ABSTRACT The Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) program for the response to the Deep Water Horizon MC252 incident in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico addressed two key challenges: the scale of the affected area and the long response duration with potential for reoiling before well capping was achieved and then final cleanup being carried out in progressive stages. The affected coastline stretched between Galveston, TX and Franklin County, FL. The SCAT program started in April 2010 and will not be completed until some time after April 2011. Unified Area Command established two Incident Command Posts (ICPs) and the SCAT program was managed consistently across all States, from these two locations: Houma, LA and Mobile, AL. The first approximately 100 days were characterized by continual spillage and the oiling and potential reoiling of shorelines, until the release was controlled. During this period, referred to as Stage II, the SCAT field teams focused on an initial assessment of the scale of the...