Oil spill response strategies are designed to minimize environmental impacts to the extent possible.  Each response option must be evaluated for operational limitations (e.g., sea state), potential effectiveness, environmental impacts of the response option itself, and applicability under various oil spill scenarios (e.g., size and location of the spill) in addition to health and safety of the responders.  This presentation provides a review of the primary oil spill response options, a detailed discussion that addresses misperceptions and misunderstandings about dispersants and their use, and a description of dispersant use during the Deepwater Horizon incident.