Spill Planning and Preparedness Information

General: The National Response System (NRS) is the government's mechanism for preparing for, and ensuring adequate response to releases of hazardous substances into the environment or discharges of oil onto navigable waters of the United States. The NRS functions through a network of interagency and intergovernmental relationships and provides for coordinated response actions by all levels of government and responsible parties (the spiller) to a real or potential oil or hazardous substances incident.

A series of information pamphlets on oil spill prevention, planning, and response techniques from the Region I Regional Response Team provides summarizes information on oil spill response. If you are interested in additional information on the topics in the pamphlets, the following links provide information on different aspects of the NRS. Because many of these links are external, please read this disclaimer, and be aware that you will need to use the back button on your browser to return here.

Link Categories:

[Prevention] [Response Techniques] [Response Plans] [Response Laws and Regulations] [Response Agencies]

Spill Prevention: [Back to categories]

• The Marine Oil Spill Prevention framework has been summarized by RRT I.
• The U.S. Coast Guard Port State Control program targets ships that are likely to pose the highest risk.
• The U.S. Coast Guard Prevention through People program focuses on the human factors that cause most accidents.
• Regional Tug and Barge Regulations have been enacted to require extra safety measures for this traffic in the First District.  
• Recreational boat oil spills don't capture headlines, but still harm the environment. Read about oil spills and small boats at BoatSafe.com.

Spill Response Techniques: [Back to categories]

• Spill Information Pamphlet Series from RRT I provides information on techniques to clean up oil spills, in addition to spill prevention, planning, response organization, and response roles.
• "What's the Story on Oil Spills" from NOAA Hazmat is for children interested in learning about oil spills.
• EPA's Oil Program describes prevention, preparedness, reporting, and response from an inland perspective.
• A Primer for Students from Oil Spill Intelligence Report provides basic information on spills and response methods.

Spill Response Plans: [Back to categories]

• The spill response planning hierarchy is described by RRT I in Spill Planning and Spill Response Roles.
• Area Contingency Plans (Northeast) are the unified government spill response plans mandated by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the National Contingency Plan
• The National Contingency Plan (in .pdf format, or summary in html format) is the primary federal regulation guiding spill response and planning efforts.
• A fact sheet entitled Coordinating Contingency Planning, produced by the National Response Team, describes how to maximize interoperability of response plans at the industry, local, area, regional, and national levels to a variety of pollutants.
• The Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) is the national exercise program for testing spill response plans.
• The National Pollution Funds Center administers the $1 Billion Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which allows for rapid response even if the responsible party does not take appropriate action.
• Response Equipment Caps, or the amount of equipment required by industry plan holders, has been recently evaluated in a study commissioned by the Coast Guard.
• 2000 Emergency Response Guidebook provides first response action recommendations to first responders, based on transportation placard information.

Federal Oil Spill Laws and Regulations: [Back to categories]

• The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (in .pdf format, or in html format) passed by Congress in 1990 expanded spill response, planning, and liability schemes in the U.S.
• The National Contingency Plan (in .pdf format, or summary in html format) is enacted as a regulation, and response efforts must comply with this plan. This regulation also guides hazardous substance release response under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund).

Agencies Involved in Oil Spill Response in the First District: [Back to categories]

• Who fills key spill response roles is explained in the RRT I Spill Planning and Spill Response Roles brochure.
• The U.S. Coast Guard, Office of Response (Washington D.C.) establishes the policy guiding coastal zone spill planning and response activities nationwide.
• The First Coast Guard District's Marine Safety Division (Boston, MA) oversees and assists in the implementation of spill planning and response at five Marine Safety Offices in the District.
• Five Coast Guard Marine Safety Offices/Captains of the Port in the First District prepare for and respond to coastal zone oil spills. The COTP zones nationwide define the coastal zone Federal On-Scene Coordinators.
• NOAA HAZMAT provides scientific support to Coast Guard On-Scene Coordinators through Scientific Support Coordinators located in each Coast Guard District.
• U.S. EPA's Oil Program (Washington D.C.) provides general information on oil spill response. EPA provides Federal On-Scene Coordinators for the inland zone.
• National Response Team - The National Response Team is a planning and preparedness body led by the EPA (chair) and Coast Guard (vice chair) consisting of 16 federal agencies.
• Regional Response Teams (RRT) for Regions I and Region II in the northeast mirror the National Response Team and include state representatives. RRTs are co-chaired by the EPA and Coast Guard, support and advise On-Scene Coordinators during response, and produce Regional Contingency Plans. A similar international organization between the US and Canada in the Northeast, the Atlantic Joint Preparedness Team, fills a similar role for transboundary planning and response advice.
• Environmental departments from the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey work closely with Federal On-Scene Coordinators in the First Coast Guard District in spill preparedness and response activities.

Past Spills in the First District: [Back to categories]

• Past spills with information online in the First District and U.S.