Geographic Response Strategies (GRS) are site-specific, map-based oil spill response plans designed to protect sensitive areas from the impacts of a spill. GRS serve as supplements to the Subarea Contingency Plans for Oil and Hazardous Substances Spills and Releases and are the standard in Alaska for site-specific oil spill response planning.

Oil spill response specialists from multiple agencies and organizations make site visits to verify that existing GRS tactics are appropriate. A working group with members from the US Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Response and Restoration, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Geospatial Office, and University of Alaska, Fairbanks, has developed a process through which interested parties may easily propose updates or changes to any existing GRS tactic. Utilizing ArcGIS Field Maps, we created a mobile application for efficiently proposing these updates on-site. Based on our experiences managing data for hurricane response, we also developed a set of status definitions for managing and tracking these updates from initial proposal through a review and approval process by the GRS sub-committee.

After a final review, an authoritative decision is made by State On-Scene Coordinators and Federal On-Scene Coordinators. Once a tactic has been reviewed and approved, it replaces the existing tactic which is then archived. If a proposed or new tactic is not approved after the review process is complete, it is also archived.

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