NW Area Committee

What is an Area Committee?

• Interagency group charged with pre-planning for oil spills

• Comprised of any player who has a role in oil spill response

• Spatial boundaries defined by EPA/USCG

• Mandated by OPA 90 Section 4202(4)(A)

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3

Who is on an Area Committee?

• Fire Department

• Tribes

• Local Health Dist.

• Industry

• NGOs

• Private Citizens

• State Police

• State Health Department

• State Env. Reg.

• USCG

• EPA

• NOAA

• DOI

• DoD, DOE, etc.

Area Committee members include anyonewho has a role in oil spill response.

Response Ramp Up

• Local Fire/Hazmat Team responses, generally rely on mutual aid from nearby jurisdictions;

• State responders provide secondary response support, if needed;

• Federal responders provide the backstop by providing response support to the locals and State, if resources and funding is exhausted or unavailable

Response Support• When local capabilities and/or funds are

overwhelmed, NWAC agencies could provide surge capacity and expertise

• When federally protected natural resources are impacted, NWAC agencies may be obligated to respond

• RRT/NWAC Goal: Strong relationships and understanding of roles/responsibilities ahead of time to ensure good coordination during the incident

Examples of “Surge”

• SILVERTIP PIPELINE SPILL

• Funding• Specialized

equipment/capability• Air monitoring• Government to Government

Tribal Coordination• Cleanup Contractors

Who supports locals during a Response?

Marine

State

Inland

RRT 10US EPA, R10USCG, D-13

NW Area CommitteeUS EPA, R10

USCG, Sector SeattleUSCG, Sector Portland

Northwest Area Committee Federal StateTribal Local Non-ProfitIndustry

Members are any entity with response interest in region. This includes all RRT members as well as county and city agencies and the private sector.

Regional Response Team 10FederalStateTribal

Member agencies are identified in NCP. Each of 15 Federal Agencies and State Lead Agency have one vote when the RRT assembles during a response.

In R10, these groups meet together.

NW Area Committee

Regional Response Team

NWACP Concept of Operations

• Rapid notification of Federal, State, and local governments to permit assessment and response, if necessary– National Response Center, 800-424-

8802• Relies on the principle of escalation• Utilizes the National Incident

Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System/Unified Command (ICS/UC) principles

Unified Command Diagram

Directly from NWACP, Page 2000-2

FOSC

Tribal/ other OSC

RPIC

LOSC

SOSC

Note: The timeframe for this structure will follow the initial response by first responders.

Concept of Operations, cont.

• Provides for access to considerable resources and expertise as situations requires

• Covers all spills regardless of nature, cause or source– oil and hazmat– fixed facility and transportation– inland and coastal– natural and man-made disasters

Useful NWACP Tools

• For oil spills on water with Geographic Response Plans• Lower and Middle Columbia, North Oregon

Coast, etc

• For large incidents• Contact information for State and Federal

Resources• Technical response resources

• For local contingency planning• Information on State and Federal capabilities

(equipment, expertise, funding)• Reference for role State and Feds are ready to

fill

Purpose of the GRP’s• Prioritize natural, cultural and

significant economic resources• Allow for immediate and proper

action • First responders know what actions

to take• Includes:

– Area maps– Prioritized booming strategies– Access points– Staging areas

WHAT IS A GRP?• A response orientated contingency plan

providing the framework for initial response decisions

RRT 10US EPA, R10

USCG, District13

NW Area CommitteeUS EPA, R10

USCG, Sector Puget SoundUSCG, Sector Columbia River

Steering CommitteeTask Forces

Public

Contractors

Industry

Non-Profits

Direct input route:

Gov. Agencies

2014 Task Forces:• Emerging Risks• In Situ Burn• Incident Command Post• Shoreline Cleanup (SCAT)• Wildlife • Endangered Species Act• Outreach• Lessons Learned

RRT 10US EPA, R10USCG, D-13

NW Area CommitteeUS EPA, R10

USCG, Sector SeattleUSCG, Sector Portland

GRP Workshops

Exercises

Drills

Outreach

NWAC Meetings

NWAC Plan Evolves and Responders are Informed

“Integration with Reality”

Annual Plan Review

How to get the plan, and connect with the NWAC

http://www.rrt10nwac.com/

Josie Clark Heather Parker RRT10 Coordinator, EPA RRT10 Coordinator,

USCG 206-553-6239 206-220-7215 clark.josie@epa.gov

heather.a.parker@uscg.mil