ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

LARRY A. MAYER (Chair), University of New Hampshire, Durham

MICHEL C. BOUFADEL, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

JORGE BRENNER, The Nature Conservancy, Corpus Christi, Texas

ROBERT S. CARNEY, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

CORTIS K. COOPER, Chevron Energy Technology Company, San Ramon, California

JODY W. DEMING, University of Washington, Seattle

DAVID J. DIE, University of Miami, Florida

JOSH EAGLE, University of South Carolina, Columbia

JOSEPH R. GERACI, University of Maryland, Baltimore

BARBARA A. KNUTH, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

KENNETH LEE, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

JAMES T. MORRIS, University of South Carolina, Columbia

STEPHEN POLASKY, University of Minnesota, St. Paul

NANCY N. RABALAIS, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Chauvin

CHRISTOPHER REDDY*, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts

RALPH G. STAHL, JR., DuPont Company, Wilmington, Delaware

DAVID W. YOSKOWITZ, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi

Staff

KIM WADDELL, Study Director

SHERRIE FORREST, Associate Program Officer

JEREMY JUSTICE, Senior Program Assistant (until July 15, 2011)

LAUREN HARDING, Program Assistant

PETER THOMPSON, Mirzayan Fellow (until May 13, 2011)

CHRISTOPHER PROSSER, Mirzayan Fellow

*Resigned from the committee

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
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OCEAN STUDIES BOARD

DONALD F. BOESCH (Chair), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge

EDWARD A. BOYLE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

JORGE E. CORREDOR, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez

KEITH R. CRIDDLE, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau

JODY W. DEMING, University of Washington, Seattle

MARY (MISSY) H. FEELEY, ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Houston, Texas

ROBERT HALLBERG, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Princeton University, New Jersey

DEBRA HERNANDEZ, Hernandez and Company, Isle of Palms, South Carolina

ROBERT A. HOLMAN, Oregon State University, Corvallis

KIHO KIM, American University, Washington, DC

BARBARA A. KNUTH, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

ROBERT A. LAWSON, Science Applications International Corporation, San Diego, California

GEORGE I. MATSUMOTO, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, California

JAY S. PEARLMAN, The Boeing Company (retired), Port Angeles, Washington

ANDREW A. ROSENBERG, Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia

DANIEL L. RUDNICK, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

ROBERT J. SERAFIN, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

ANNE M. TREHU, Oregon State University, Corvallis

PETER L. TYACK, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts

DAWN J. WRIGHT, Oregon State University, Corvallis

JAMES A. YODER, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts

OSB Staff

SUSAN ROBERTS, Director

DEBORAH GLICKSON, Senior Program Officer

CLAUDIA MENGELT, Senior Program Officer

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×

KIM WADDELL, Senior Program Officer

SHERRIE FORREST, Associate Program Officer

GRAIG MANSFIELD, Financial Associate

PAMELA LEWIS, Administrative Coordinator

LAUREN HARDING, Program Assistant

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×

Acknowledgments

This report was greatly enhanced by the participants of the meetings held as part of this study. The committee would like to acknowledge the efforts of those who gave presentations at the committee meetings: Donald F. Boesch (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science), Garret Graves (State of Louisiana), John Hankinson (Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force), Captain James Hanzalik (U.S. Coast Guard), Kathy Kling (Iowa State University), Jacqueline Michel (Research Planning, Inc.), Paul Montagna (Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M Corpus Christi), and Steve Picou (University of South Alabama).

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in their review of this report:

Peter Auster (University of Connecticut)

Bruce Bayne (URS Corporation)

Trudy Ann Cameron (University of Oregon)

Dan Doty (Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife)

Thomas Leschine (University of Washington)

Daniel Magraw (Center for International Environmental Law)

Jacqueline Michel (Reserarch Planning, Inc.)

James Sanchirico (University of California, Davis)

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Kathleen Segerson, University of Connecticut, appointed by the Divison on Earth and Life Studies, and Simon Levin, Princeton University, appointed by the Report Review Committee, who were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2012. Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13141.
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On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon platform drilling the Macondo well in Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (DWH) exploded, killing 11 workers and injuring another 17. The DWH oil spill resulted in nearly 5 million barrels (approximately 200 million gallons) of crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The full impacts of the spill on the GoM and the people who live and work there are unknown but expected to be considerable, and will be expressed over years to decades. In the short term, up to 80,000 square miles of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) were closed to fishing, resulting in loss of food, jobs and recreation.

The DWH oil spill immediately triggered a process under the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) to determine the extent and severity of the "injury" (defined as an observable or measurable adverse change in a natural resource or impairment of a natural resource service) to the public trust, known as the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA). The assessment, undertaken by the trustees (designated technical experts who act on behalf of the public and who are tasked with assessing the nature and extent of site-related contamination and impacts), requires: (1) quantifying the extent of damage; (2) developing, implementing, and monitoring restoration plans; and (3) seeking compensation for the costs of assessment and restoration from those deemed responsible for the injury.

This interim report provides options for expanding the current effort to include the analysis of ecosystem services to help address the unprecedented scale of this spill in U.S. waters and the challenges it presents to those charged with undertaking the damage assessment.

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