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Environmental Emergencies: Are You Ready?

Learn about the U.S. National Response Team's activities in responding to environmental emergencies and how you can be prepared. Explore examples of past incidents and the coordinated efforts involved in clean-up and recovery.

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Environmental Emergencies: Are You Ready?

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  1. More Than 30,000 Environmental Emergencies Occur Each Year Are You Ready? U.S. National Response Team

  2. EPA & USCG Activities Graniteville remembers deadly train wreck and chlorine spill It's been three years since the deadly train wreck and chlorine spill in Graniteville, SC that took nine lives, left hundreds injured, forced the evacuation of 5,400 residents and changed the face of the small community forever. A memorial service was held Sunday to honor the victims.(http://www.wrdw.com/news/headlines/13490422.html) After spill (from DM 932), many opt for purchasing bottled water A 100-mile stretch of the Mississippi River remains closed indefinitely to ship traffic, as salvage workers drafted plans to remove a split fuel barge from beneath the Crescent City Connection in New Orleans and a half-dozen emergency spill contractors continued efforts to corral hundreds of thousands of gallons of thick, smelly fuel oil as it floated toward the Gulf of Mexico. (http://blog.nola.com/updates/2008/07/after_spill_many_opt_for_purch.html)

  3. NOAA Activities: Response to M/V Cosco Busan Incident In Nov 2007, M/V Cosco Busan collided with the San Francisco Bay Bridge, and resulted in a 53,569 gallon release of fuel into the Bay. At the Unified Command, NOAA provided scientific advice to the U.S. Coast Guard. This scientific support was presented as pollutant trajectory predictions NOAA’s shoreline cleanup assessments & natural resource evaluations verified predictions. NOAA also conducted natural injury assessments and restoration planning with other trustees.

  4. DOI Activities Kinder Morgan Gasoline Pipeline Rupture • Gasoline supplies cut off to Las Vegas for a few days • Designated critical habitat for the threatened desert tortoise • Overflow zone for the Mojave River T/V Athos 1 Spill • Approxiamelty 44 miles of Delaware River affected; sheen reported to extend 50 miles • FWS leadership, natural resource agency personnel from NJ, PA, and DE, as well as Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research are cooperating in wildlife recovery and rehabilitation efforts

  5. USDA Activities • USDA Forest Service assists Coast Guard with attempts to burn off bunker fuel at the M/V NEW CARRISA • USDA APHIS assists NOAA and Coast Guard at T/V Athos Spill with wildlife rehab and hazing

  6. Authorities Clean Water Act Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (amended CWA) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or “Superfund” National Contingency Plan 40 CFR 300

  7. NRS Overview • National Response Team (NRT) • Nationwide responsibilities for interagency planning, policy, & coordination for oil & hazardous materials incidents. • 13 Regional Response Teams (RRTs) • Develops regional policies for & ensures an effective, coordinated response among all levels of government and the private sector.

  8. NRS Overview On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) Coordinate all containment, removal, and disposal efforts/resources. Other NRS components • National Response Center • Area Committees • State/Local Governments • Special Teams • Private Sector • Joint Response Teams with neighboring countries

  9. NRT MISSION To provide technical assistance, resources and coordination on preparedness, planning, response and recovery activities for emergencies involving hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants, hazmat, oil, weapons of mass destruction in natural and technological disasters and other environmental nationally significant incidents.

  10. NRT COMMITTEES AND SUBCOMMITTEES • Preparedness Committee • Training • Panama Canal • Response Committee • National Response Center Advisory Group • Worker Safety and Health • Science and Technology Committee • Weapons of Mass Destruction

  11. Response Management The 4 key features of the NRS are: • EPA and USCG coordinate and direct the response, EPA for inland areas, USCG for the coastal zone. • Other federal agencies with appropriate jurisdiction and expertise support the lead agency. • Activities are done in partnership with state and local officials. • Industry is responsible for being prepared for, responding to, and paying for cleanup and damages from pollution incidents. • The NRS uses the Incident Command System to bring these parties together to manage response actions. • NRF-NCP Relationship

  12. Thank you More information on the NRS can be found at: WWW.NRT.ORG

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