WITT O'BRIEN'S EARNS CALIFORNIA'S SMT CERTIFICATION FOR OIL SPILL RESPONSE

HOUSTON / London / Singapore / São Paulo, August 15, 2023. Witt O’Brien’s announced today that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) has officially certified the firm as an External Spill Management Team (SMT). Witt O’Brien’s crisis communications division, Navigate Response, also received certification to act as Assistant Liaison Officer and Assistant Public Information Officer for incidents occurring in the state.

OSPR serves as California's primary agency for responding to oil spills in both inland and marine environments. External SMTs are vital to ensuring that government agencies and companies that monitor and manage oil spill responses can take fast and effective action in coordination with the responsible party. When an emergency strikes, many Incident Management Command Centers do not have the resources to staff the multiple roles required for an effective response. As certified external SMTs for OSPR, Witt O’Brien’s and Navigate Response personnel can be activated to fill Incident Command System (ICS) positions during OSPR’s efforts to manage spill responses.

Witt O’Brien’s and Navigate Response’s SMT certifications were achieved as a result of the firm’s performance in a major tanker oil spill simulation conducted in March 2023 off the Southern California coast near Los Angeles. The exercise was developed in cooperation with OSPR, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other state, Federal, and local agencies. The exercise incorporated all aspects of an ICS response and included more than 200 participants from Witt O’Brien’s and the participating agencies.

“We are proud to have received SMT certification from OPSR and look forward to working with the agency to maximize incident response and minimize oil spill impact in California’s waters,” Tim Whipple, Witt O’Brien’s CEO stated. “We're committed to supporting our clients’ environmental protection initiatives and stand ready to deploy wherever and whenever needed.”