A SYSTEMS-APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX (ESI) MAPPING FOR OIL-SPILL CONTINGENCY PLANNING AND RESPONSE

Oil spills can devastate ecosystems and severely impact water quality. The Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) was developed to reduce the environmental consequences of a spill and help prioritize the placeme nt and allocation of resources during cleanup efforts. The successful use of analog and digital geographic information system versions of th e Esl concept during the past ten years has led to improvements and re finements, including (1) the development of tidal inlet protection str ategy maps produced before a spill that specify the type of response ( e.g., boom, skimmer) and where and how to place it, (2) new large form at seasonal summary maps, (3) geographic expansion of the Esr concept inland to classify the sensitivity of rivers using a river Reach Sensi tivity Index (RSI), (4) regional watershed analysis to identify hazard s and potential spill consequences, and (5) the identification of unus ually sensitive areas to environmental damage if there is a hazardous liquid pipeline accident.