Superfund in New England

Emergency Response

The National Contingency Plan outlines the phases of an emergency response from the initial notification through completion of documentation. These phases are:

1. Notification
2. Assessment
3. Removal Operations
4. Documentation

Notification
Federal law requires that the owner/operator of the vessel/facility notify the National Response Center (NRC) of discharges of oil (40 CFR 110), or releases of hazardous substance or hazardous wastes (40 CFR 302). The NRC's phone number is (800) 424-8802.

The NRC will contact the appropriate Coast Guard or EPA On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) with jurisdiction over the area where the incident occurred.

Assessment
The OSC contacts the initial reporter of the incident, as well as other local or state organizations, to develop information on the current situation. Using this information, the OSC and his or her team determine the level of need for a Federal response.

Removal Operations
Based on the assessment, the OSC may access the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund or the Hazardous Substances Superfund, hire appropriate contractors, and enter into unified operations with other responders to quickly get the emergency under control.

Removal activities may include obtaining government expertise in specific activities from the EPA's Environmental Response Team or the Coast Guard's National Strike Teams, obtaining support materials that may not be available locally, physical removal and disposal of the spilled material, or other activities.

Documentation
During the course of the response, the OSC will be collecting appropriate print, photographic, analytical, and observational information to document operations for cost recovery and enforcement actions.