News

10/01/11 RPI is developing ESI maps and geospatial data for coastal Louisiana and the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. These data will be used for oil spill contingency planning and response, coastal resource management, and natural resources damage assessment. See more...

10/01/11 RPI is developing ESI maps and geospatial data for the Upper Coast of Texas. These data will be used for oil spill contingency planning and response, coastal resource management, and natural resources damage assessment. See more...

09/15/11 Pandion Books, a division of Research Planning, Inc., announces the release of its new title "Coastal Heroes" by Miles O. Hayes ...more.

08/16/11 RPI is currentlyl developing ESI maps and Geographic Information System (GIS) digital databases of the Florida Panhandle and South Florida coastal areas. The maps will highlight biological habitats and life stages, wildlife concentrations, shoreline geomorphology/sensitivity, and human-use resources, all of which are particularly sensitive to oil spills ...more.

07/15/11 RPI has completed production of the North Carolina ESI atlas set...more.

04/18/11 RPI and Pandion will be convening a training course on Oil Spill Response Planning and Natural Resource Damage Assessment for the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Center (MEMAC) ...more.

04/18/11 RPI scientists will be attending the International Oil Spill Conference in May, 2011 in Portland, Oregon. RPI staff are authors or co-authors on 11 papers/posters. We will have a booth in the exhibit hall; come and visit us!

04/18/11 RPI scientists will be attending the SETAC North America Gulf Oil Spill Focused Topic Meeting in Pensacola, FL, April 26-28. Dr. Jacqueline Michel will moderate the Opening Plenary and Panel Session.

04/11/11 RPI was awarded a contract with the Louis Berger Group to develop a Preliminary Ecological Risk Assessment (PERA) for the Brookley AFB Landfill No. 1, AL, with focus on aquatic receptors.

04/01/11 RPI is working with the NOAA Emergency Response Division to provide technical support to their Chemical Aquatic Fate and Effects (CAFÉ) database. This database serves as a tool to aid responders in their assessment of the potential toxicological impacts from chemical spills in aquatic environments in situations where critical decisions need to be made within a few hours after a spill occurs.

02/11/11 RPI is providing the National Park Service (NPS) with support in developing the NPS Spill Response Program. We are preparing the environmental components of a Draft NPS Annex to be used by NPS units to supplement information in Area Contingency Plans (ACPs) for oil spill response and preparedness ...more.

10/13/10 Dr. Miles O. Hayes is the Keynote Speaker at the 2010 National Coastal Conference of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, giving a talk on "The Shore of South Carolina: Geomorphology and Coastal Processes."
Dr. Jacqueline Michel is giving an invited talk on the "Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Response Technologies and Lessons Learned."

09/17/10 Dr. Miles O. Hayes and Dr. Jacqueline Michel led the 2010 Annual Field Trips for the Carolina Geological Society in Charleston, SC. The trip covered the geomorphology and stratigraphy of the prograding barrier islands of Kiawah and Seabrook, in contract with that of the trangressive (landward migrating) Edisto Beach State Park. Tidal inlets dynamics were also discussed. There were 140 participants on the field trips.

09/01/10 RPI is on the Louis Berger team that was awarded a contract with the NOAA Restoration Center to provide Environmental Restoration Services, Environmental Management Consulting Services, Restoration, Remediation Services and Related Works. This contract will be used in a nationwide capacity.

08/09/10 RPI delivered the final report and associated GIS data for the study "Distribution of Subsurface Oil from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill." In this study, a suite of geospatial models were developed to identify potential areas where subsurface oil is still present on the shorelines of PWS and GOA affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill as of 2007. The model was used to quantify the relative amount of subsurface oil so that the models could be used as screening tools to prioritize shorelines for different remediation methods. The report is available on the Exxon Valdez Trustee Council website: http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/

01/01/10 RPI has completed production of the Mississippi ESI atlas update.

09/09/09 RPI was awarded the contract from MMS to conduct the South Atlantic Literature Synthesis. The study area extends from the NC/SC border to Palm Bay in Florida, and from the shoreline out to the EEZ. The period of performance is 24 months...more.

03/19/09 RPI is part of a team of 4 companies tasked to develop a Coastal Resources Atlas and Environmental Vulnerability Index to support coastal management and planning in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, through the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD).

10/27/08 RPI is conducting a GIS characterization of Turkey and Bullock Creek Watersheds in the Broad River Basin, York and Chester Counties, SC as the first step in implementing a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for fecal coliform.

10/13/08 RPI has started production on the Southern California ESI atlas update.

10/02/08 Research Planning, Inc. conducted a week-long workshop on use of the Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA) model for natural resource injury assessment and restoration in Rio de Janerio, Brazil

05/01/08 Pandion Books, a division of Research Planning, Inc., announces its first title in print "A Coast for All Seasons - A Naturalist's Guide to the Coast of South Carolina" ...more.

01/15/08 RPI is assisting the Trustees in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment of the Cosco Buson oil spill in San Francisco, CA.