v> EPA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. EPA's Oil Program Report
October 2003
Contents Protecting Freshwater Resources exercises. Additionally, the sub-area plans
, , ' H r t' identify their critical place in the planning
Protecting Freshwater Resources tnrougn Kevisea Contingency hierarchy extending from area planning to
through Revised Contingency Planning regional planning and up to national
Planning 1 contingency planning.
Preventing, preparing, and responding to
Unannounced FRP Drill Finds Facility oil and hazardous substance spills is one These plans can be viewed in their entirety
in Full Compliance 1 of EPA's most critical missions. atwww.freshwaterspills.net/new.htm. For
Contingency planning is a crucial element more information on area contingency
USCG Maritime Security of this mission and is mandated by the Oil planning in EPA Region 5 visit httpV/
Regulation 2 Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). www.epa.gov/region5oil/plan/acp.html.
Developing and maintaining area and sub-
Colonial Pipeline Company Nokesville area contingency plans serve to assure
Road Spill 2 pre-planning of joint response efforts, Unannounced FRP Drill Finds
including appropriate procedures for Facility in Full Compliance
Buckeye Pipeline Rupture the Result mechanical recovery, dispersal, shoreline
of I ncorrect Maps 2 cleanup, protection of sensitive An unannounced Facility Response Plan
environmental areas, and rescue and (FRP) drill was conducted at the Amerada
Oil Seepage in Cut Bank, rehabilitation of fisheries and wildlife. Hess oil storage terminal inBogota, New
Montana 3 EPA Region 5 shares the responsibility for Jersey during the summer of 2003. EPA
,,_-__ . ... .. , _. . .. providing contingency planning for the Region 2 On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs)
USCG Spills of National Sigimficance Great Lakes ^ Mississi j River with Christopher Jimenez and Steve Touw lead
EXGPCISGS 4
adjacent Regions. the exercise. The drill was designed to
EPA Officials Discover Spill During . f. , . , , test the facility's FRP, and determine
Soill Meetina 4 meetmg the requirement to keep plans whether the facility had adequate response
up-to-date, Region 5, in collaboration with equipment in place to contain a potential
Tanker Truck Driver Crashes After state ^local a§encies' ^s recently oil spill. The drill involved a hypothetical
Falling Asleep at the Wheel 5 revised several sub-area contingency spill scenario in which 2,100 gallons of #2
plans: the Peoria County Oil Annex to the fuel had been released into the
Fifth Biennial Freshwater Spills Peoria County Hazardous Materials Plan, Hackensack River. Jimenez and Touw
Symposium 5 ^e Quad Cities Sub-Area Contingency were assisted in the exercise by a visiting
Plan, the Greater St. Louis Sub-Area OSC from Region 8, and by the FRP
EPA Region 3 - 2003 Emergency Contingency Plan, and the Minneapolis/St. contractor.
Preparedness and Prevention Paul Sub-Area Contingency Plan. These
Conference 6 plans provided updated details on the most During the drill, Amerada Hess personnel
current response resources such as made all the proper notifications to the
Unannounced PREP Exercises in jurisdictions, lists of oil spill response appropriate agencies, and deployed their
Reg ion 3 6 organizations, roles and responsibilities, response equipment well within the
notification and incident command acceptable time range set forth in FRP
EPA Region 8 Unannounced procedures, and response operations and guidelines. They were able to
Drills 6
-------
October 2003
successfully boom their bulkhead and
outfall, and position a vacuum track for
oil recovery within one hour. A review of
the facility's exercise and training records
was conducted, as was an additional
inspection to ensure the facility was
meeting requirements under the Spill
Prevention Control and Countermeasure
(SPCC) rales. Both reviews found the
facility to be in full compliance with
applicable regulations.
For additional information, please contact
Christopher Jimenez, EPA Region 2 at
732-906-6847.
USCG Maritime Security
Regulation
Under the authority of the Maritime
Transportation Security Act of 2002
(MTSA) the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
has issued temporary interim maritime
security regulations that became effective
when they were published on July 1, 2003
(68 FR 39240). USCG plans to publish
the final rales shortly so they become
effective when the interim rales expire on
November 25, 2003. These rales will
affect some facilities which are regulated
under both the USCG and EPA oil spill
response regulations (33 FR 154 and 40
CFR 112.20).
The series of rales addresses security
assessments and plans as well as other
security standards, measures, and
provisions that will be codified in the new
SubchapterH of Title 33 of the Code of
Federal Regulations. The six rales consist
of: (1) General provisions; (2) Area
maritime security; (3) Vessel security
measures; (4) Facility security; (5) Outer
continental shelf facility security; and (6)
Vessel carriage requirement for the
automatic identification system (AIS).
Facilities which are required to prepare
Facility Response Plans under 40 CFR §
112.20 may find that they must also
comply with the USCG security
regulations regarding facility security. The
USCG rales require security measures for
facilities in order to reduce the risk of and
to mitigate the results of an act that
threatens the security of personnel, the
facility, and the public. Facilities that are
not required to prepare security plans,
including facilities regulated by EPA, may
also be visited by USCG as part of port
security planning.
