United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA 9360.0-21
August 1989
Emergency and Remedial Response (OS-210)
The Emergency
Response
Notification
System
To report releases of oil and hazardous
substances call the National Response
Center: 1-800-424-8802.
IT'S THE LAW!
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Emergency Response Division
OS-210
401 M Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
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WHAT IS ERNS?
The Emergency Response Notification System
(ERNS) is a national computer database and retrieval
system that is used to store information on releases of oil
and hazardous substances. ERNS provides a mechanism
for documenting and verifying incident notification
information as initially reported. ERNS is operational in
all ten U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Regions and is supported by the U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG). It provides a direct source of easily-accessible
data that can be used to analyze spills and to support
emergency planning efforts by Federal, State, and local
governments.
WHY IS ERNS NEEDED?
ERNS provides a comprehensive, national picture
of oil and hazardous substance releases. Information on
releases is readily available to anyone involved in the
response network to assess potential hazards associated
with a release, and to plan release notification and
response programs. Before ERNS was established, there
was no centralized source of information on all oil and
hazardous substance releases reported to the Federal
government. With ERNS, data from across the nation
can be gathered and analyzed by using one system. Not
only does this speed the process of data gathering, but it
provides a more solid foundation for analysis and
planning purposes because ERNS contains the most
comprehensive source of data ever compiled on releases
of oil and hazardous substances. ERNS also supports the
release notification requirements of the following
legislative and regulatory requirements:
• The Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980
(CERCLA), as amended -- Section 103
• Title III of The Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) -- Section
304
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The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (also
known as the Clean Water Act) - Section 311
The National Oil and Hazardous Substances
Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) - Secfaons
300.51 and 300.65
HOW DOES INFORMATION
ENTER ERNS?
Information is entered into ERNS when a person calls
the Federal government to report the release of oil or a
hazardous substance. The National Response Center
(NRC), the USCG, and EPA are the Federal authorities
who generally receive the initial release notifications.
The following chart illustrates the percentage of
notifications received by the NRC, EPA, and USCG.
Percentage of Notifications
Received by Each Organization
in 1988
(Total Notifications: 28,937)
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The person reporting the release is asked a series
of questions about the release. If the NRC, for example,
receives the initial report, the information is immediately
transmitted to the appropriate EPA Regional Office or
Coast Guard District Office. The EPA or Coast Guard
On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) then transmits the informa-
tion to the appropriate State and local response authori-
ties and other parties, as necessary. Information on all
releases originally reported to the NRC and EPA
Regional Offices is electronically transmitted from the
NRC or EPA Regional Office to the Transportation
Systems Center at the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it becomes
part of the ERNS database. Information on releases
reported to the Coast Guard is provided to ERNS via the
Marine Safety Information System (MSIS). The NRC,
along with EPA and the USCG, provides a standardized
inter-agency system nationwide for handling incident
data, from discovery to evaluation and response.
RELEASE NOTIFICATION
INFORMATION FLOW
Releasers
USCG
NRC
DOT
\
EPA Region
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WHAT NOTIFICATION IS
REQUIRED FOR RELEASES?
CERCLA section 103 requires the release of a
reportable quantity (RQ) or more of a CERCLA hazard-
ous substance to be reported immediately to the NRC.
Under the NCP, regulations implementing CERCLA,
and U.S. Coast Guard reporting regulations, the report
may be made to the predesignated Federal OSC for the
area where the release occurs if notifying the NRC is not
practicable, or to the nearest Coast Guard unit if notify-
ing either the NRC or Federal OSC is not possible; in
either event, the NRC must be notified as soon as
possible.
Under SARA section 304, the release of an RQ or
more of a CERCLA hazardous substance or a SARA
extremely hazardous substance (EHS) must be reported
to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC)
of any State likely to be affected by the release and to
the Community Emergency Coordinator for the Local
Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) of any area
likely to be affected by the release. Transportation-
related releases may be reported to the 911 emergency
number or, in the absence of a 911 emergency number,
to the operator. Notification must be followed by a
written report as soon as practicable.
Under section 311 of the Clean Water Act, certain
oil discharges must be reported. In the oil discharge
regulations (40 CFR Part 110), EPA establishes three
categories of reportable discharges of oil. A discharge
must be reported immediately to the NRC if it:
• Causes a sheen to appear on the surface of the
water;
• Violates applicable water quality standards; or
• Causes a sludge or emulsion to be deposited
beneath the surface of the water or upon the
adjoining shorelines.
When in doubt > Call the NRC!
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WHAT INFORMATION IS IN
ERNS?
ERNS contains a wealth of information on specific
releases of oil and hazardous substances. Examples of
notification information in ERNS include:
Discharger identification
Date of release
Material released
Cause of release
Damage/injuries/deaths
Amount released
Source of release
Incident location
Response actions taken
Authorities notified
Environmental medium into which the
release occurred
Information is recorded in ERNS when a release is
initially reported to the Federal government. Initial
notifications, which comprise most of the information in
ERNS, reflect preliminary information on a release, and
are cited as unverified data. Depending on the severity
of the release and any response actions taken, the EPA or
Coast Guard OSC may obtain further information
through assisting at the site of the release or discussing
the situation with State and local officials. In instances
where notification information is verified, additional and
more detailed data on the release, including information
related to response actions can be added to ERNS.
