Stephen Werndli is an engineer/scientist IV at Clancy Environmental Consultants, Inc. and works as a case coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS). Mr. Werndli has over 10 years of experience in managing and protecting natural and cultural resources, including 6 years with ONMS. He has an extensive background in environmental protection working previously with Florida's Department of Environmental Protection as a park ranger and government operations consultant, developing a strong background in both field and administrative operations associated with resource protection.
Mr. Werndli currently provides administration, coordination, support, and resource trustee information during emergency incidents, particularly those that involve vessel groundings, spills and other incidents that injure or threaten injury to marine or cultural resources within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and other sites within the ONMS. He also acts as point of contact for incident notification and dissemination of information to site Superintendents, ONMS Headquarters, Federal and State Law Enforcement, and other agencies during emergency response actions, damage assessment cases and restoration projects, ensuring proper and timely notification and on-going communication during initial response and case development.
Mr. Werndli participated in multi-agency projects to address illegal activities, development, and structures in both Monroe and Miami-Dade County, Florida, working closely with the County, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Law Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the ONMS. Operations were conducted both on land and water, with participants gathering information on derelict structures, abandoned vessels, permit violations, pollution/HazMat, resource damage, and power theft. Mr. Werndli also worked with USCG Sector Key West to enable the safe return to shore of a 155 foot freighter that lost power and was drifting toward the FKNMS in 2007. The actions taken prevented a significant ship grounding and pollution event from occurring within the FKNMS. Other projects on which Mr. Werndli has recently worked include providing input on an Enforcement Assumption Matrix that will be used to develop a 10 year Enforcement Requirements Plan outlining the necessary assets for providing effective enforcement in marine sanctuaries and providing information to FDEP Submerged Lands and Environmental Resource Permitting and Park Service staff on the process for developing civil penalty and resource damage assessment cases under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.
Mr. Werndli has also participated in the emergency response/oil spill preparedness exercises Safe Sanctuaries 2005 and Safe Seas 2006 and recently attended a planning meeting to define concepts and objectives for the first Area Committee Table Top Exercise of the Florida Keys Area Contingency Plan.
THE CEC TEAM
The CEC Team: Stephen Werndli