Understanding Oil Spills And Oil Spill Response

SUMMARY
THE NATIONAL
Response System is the mechanism
established by the federal government to respond to
discharges of oil into navigable waters of the United States.
This system functions through a cooperative network of
federal, state, and local agencies. The primary mission of
the system is to provide support to state and local response
activities.
The major components of the National Response System
are the On-scene Coordinators, the National Response
Team, and the 13 Regional Response Teams, with
supplementary support from Special Forces. These
individuals and teams work together to develop detailed
contingency plans to outline responses to oil spill
emergencies before they occur and to develop or engage in
training that prepares responders for actual emergencies.
During oil spill events, they cooperate to ensure that all
necessary resources such as personnel and equipment are
available and that containment, cleanup, and disposal
activities are timely, efficient, and effective. Four Special
Forces components provide specialized support to OSCs
during spill response. It is through this cooperation that
the National Response System protects human health and
the environment from potential harm from oil spills in
navigable waters.

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• Understanding Oil Spills and Oil Spill Response

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EPA Office of Emergency and Remedial Response •
8
Response To Oil Spills
INTRODUCTION
RESPONSE TO OIL
spills requires the combined efforts of
the owner or operator of the facility or vessel that spilled
the oil, the federal On-Scene Coordinator (OSC), and state
and local government officials. The specific steps taken to
respond to a spill depend on the type of oil discharged, the
location of the discharge, the proximity of the spill to
sensitive environments, and other environmental factors.
Oil spills do not occur only in coastal areas. Various types
of oils are also spilled in inland areas. Many of the same
problems associated with cleanup efforts found in
conjunction with coastal spills are created when spills
occur in inland areas from sources such as storage tank
rupturing, pipeline leaks, and oil transport accidents.
Because they usually occur closer to areas where people
live and work, inland spills typically have a more direct
impact on human populations than marine and coastal
spills do. Inland oil spills are more likely to have negative
impacts on drinking water sources, metropolitan areas,
recreational waterways, and shoreline industry and
facilities. Also, species affected by coastal and inland spills
are likely to differ because freshwater and marine
ecosystems are different.
There are many sources of oil spills. Vessels are major
sources for both coastal and inland spills. Offshore
facilities such as oil rigs are also large contributors to
coastal spills. Fixed facilities such as gas stations and oil
tank farms are responsible for a large percentage of inland
releases.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill is probably the best known and
most widely reported of all spills. Another very large spill,
the Ashland oil spill, happened the year before the Exxon
Valdez spill, when a giant inland storage tank ruptured.
Although these events were catastrophic, responders
learned a great deal from them. The lessons they learned
have helped to prevent more oil spills and to make
response more effective when spills do occur. This chapter
describes these spills and the responses to them. It also
describes three other spills that highlight a variety of types
of oil spills and response activities.