INLAND WATERWAYS SPILL RESPONSE MAPPING PROJECT:  DEVELOPING
PRODUCTS TO PROTECT THE MIDWEST FROM A POTENTIAL DISASTER.

Hank DeHaan.  
U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI 54603.

The Inland Waterways Spill Response Mapping Project largely owes its existence to the
catastrophic 1989 oil spill from the Exxon Valdez.  Shortly after the disaster, the U.S. Congress
passed the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 as an amendment to the Clean Water Act.  The OPA
mandates nationwide preparation of oil spill contingency plans and documentation of
spill-sensitive resources to improve the efficiency of spill response efforts.  The Inland
Waterways Spill Response Mapping Project was initiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to meet the requirements of OPA in EPA Region 5, which includes Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.  Its primary mission is to provide community
planners and oil spill responders with information on resources at risk during a spill.  The
mapping project is a joint effort of four agencies that have partnered to draw on each
organization's expertise.  The EPA provides funding, overall project coordination, and distributes
products generated for the project.  The Great Lakes Commission and Upper Mississippi River
Basin Association collect resource data and organize the review of draft products.  The U.S.
Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) processes the
collected data using geographic information system (GIS) software to produce Inland Sensitivity
Atlases.  These atlases are being generated for 34 mapping areas throughout EPA Region 5.  At
this time, 19 areas have been completed along the Upper Mississippi River, Ohio River, and
Great Lakes.  The atlases are available in hard copy and CD formats.  They include information
(e.g., sensitive species, water intakes, and pipelines) needed to prepare for and respond quickly to
an oil spill.  The CDs are designed to provide the user with fast user-friendly access to interactive
maps, GIS data, and descriptive information about the mapping area resources.  To serve a
variety of users, the atlas information is available in several formats including Marplot MIE files,
Adobe Acrobat PDF files, Arc/Info export files, and ArcView shapefiles.  In addition to
producing atlases, UMESC has also started several new initiatives that include developing a web
page that makes the project data more accessible and performing analysis to identify high-risk
areas within EPA Region 5.

Keywords:  GIS, Great Lakes, Mississippi River, oil spill, sensitive species