Washington State Department of Ecology has awarded Dr. van Dorp $165K

The Washington State Department of Ecology has awarded Prof. Rene van Dorp (EMSE) a $165,000 sole source contract to conduct a Vessel Traffic Risk Assessment Study (VTRA) in the Salish Sea, comprised of the Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia. The project runs from February through December 2016, and the focus of the study is the prevention of oil spills from tank barges and tankers. The Salish Sea is an international waterway known for being a pristine ecosystem inhabited by multiple endangered species, including a resident orca whale family. It is currently under pressure from multiple planned terminal development projects both on the U.S. and Canadian sides, including a terminal project for loading tar sands oil on tankers for transportation from Vancouver through these waterways. This project is joint work with Prof. van Dorp’s collaborator, Jason Merrick at Virginia Common Wealth University.