EPA’s Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) “BOLD” Visits Pacific Northwest

Portland Stop -- May 29 -31-- is first of Four Northwest Port Visits

Seattle, Wash., May 27, 2008 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Ocean Survey Vessel, the OSV BOLD, will make its first northwest appearance in Portland, Oregon, beginning May 29th.EPA’s Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) “BOLD”

EPA's 224-foot research flagship will be docked at Tom McCall Waterfront Park and will be open to the public. Free public tours will be conducted May 29th – 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and May 30 and 31st – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The OSV BOLD came straight from Arcata, California where it completed seafloor monitoring at the Humbolt Bay Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site.

"We are delighted to welcome the OSV BOLD and its crew to the Rose City and our Northwest waters,” said Elin Miller, EPA Regional Administrator in Seattle, Washington. “This is the first of four stops in the region, where EPA will conduct critically important marine sampling, investigation and research. The OSV BOLD represents EPA's technological leadership in environmental protection and cutting edge aquatic research. This is a great opportunity for the public to get a look at EPA’s vessel and see how we protect our ocean and coastal waters."

The OSV BOLD is equipped with state-of-the art sampling, mapping, and analysis equipment including side scan sonar, underwater video, water sampling instruments, and sediment sampling devices, which scientists use in various monitoring activities.

The vessel is a converted U.S. Navy T-AGOS class vessel and is 224 feet long and 43 feet wide. EPA acquired the OSC BOLD on March 31, 2004. The ship and its crew collect water quality and sediment samples, fish, and other organisms in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

During its tour of duty in the area, the OSV BOLD will:

o Monitor Ocean dredged material disposal sites in Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River and offshore of Newport, Coos Bay, Bandon and Brookings. Study water and sediment quality along the central Oregon coast. (June 1-17); Open to the public in Newport, Oregon (June 18);
o Study discharges of Alaskan cruise ships in the coastal sea between Juneau and Skagway (July 5-21); Open to the public in Juneau, Alaska (in July);
o Monitor ambient dioxin concentrations in sediments at background reference areas throughout Puget Sound in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Washington Department of Ecology and the Washington Department of Natural Resources (August 1-6); Open to the public in Seattle, Washington (August 8); and
o Monitor dissolved oxygen and nutrient concentrations throughout Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca in collaboration with the Washington Department of Ecology (August 11-16).

The OSV BOLD saw “active duty” in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricanes Katrina & Rita, serving as a floating laboratory and research platform for shared testing and analysis in the Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi Sound, and the Gulf. The science teams collected samples using the OSV BOLD at inshore and coastal locations. These water, sediment, and fish tissue samples were analyzed and contributed to the comprehensive database collected of pathogens and pollutants release following the storms.

For additional information about the OSV Bold, visit: epa.gov/bold

Source: EPA

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