For further descriptive information on the data
available in ERNS, please contact EPA's Emergency
Response Division (see address on inside front cover.)
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WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC USES
OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN
ERNS?
Information in ERNS can be used by emergency
response personnel, enforcement personnel, and others
who want to analyze any aspect of the release notifica-
tion and response system. ERNS has been used in the
following specific applications:
Guidance and regulatory development
Congressional inquiries
Response preparedness
Compliance and enforcement support
Statistical and trend analyses
Program planning and management
Information requests from the public and
Federal, State, and local governments
WHO MANAGES ERNS?
ERNS is managed and supported by the EPA,
USCG, NRC, and DOT's Transportation Systems Center.
A systems development workgroup comprising EPA
Headquarters representatives, EPA Regional Managers
and On-Scene Coordinators, the NRC, and DOT's
Research and Special Programs Administration and
Transportation Systems Center meets regularly to
manage the development, maintenance, enhancement,
and operations of ERNS at the Regional and National
levels. The workgroup provides a comprehensive forum
for programmers, users of the system, and members of
the emergency response community to exchange ideas
and to identify potential uses of the system and the
information ERNS can provide.
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HOW CAN YOU OBTAIN THE
INFORMATION IN ERNS?
Information from ERNS is made available to the
public in periodic reports published by EPA's Emer-
gency Response Division. These reports contain
summaries of release notifications and can be obtained
from the address below or by calling the RCRA/Super-
fund Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 (in the Washington,
D.C. metropolitan area, call 1-202-382-3000). Examples
of these summaries are provided on the following page.
For information concerning EPA Regional ERNS
databases, contact the Freedom of Information Act
Office of the specific EPA Region in which you are
interested. Addresses and telephone numbers of the EPA
Regional Offices are located at the end of this brochure.
Information stored in the National ERNS database
may be obtained from EPA's Emergency Response
Division through the Agency's Freedom of Information
Act Office. Address your request to:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Freedom of Information Act Office
A-101
401 M Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
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EXAMPLES OF INFORMATION
AVAILABLE FROM ERNS
1988 CALENDAR YEAR INFORMATION
Releases by Mode
Fixed facility
Marine
Highway
Offshore
Pipeline
Railway
Underground
Storage Tanks
Air Transport
Other
Number
18,824
3,796
2,353
1,713
1,633
711
363
125
3,419
Percent
51
13
8
6
6
2
1
0.4
12
Most Commonly Reported Materials
CERCLA
PCB's
Ammonia
Sulfuric Acid
Chlorine
Hydrochloric Acid
Non-CERCLA
Diesel Fuel
Crude Oil
Gasoline
Unknown Oil
Waste Oil
Number
736
612
370
303
221
3,682
2,914
1,834
1,232
1,166
Percent
15
".: 12
8
6
5
16
12
8
5
5
8
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EXAMPLES OF INFORMATION
AVAILABLE FROM ERNS
Reports of PCB Releases
by Region
(1988)
Reports of Sulfuric Acid Releases
by Region
(1988)
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EPA REGIONAL CONTACTS FOR
ERNS INFORMATION
Region 1
U.S. EPA Region 1
Freedom of Information Act Office
JFK Federal Building
(RPA-2203)
Boston, MA 02203
(617) 565-3187
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, Vermont
Region 2
U.S. EPA Region 2
Freedom of Information Act Office
Office of External Programs
26 Federal Plaza
Room 905
New York, NY 10278
(212)264-2515
New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
Region 3
U.S. EPA Region 3
Freedom of Information Act Office
(3PAOO)
841 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 597-2321
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylva-
nia, Virginia, West Virginia
Region 4
U.S. EPA Region 4
Freedom of Information Act Office
345 Courtland Street, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30365
(404) 347-3004
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
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Region 5
U.S. EPA Region 5
Freedom of Information Act Office
(SPA)
14th Floor
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60604
(312)886-6686
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
Region 6
U.S. EPA Region 6
Freedom of Information Act Office
(6M-II)
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75202-2733
(214) 655-6558
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Region 7
U.S. EPA Region 7
Freedom of Information Act Office
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
(913) 236-2803
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
Region 8
U.S. EPA Region 8
Freedom of Information Act Office ;
(80EA)
Suite 500
999 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202-2405
(303) 294-7599
Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming
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Region 9
U.S. EPA Region 9
Freedom of Information Act Office
(E-2)
215 Fremont Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415)974-7492
Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa,
Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Region 10
U.S. EPA Region 10
Freedom of Information Act Office
(MD-103)
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 442-4280
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
EPA REGIONS
6U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1989-0-625-368
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