The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has announced that it is investing up to $600,000 for targeted oil spill response research in drift ice conditions. In a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) released on the federal government's business opportunities website, www.FedBizOpps.gov, the bureau called for white papers on new mechanical technologies for cleaning up oil spills in drift ice conditions that could be found in an Arctic environment.
BSEE will select up to three designs for prototype development and testing at Ohmsett, the bureau's National Oil Spill Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility. White papers are due by April 21, 2014. For more information on this specific research topic and directions for submittal, please view the announcement here.
This is the third BAA from BSEE for oil spill response research proposals within the last year. The first announcement, with up to $7 million in support, closed in January and can be found here. The second BAA, announcing an additional $5 million, closes April 10, 2014, and can be found here.
BSEE is the principal federal agency funding offshore oil spill response research. The bureau supports a robust research program that includes operation of Ohmsett, where many of today's commercially available oil spill cleanup products have been tested. Government agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy as well as private industry and oil spill response organizations from around the world train their emergency response personnel with real oil and their own equipment at BSEE's Ohmsett facility in Leonardo, N.J.
To learn more about BSEE's oil spill response research program and recent research, visit the OSRR website here. Interested parties are encouraged to view the information presented on the OSRR website prior to submitting white papers.
