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In This Section
Navigation for Caring for the Coast
Caring for the Coast Home Oil SpillsDrills
Land Office and U.S. Coast Guard responders coordinate their actions during a drill.
Land Office and U.S. Coast Guard personnel take to the water during a drill.
Land Office and U.S. Coast Guard drill participants set out on a mission.
Containment boom weighing 1.7 lb. per foot is hauled into position by responders.
Responders unpacking a portable Fast Tank, which can store up to 2,400 gallons of oil and contaminated water where needed.
Responders place containment boom during a drill.
A great deal of planning is needed to contain and clean up an oil spill.
A crop duster demonstrates its ability to fly low and slow, making it ideal for dropping dispersants on oil slicks.
Land Office personnel unload hundreds of feet of containment boom from a response trailer.
Containment boom is wrestled into position for being towed by a response boat.
A command post trailer is always the scene of much activity during a drill or actual spill.
Responders in airboats return to shore after inspecting an area of concern during a drill.
Responders depart for a first-hand look at the situation.
Containment boom is towed into position by response boats.
Command post trailer.
A Land Office responder describes a drum skimmer, which removes oil from the surface of water.
This propane-powered scare cannon makes a loud bang, like a firearm, frightening birds away from areas polluted with oil.
On a rainy, blustery day, Land Office staffers deploy a small arsenal of oil spill response equipment, including a scare cannon, containment boom, a hydraulic power pack and a drum skimmer.
This JBF skimmer can collect and separate floating oil in a single operation.
Responders use a GPS device to guide their airboat.
Land Office employees compare notes after a drill meeting.
Responders like this Land Office employee know drills pay big dividends during actual spills.
General Land Office and U.S. Coast Guard personnel work together on a drill scenario.
A scare cannon, containment boom and response boats, including three airboats, are ready for deployment in a drill.
This 24-foot response boat can take a drum skimmer (the yellow, drum-like object to the right of the boat) and the hydraulic power pack that runs it wherever they’re needed, even in waters less than 2-feet deep.
This Honda wash pump can be used for many purposes, such as removing water, fire fighting and salvage operations.
Responders on a 24-foot response boat prepare to deploy a drum skimmer.
Journalists role play during a drill, asking questions that responders might face in a real oil spill.
A drum skimmer weighing 115 lb. is removed from a response trailer.
Airboats can skim along the surface of the shallowest waters, even crossing over dry land for short distances.
Land Office oil spill responders confer on the best course of action to fight an imaginary spill.
The best way to practice for spills is by holding frequent drills that allow participants to respond to changing scenarios and learn the latest techniques. Since 2003, the Land Office has taken part in over 2,000 oil spill drills, sometimes more than 400 a year.
The annual MEXUS drill involves hundreds of participants from other Gulf Coast states and Mexico. A staff member from the Land Office always represents the state of Texas as the State On-Scene Coordinator during the drill, in which a major oil spill threatens both Mexican and U.S. coastal areas.
During the exercise, a joint command post is established, staffed by spill responders from private industry and state and federal agencies from both nations. Participants must overcome many barriers to implement and practice the Incident Command System and spill response organization and coordination.
The annual MEXUS drills have resulted in much smoother cooperation between the two nations’ oil spill responders, as well as protection strategies for environmentally sensitive coastal habitats in the United States and Mexico. Information gathered from the drills are provided to local area spill response planning committees for use in updating response plans.
Contacts
William D. “Bill” Grimes
1700 Congress Ave. Austin, TX 78701-1495
1.800.998.4GLO (4456)