Geographic Response Plans

Geographic Response Plans (GRP) are oil spill response plans tailored to protect a specific sensitive area from impacts following a spill. These response plans are map-based strategies that can save time during the critical first few hours of an oil spill response. They show responders where sensitive areas are located and where to place oil spill protection resources. Each GRP has two priorities, which are to:

• Identify sensitive natural, cultural or significant economic resources
• Describe and prioritize response strategies.

The purpose of these projects was to develop Geographic Response Plans (GRP) to protect sensitive environments and resources on inland rivers, as well as the Upper Narragansett Bay/Providence River coastline and the southern ocean facing coastline of Rhode Island.

Additional Resources

• GRP Tactics Guide
• MassGRP Tactics Guide

View Geographic Response Plans

Inland GRP

The Inland GRPs listed below were completed in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA provided funding for Nuka Research and Planning Group, LLC to completed GRP’s for Pawtuxet and Blackstone Rivers.

Upper Narragansett Bay/Providence River Areas GRP

The Upper Narragansett Bay/Providence River project was directed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) with funding provided by Motiva Enterprises, LLC. Nuka Research and Planning Group, LLC was contracted by Motiva to develop the Geographic Response Plans, which have been listed in the RI Geographic Response Plan below under Additional Resources.

Southern Coastal Areas GRP

The original GRPs published in May of 1999 for the coastal areas are also included in the GRP’s listed below.

Tidal Inlet Protection Strategies for Oil-Spill Response