Aerial view in Google Earth of Portland Harbor (ME).
Nuka Research was contracted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to facilitate a working group tasked with creating a guidance document to aid Maine’s marine oil terminals in developing Natural Hazard Risk Assessments (NHRA). This effort was part of updated requirements under the DEP’s Chapter 600 regulations, which govern Oil Discharge Prevention and Pollution Control Rules for Marine Oil Terminals, Transportation Pipelines and Vessels. The guidance outlines how terminal owners and operators should assess risks to their infrastructure and assets from natural hazards such as flooding, sea level rise, and storm damage.
Under the new requirements, the NHRA must address actions to adapt to climate change, ensure infrastructure resilience, and evaluate risks based on several new flood standards. The working group brought together the latest scientific data and local expertise to evaluate various scenarios, including risks from 100-year flood or precipitation events, and Intermediate and High Sea Level Rise projections.
October 2023 – November 2024