This new IPIECA/OGP Guide explains why and how an effective oiled shoreline assessment program is necessary and appropriate to support the planning, decisions making and implementation process for a shoreline response for the initial response to the completion of treatment o cleanup operations. Some of the key elements of the Guide include:• how a SCAT Programme fits into the Shoreline Response Programme and is vertically and horizontally integrated within the response management organization;• how the key components of a shoreline assessment program are integrated into the data generation, decision process, and implementation and closure stages of a shoreline response• the importance of segmentation, as part of pre-spill planning when possible, to divide the shoreline into operational working units and as the foundation for a data base;• identification of the information needs, and expectations, of the decision makers and the flow of information from the documentation generated by the field teams, through the data base, to support the development of treatment options and constraints, treatment end points, and finally into the inspection and closure process;• types of data (maps, tables, reports etc.) that are generated;• lines of communication and support for field Operations regarding (a) guidelines for treatment techniques and strategies, (b) operational environmental, cultural and socioeconomic limitations, (c) treatment priorities, and (d) the application and understanding of Shoreline Treatment Recommendations (STRs) (the shoreline treatment “work orders”);• participants and design elements of a Shoreline Assessment Programme Plan and ;• checklists for the key participants of a SCAT Programme (SCAT Coordinator, Field Team Leads, SCAT-OPS Liaison, Logistics Coordinator, and SCAT Data Manager) for each of the initial (“reactive”) planning, and completion (“closure”) phases of a typical response operation. The SCAT process provides a strategy for completion without which a spill response would be unable to ensure a timely end, which may lead to misuse of resources and negative environmental impacts due to excessive treatment. Shoreline assessment surveys provide valuable information and support for decision makers, planners and operations, no matter the size of the spill, the scale of the response or the environmental setting, to effectively treat or clean oiled shorelines by accelerating recovery without causing additional harm to the environment.
