OR&R; Efforts in Vieques, Puerto Rico

Vieques coastline

Vieques is a small island east of mainland Puerto Rico. Portions of Vieques were formerly used by the United States Navy for military training operations.  The Navy ceased operations in 2003, and is now investigating areas it previously occupied to determine the extent of contamination. Vieques was recently put on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) National Priority List (NPL).  The investigation and cleanup includes the land previously occupied by the Navy and the surrounding waters. As a natural resource trustee, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R;) provides scientific support to EPA, the Navy, and the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board (EQB) for the investigation and cleanup of Vieques.  OR&R; is protecting NOAA trust resources by assisting the EPA and Navy with the assessment of contamination, identification of the risks to humans and the environment, and development of cost-effective strategies to assess, cleanup, and restore natural resources.

In fiscal years 2005 and 2006, OR&R; received appropriations from Congress to assist the Departments of Defense and Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency in carrying out their responsibilities in cleaning up Vieques, Puerto Rico. In collaboration with federal and commonwealth partners and the Vieques community, NOAA is implementing the following projects:

• Coral Reef Ecosystem Characterization to collect detailed information on benthic habitats, fish and invertebrate communities, and water quality.
  
• Underwater survey and magnetometer to determine the effectiveness of side scan multibeam sonar in identifying underwater ordnance and debris;
  
• Fishery and Habitat Linkage Assessment on the NOAA vessel Nancy Foster
  
• Geographic information systems (GIS) watershed and mapping project to assist with the investigation and cleanup of Vieques;
  
• Land and fiddler crab study to characterize chemical concentrations of hazardous substances in land and fiddler crabs on Vieques; and
  
• Education and outreach focuses on the protection and restoration of Vieques coastal resources.

For more information

Vieques Watershed Project Webguide An overview of the Vieques watershed project, GIS mapping tools and more. [leaves OR&R; site]

Other pages in this series

Vieques Crab Sampling Study Learn more about the Vieques crab sampling project

Vieques Watershed Database and Mapping Project Software & Data Learn more about the software & data used in the Vieques Watershed Project