Mystery Spill, Florence; Florence, OR

Florence, OR | 1999-Jul-18

Initial Notification: Beginning July 18, 1999, scattered tarballs were reported washing ashore on the coast of Oregon near Florence. Tarballs continued to wash ashore for several days following the initial discovery. Weather during this time was northwest winds, 15 to 20 knots. Impacted shoreline areas were habitat for snowy plovers, a threatened species. The USCG requested NOAA to assist with the "How Clean is Clean" process for beach signoff. No RP was determined, so the USCG hired cleanup crews to remove tarballs manually, and had PST and NOAA conduct SCAT surveys along about 75 miles of coastline. The USCG opened the fund to pay for a command post and cleanup efforts. The response lasted for several weeks. USCG district 5.