For 40 years, CSA International, Inc. (CSA) has been providing environmental support services to the Energy Industry and related agencies, primarily associated with the sustainable exploration, exploitation, and development of offshore natural resources. Most projects for our more than 240 energy industry clients (government agency and commercial companies) involve identifying environmental risks and minimizing potential environmental impacts to assist in addressing environmental requirements while meeting engineering and logistical constraints of energy development and distribution. Our services include ecological risk assessments, Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs), environmental assessments, and general and specialized water and sediment sampling.
Located along the east coast of south Florida, CSA is dedicated to the preservation of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). We have an extensive understanding of spill impacts through our years working with domestic and international incidents. Additionally, we are ideally situated for immediate Emergency Environmental Response Services in both the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic Coast. We have a fully mobilized research vessel located in Louisiana (M/V Jack Fitz). Additionally, CSA recently opened an office and offshore support base in Houma, Louisiana. This Houma base will support operations in the Gulf of Mexico, providing dockage for the CSA oceanographic and environmental survey fleet as well as a comprehensive support facility to store and maintain a wide variety of scientific and oceanographic sampling and survey equipment.
Download the top level GIS map of the upper Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Florida coast.
Capabilities
Our comprehensive marine environmental services, which meet recognized industry and international standards of practice, include the following:
- Specialized chemical and biological sampling and surveys;
- General marine sampling (water and sediment);
- Ecological risk assessments;
- National Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs);
- Environmental assessments;
- Mitigation habitat and resource mapping and monitoring;
- Fate and effects modeling of oil spills; and
- Marine logistical support.
For the mitigation, management, and monitoring of identified impacts associated with oil and gas activities, CSA develops mitigation measures for corresponding potential impacts, including those required by laws or regulations, along with additional realistic, feasible, and cost-effective measures to prevent or reduce significant negative impacts to acceptable levels. Monitoring is utilized to determine the effects of activities on the environment and the efficacy of the mitigation measures.
CSA’s seven distinct business lines work both independently and cooperatively, particularly when facing an ecological disaster. For an Emergency Environmental Response, especially those involving oil spills, our Coastal Restoration business lines works with our Energy Industry and Marine Services business lines to mitigate, monitor, and restore marine and coastal environments to their natural baseline condition.
The primary objectives of restoration include accelerating habitat recovery and reducing liability for lost ecological services associated with natural resource damage, such as an oil spill. Requisite sampling for restoration determines injury type and severity and assesses restoration and mitigation strategies that can be incorporated into Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA), which determines appropriate compensation for lost ecological services. An HEA is a method commonly used to value injuries to natural resources resulting from oil spills, ship groundings, and other human-induced incidents.
Equipment
Research Vessel
- 165-ft DP vessel capable of conducting deepwater sediment and water sampling
- Underwater towed video system (2)
- Water and sediment sampling gear
- Water quality monitoring equipment (Seabird and YSI Sampling systems)
- ADCP 600kHz system
- Associated sample jars and containers
Survey Equipment and Instrumentation
- Klein 3000 side-scan sonar system
- Single and multi-beam bathymetric systems
- EdgeTech 216s CHIRP subbottom profiler
- Quester Tangent signal processing system (useful in mapping submerged oil mats)
- Underwater Photo/Video Packages (4)
- Hypack survey and data collection software
- Trimble GPS units
- VideoRay Observation class ROV
Environmental and Oceanographic Equipment and Instrumentation
- Extensive array of sediment grabs (Van Veen, Smith-McIntyre, Grey O’Hara)
- Water samplers (Go-Flo and Niskin)
- ADCPs with wave height and direction (trawl mounts and other mooring configurations)
- Water quality instrumentation (Sea-Bird solid state memory CTD/DO recording systems)
- Otter trawls and sampling nets
- Fish traps
- Plankton sampling equipment
- Rossfelder P-3 Modular Vibracore System
Vessels
- Small trailerable vessels (3)
- Airboats (2)
- Sectional barges 10-ft x 40-ft with or without spuds (23)
- Trailerable work barges 10-ft x 30-ft (6)
- 30-ft push boat
- 30-ft offshore dive/work boat
- 30-ft survey boat
- 30-ft shallow water supply barge with an A-frame (3)
- Sectional spud barges 40-ft x 10-ft (23)
- Barge pusher hydraulic propulsion unit
- Light duty dredge packages (3)
Diving Services and equipment
- Diving scientists – fully insured and accredited with AAUS
- Commercial divers – fully insured and ADC accredited
- U/W camera systems (HD video and Photo Systems)
- U/W communications
- Diver assisted sampling systems
- Dive Packages (10)
- Dive Boats - Pontoon style (7)
- Diver Cool Suit Equipment (4)
- Recompression Chamber
- 325 Air Compressor
- Nitrox Compressor (2)
Vehicles
- Work Trucks (20)
Support Equipment
- Welders (4)
- Burning rigs (4)
- Plasma cutter rigs (2)
- 20-kW generator
- 3,500-W generators (5)
- Underwater hydraulic tools
- 6-in. Thompson hydraulic jet pump
- 6 to 8 GPM hydraulic units (5)
- 8 to 12 GPM hydraulic units (5)
- Water lifts (2)
- Venturi dredges (2)
- 3-in. fire hose (600 ft)
- 1,000-m rated winch system