The Role of the Regional Environmental Emergencies Team (REET) in Emergency Response in the Atlantic Region of Canada.

A significant risk of a marine oil spill exists along the east coast of Canada due to increasing ship traffic and offshore oil exploration and development. Combine this with the natural hazards (such as weather and ice) associated with the North Atlantic Ocean and the presence of significant natural resources (such as wildlife and fishery) and the potential for a major oil spill with significant environmental impacts is created. Based on the lessons learned from past spills, the oil spill response community in the Atlantic Region has evolved an oil spill response network that focuses on improving the various procedures relating to spill prevention, preparedness, response, and damage restoration. An active player in these activities is the Regional Environmental Emergencies Team or REET. This paper will provided a brief overview of the role of the ˵REET″ in emergency response in the region. Several of the key aspects of the REET approach will be described including the partnerships which are created, the technical and scientific information which is available from various organizations and the value of providing coordinated and consolidated environmental advice to the OSC. Several short case studies will be presented to describe the recent activities of the REET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]