National Contingency Plan Proposed Rule - Revisions to Align with the National Response Framework
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Rule Summary
EPA is proposing to amend the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The proposed amendments address the alignment of the NCP with the National Response Framework (NRF) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The proposed amendments also update the descriptions, capabilities, and operations of the federal agencies on the NCP National Response Team (NRT).
Comments must be received on or before March 25, 2016.
Rule History
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the NRF and NIMS under the authority of:
- Homeland Security Act of 2002;
- Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006;
- Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act); and
- Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5, Management of Domestic Incidents (HSPD-5) (February 28, 2003).
Federal agencies follow the NRF and NIMS pursuant to those authorities. This includes EPA and the 14 other federal agencies represented on the NRT under the NCP.
The NRF establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident management. NIMS provides a consistent nationwide approach for federal, state, and local governments to work effectively and efficiently together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents. The NRF is built on the incident management concepts in NIMS. HSPD-5 also directed federal agencies to modify existing interagency response plans to align with the NRF.
DHS issued the most recent version of the NIMS in December 2008, and the most recent revision of the NRF in May 2013. EPA is proposing to modify the NCP to align it with the NRF and NIMS.
Additional Resources
Proposed Rule Federal Register Notice (PDF) (24 pp, 704 K, About PDF)
Fact Sheet: Proposed Changes to the National Contingency Plan (NPC)