Stakeholder Perspectives about Marine Oil Spill Response Objectives: A Comparative Q Study of Four Regions

Abstract

Marine oil spills can cause major social, economic, and ecological disruptions. Spill response managers must weigh different options and objectives when deciding what to do. We investigated the ways in which preferences for spill response objectives vary among those who are responsible for oil spill contingency planning and response in Buzzards Bay, Delaware Bay, San Francisco Bay, and Washington State regions. We begin this paper with a discussion of the research method used in the study: the Q method. In Buzzards Bay, Delaware Bay, and San Francisco Bay three perspectives were identified in each case. In Washington State, two perspectives were identified. An analysis of the 11 case-specific perspectives reveals that they can be described by four 'composite' perspectives that describe how different stakeholders prioritize spill response objectives. These four perspectives are compared on several themes, including the emphasis they placed on mitigating economic impacts, protecting health and safety, mitigating ecological impacts, implementing a coordinated and timely response, addressing the needs and concerns of the affected public/communities, gaining public support for the response, mitigating cultural impacts, and mitigating social nuisance impacts. The implications for spill response planning and spill response evaluation are discussed.

Capillary Curves for Ex‐situ Washing of Oil‐Coated Particles

“…The most commonly employed beach remediation techniques include: manual and mechanical removal; the use of vacuums; flooding and washing; tilling and aeration; sediment reworking; the use of sorbents and chemical agents; and enhanced bioremediation [3][4][5]. Other clean uptechniques include: high pressure cold or hot water washing; steam cleaning and sand blasting; as well as in situ burning [1,[3][4][5][6][7]. Mechanical treatment can be disadvantageous as it often requires large equipment; large amounts of material that need to be removed and relocated, that can lead to shoreline instability and further disruption of the ecosystem [1,2,4,6].…”

What-If Scenario Modeling to Support Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Decision-Making

“…The two worst marine oil spill disasters in U.S. history, Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon, provide stark cases of this failure to imagine and plan for the worst, events that turned out to be all too realistic scenarios. More inclusive and participatory approaches to SA, rather than refinements of method, may in the long run be the best antidote to underperformance with respect to the selection of scenarios for consideration (Tuler et al 2008). The use of "worst case" scenarios in oil spill prevention and response is explored in the next section.…”

“…This can happen regardless of whether fishing is still permissible, the so-called halo effect that can be a manifestation of risk amplification (Leschine 2002;Pigeon et al 2003). Nevertheless, even around SONS as defined in USCG regulation, the scenarios of concern will still revolve around organizational, tactical, and strategic concerns that are very different from these (Tuler et al 2008). The challenge then is to plan in ways that integrate such concerns while remaining true to the broader precepts that also guide preparedness planning before the fact of a spill and tactical planning in the event.…”

“…The dialogue on this question could be further enhanced by the inclusion of other stakeholders in the workshops (Tuler et al 2008;Webler and Lord 2010).…”

Domain‐based perceptions of risk: a case study of lay and technical community attitudes toward managed aquifer recharge

“…Q Methodology has been used in disciplines ranging from social psychology and ecological economics through to cultural geography to analyze the structure of discourse (Addams & Proops, 2000).It has been applied in the contexts of river and ocean management (Raadgever, Mostert & van de Giesen, 2008;Tuler & Webler, 2009), climate change (Niemeyer et al, 2005), and nuclear technologies (Venables, Pidgeon, Simmons, Henwood, & Parkhill, 2009), but has yet to be used to investigate recycled water in a research or policy setting.…”