United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response
Publication 9285.6-04FS
PB93-963418
EPA540-F-93-041
EPA Emergency Responders
Agreements For Fund-Lead
Remedial Actions
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
Hazardous Site Control Division 5203G
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
March 1994
The Superfund program's contractors frequently rely on responders from the local community to provide emergency
support during remedial action. This fact sheet outlines recommended procedures to establish site specific agreements
with local emergency responders for fund-lead remedial sites.
BACKGROUND
SARA Title I, section 126 and the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration's (OSHA) standard for
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response
(HAZWOPER) establish worker protection standards
for those engaged in hazardous waste operations. An
important part of these regulations is the development
and implementation of a Safety and Health Program al
uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The program in-
cludes a written Health and Safety Plan (HASP) which
has a comprehensive Emergency Response Plan as a
component.
During remedial action, the prime contractor is respon-
sible for the development and implementation of the
HASP. Proper implementation requires personnel ca-
pable of safely executing the Emergency Response Plan.
This can be accomplished using either a private emer-
gency response consultant or existing off-site organiza-
tions. After removal actions have taken place, most
remedial sites do not pose immediate threat to the hu-
man health and environment to warrant fully staffed on-
site security, medical, and fire fighting capabilities.
Furthermore, full-time staff are not cost effective due lo
the long duration of most remedial actions. In thai case.
EPA may want to rely on the local community emergen-
cy response organizations. The Remedial Project Man-
ager (RPM) should determine early in the design phase
which approach is the most appropriate at the site. If the
use of local responders is anticipated, the foundation for
an agreement should be established immediately.
The HAZWOPER standards, specified at 29 CFR
1910.120, provide training requirements for emergency
responders. Local responders may lack the level of train-
ing required by this regulation, or specialized equipment
to respond at the site. However, an agreement with the
local responders cannot be in place without compliance
with HAZWOPER. Since construction activities
involving potential worker exposure cannot begin at the
site without an implementable Emergency Response
Plan, lack of emergency responder agreements may im-
pact severely the project's cost and schedule. RPMs are
encouraged to plan the site's "Emergency Response
Strategy" well in advance to avoid costly construction
delays. Following are guidelines to help RPMs develop
a strategy for emergency responders agreements com-
plying with the HAZWOPER requirements.
PREDESIGN
SARA Title III, or the Emergency Planning and Com-
munity Right-to-know Act, requires the local govern-
ments to create a Local Emergency Planning Committee
(LEPC). The LEPC should have developed a local
contingency plan coordinating police, fire, utility, and
medical services.
During the pre-design phase, the RPM or his\her repre-
sentative (US Army Corps of Engineers or US Bureau
of Reclamation) must contact the LEPC to ensure coor-
dination between the local contingency plan and reme-
dial action plans. LEPCs may be identified through the
State Emergency Response Commission. If the local
community does not have a LEPC in place, the RPM
must contact directly the pertinent organizations. Dur-
ing the initial contact, the RPM should get information
on the local community's level of preparedness to deal
with a hazardous waste emergency.
The RA contractor's site-specific emergency
response plan must be consistent with the
community contingency plan regardless of
whether local responders are used during the
remedial action.
tU.S. EuvuutiiiitMildl riutculiuii Agcliv-;'
Region 5, Library (PL-12J)
77 West Jackson Boulevard, 12th Floor
Chicago, II 60604-3590
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REMEDIAL DESIGN
REMEDIAL ACTION
Early in the design phase, emergency response require-
ments should be determined. Identification and evalu-
ation of possible providers is also done now.
The first task is to identify potential exposures,
accidents, or events to determine the degree of required
support. The data collected during the remedial inves-
tigation can be used to assess emergency response
needs.
Note that there are five levels of support: aware-
ness, operations, technician, specialist, and On-
Scene Incident Commander level. Each level
requires various degrees of training.
Training assistance, including instructional
materials addressing OSHA requirements at
the various levels of response are available from
the EPA's Emergency Response Team (908-
321-6740), the National Technical Information
Services (703-487-4650), and OSHA.
The second task is to assess the capabilities of potential
providers. When assessing the capabilities of a provider,
the RPM should consider
• Response time to the site, civil defense evacuation
capabilities, communications system.
