The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) helped oversee and execute a series of test in situ burns in the newly opened burn tank at the Joint Maritime Test Detachment in Mobile, Alabama to evaluate burns and train teams to respond to open water oil spills. The test burns were conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, with extensive coordination with local government officials. Each test burn is planned and executed to ensure it meets local environmental and emergency management requirements. An In situ burn is the intentional, controlled burning of oil, a strategy that was used extensively during the response to the Deepwater Horizon tragedy.
The opening of the facility was a collaborative effort between BSEE's Oil Spill Preparedness Division, the U.S. Coast Guard's Research and Development Center, and Naval Research Lab. The Bureau provided $458,000, contributing an analysis to find gaps in current knowledge of in situ burn techniques and support for the renovation and refurbishment of the Joint Maritime Test Detachment burn tank located on Little Sand Island just off the coast of Mobile, Alabama. The above ground tank, which had been dormant for over 17 years, has been resurrected to provide a place where equipment manufacturers, regulators, and researchers can perform burns to test containment boom, ignition devices and methods, and monitoring equipment. Training first responders on how to safely conduct in situ burns will also take place at the facility. Through testing and training at the facility, the efficiency of this critical offshore oil spill response strategy will be steadily improved.
The BSEE works to promote safety, protect the environment, and conserve resources offshore. The Oil Spill Preparedness Division is responsible for carrying out BSEE authorities related to oil spill research, planning, preparedness, and response. One way that BSEE protects the offshore environment is by maintaining a comprehensive research program dedicated to improving and evaluating oil spill response tools. BSEE leverages resources and expertise by working collaboratively with federal partners, funding research contracts, and leading in-house studies. The research spans from supporting the early development of innovative technologies that will advance the state of the industry, to evaluating and comparing options that are already in use.