SCAT team removing submerged oil on the beach at Pensacola Naval Air Station.

The Operational Science Advisory Team (OSAT) is a small group of agency representatives, or members, located at Deepwater Horizon Unified Area Command, within the Environmental Unit. The Unified Area Command operates under the direction of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Federal On-Scene Coordinator. The Environmental Unit is under the operational control of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). OSAT acts as an advisory board, providing a cross-agency perspective based on near real-time analysis of data from the sub-surface and sub-sea monitoring effort to inform operational decision making. OSAT has released two reports:

1. OSAT Summary Report for Sub-Sea and Sub-Surface Oil and Dispersant Detection: Sampling and Monitoring
   The purpose of this report is to provide the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill with sufficient information to determine the presence or absence of subsurface oil and dispersants amenable to removal actions under the provisions of the federal Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.
2. OSAT Summary Report for Fate and Effects of Remnant Oil in the Beach Environment
   The purpose of this report is to provide the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill with a risk-based Net Environmental Benefits Analysis (NEBA) associated with removing remnant oil from the near shore, surf zone and shoreline sandy beach areas.