• Providers' manpower and resources (personal pro-
tective equipment, level of specialized training,
materials, etc.).
• LEPC capabilities (including SARA Title III com-
pliance status).
• Jurisdictional issues.
• Backup facilities and services including mutual aid
agreements and Regional Hazmat agreements.
Once the assessment is complete, the RPM should
select the provider most suitable to the site conditions.
When selecting local responders, the RPM should con-
tact the police, fire department, medical emergency
services, emergency medical care facilities, utilities
departments, etc. for a preliminary agreement. In many
cases, this may be done through the LEPC chairperson.
Further identification of equipment and/or training
needs should be done as part of this preliminary agree-
ment. EPA is authorized, on a case-by-case basis, to
supplement the resources of local governments so that
they can respond to the unique hazards associated with
remedial action activities at the site. For example, EPA
can provide site-specific training, backup construction
equipment (for containment/rescue), emergency sup-
plies, and specialized equipment loans.
The final agreement should be completed by the RA
contractor once the RA contract has been awarded and
the prime contractor has developed the HASP. Involve-
ment of the local responders during the development of
the HASP'S Emergency Response Plan assures better
coordination and implementation of the plan. A
thorough discussion of the Emergency Response Plan
and the potential hazards at the site should take place
before the agreement is signed. If specialized equip-
ment is kept on site for the responders' use, the agree-
ment should include provisions for full availability of
such equipment for training and familiarization purpos-
es. Coordination and schedule of these activities is the
contractor's responsibility.
The RA contractor must schedule a site visit
and hold a kick off meeting with local respond-
ers providing information such as:
• Layout of the site.
• Nature and scope of work.
• Schedule for construction activities,
• Properties/hazards of materials and places
where on-site personnel will normally be
working.
• Locution of utility lines, entrances and
roads inside the site.
• Emergency communications-command
control.
• Decontamination procedures.
• Response time.
• Possible evacuation routes.
• A copy of the written HASP.
• Response constraints.
• Emergency Response Plan components.
The prime contractor must notify the emergency respond-
ers of any change to the emergency response plan. Local
responders participation in the contractor's emergency
response drills is encouraged.
Attached is a sample emergency response agreement.
For further information contact:
USEPA
Environmental Response Team
2890 Woodhndge Avenue
Building 18 (MS-101)
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
(908) 321-6740
USEPA (5203G)
Hazardous Sue Control Division
Design and Construction Management Branch
401 M Street SW
Washington DC 20460
(703) 603-8830
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Attachment to Emergency Response Plan
Agreement for Emergency Response Services
This agreement certifies:
That the Department [local HAZMAT team, fire fighting, police, emergency medical responder,
health care providers, etc. organization responding at the site] received and reviewed the Emer-
gency Response Plan for the[ _ ] Superfund site, located at [ _ J.
That on [date], the representatives from the [Department] participated in an on-site visit (or
conducted a meeting, depending on the organization). During the visit, [Prime Contractor]
explained the details of the site's Emergency Response Plan, including but not limited to, roads
and evacuation routes, properties of hazardous materials handled at the site, locations where site
personnel would normally be working [add any other special provision], and expectations for
emergency response support.
The [Prime Contractor] will notify in writing the [Department and EPA] of any amendment or
significant change in the Emergency Response Plan.
{If applicable:
That the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region [#] provided (or will provide) the
following:
• Description of any site specific training.
• Description of equipment and serial numbers, with their specific location.
The above mentioned equipment will be fully available to the [Department] for training and
familiarization, but will remain EPA's property in accordance with SARA Title I Section 123
• Location of information repository
• Reference material to be kept on-site. }
That through the above mentioned provisions the [Department] agrees to provide [service] in the
event of an emergency or threat of an emergency at the _ site. This agreement will
remain in effect for the duration of [Prime Contractor] contract or until 90 days after written
notice is given by either party justifying cancellation.
Department Prime contractor
EPA (concurrence) EPA's Conn-acting Party (concurrence)
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&ER&
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Washington, DC 20460
Official Use
Penalty for Private Use
$300
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5, Library (PL-12J)
77 West Jackson Boulevard, 12th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
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