Questions regarding the MTSA
regulations may be posed to the MTSA
Help Desk at 202-366-9900 or emailed to
uscgregs@comdt.uscg.mil. A toll-free
number will be established for inquiries in
the near future.
Recent Incidents
Colonial Pipeline Company
Nokesville Road Spill
On March 16, 2003, an anonymous caller
to the Colonial Pipeline Company's
emergency hotline to reported dead
vegetation along Colonial's right-of-way
near the intersection of State Routes 28
and 609 on the border of Prince William
and Faquier Counties in Virginia. That
same evening, Colonial representatives
investigated the land near the intersection
and confirmed dead vegetation and stained
soil in the area. In response, Colonial shut
down pipelines serving the affected area,
though up to 10,000 barrels of gasoline
may have still been in the lines. Two
petroleum product pipelines were running
parallel in this area.
Colonial representatives contacted local
response officials from several
neighboring fire departments who formed
an unified command (UC) system. The
incident was also reported to the National
Response Center and an EPA One-Scene
Coordinator (OSC) was dispatched to
investigate the situation. Colonial
reported one barrel of oil spilled because
the actual release was unknown.
The EPA OSC arrived on site and met
with Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality (VADEQ)
representatives, who informed EPA that a
UC was being established. Colonial
contractors and Fire Department personnel
initiated excavation of the suspected leak
area. The site safety plan required that the
area be blanketed with foam if the lower
explosive limit (LEL) exceeded 10%.
Route 28 remained open during this time,
but a contingency plan for road closure
was in place if readings at the road
reached 25% LEL or free product reached
the road. Heavily contaminated soil was
excavated during these operations. Air
monitoring was performed by both
Colonial and Fire Department personnel.
Operations continued on a 24-hour basis.
A Joint Information Center was
established for the residents surrounding
the spill site. Colonial representatives
went door-to-door within a half-mile
radius of the spill site to talk with
residents. The EPA OSC determined that
with the presence of gasoline-
contaminated soil, there was a threat of
discharge of petroleum products to surface
waters, lakes, and streams. Additional
contingency plans were put into place.
25,000 gallons of water, foam, and oil
were recovered. The stream conditions
were continually monitored and no visible
sheen developed in the waterway. For
more information, contact Raj Sharma,
EPA Region 3, 215-814-3260.
Buckeye Pipeline Rupture the
Result of Incorrect Maps
Over 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel were
released from a Buckeye Pipeline
Company pipeline in New Haven,
Connecticut on July 9, 2003 after the
pipeline was accidentally struck by
excavators working to install a waterline.
The area had been reported as safe for
digging by Dig Safe, Inc., a regional
communication network concerned with
underground facilities. The location of the
pipeline had been incorrectly reported to
Dig Safe by Buckeye, which had
misidentified the pipeline by 26 feet on
company maps. The excavation was
being performed by Massey Brothers
Excavating of Branford as part of
construction activities for the new Circle
of Life transfer station.
Massey reported the pipeline rapture to
Buckeye when it was discovered at 7:00
p.m. Buckeye immediately closed the
valves to isolate two-and-a-half miles of
affected pipeline, and dispatched
emergency response employees to the
scene. Buckeye responders worked
U.S. EPA Oil Program Update
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October 2003
Buckeye Pipeline Rupture
together with Massey excavators to insert
a wooden plug into the four square foot
hole in the pipeline, slowing the release of
fuel. Buckeye hired an environmental
contractor to contain and recover the
spilled product. The contractor
immediately responded by stopping the
fuel line and notifying local authorities.
At 8:00 p.m., the Connecticut Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP)
notified EPA On-Scene Coordinator
(OSC) Tom Condon of the release.
Condon reported to the scene immediately
and joined a Unified Command with
representatives from DEP, the U.S. Coast
Guard, the New Haven Fire Department,
and Buckeye. By 2:00 a.m. responders
succeeded in installing a clamp on the
damaged pipe, which slowed the release to
a trickle. The pipeline was then reopened
to purge over 75,000 gallons of fuel from
the damaged section of the pipe. The
empty line was filled with nitrogen gas the
following day, to allow the pipeline to be
cut for the placement a permanent patch.
The pipe was pressure tested and returned
to service on July 11, 2003.
Initial estimates of the spill were up to
15,000 gallons, but Buckeye's final
estimate placed the total release at 6,100
gallons. The area impacted was a rail yard
north of New Haven's Middletown
Avenue, adjacent to a landfill, and to
wetlands and drainage swale that flows
into the Little River. Response efforts
recovered 2,400 gallons of diesel, which
was recycled. Another 800 tons of
contaminated soil was removed and
shipped off site for incineration.
Approximately 60,000 gallons of
contaminated groundwater were treated
with activated carbon and released.
The spill was the third Buckeye Pipeline
release to occur in New Haven during the
past ten years. Over 20,000 gallons of oil
were released in a 1994 spill, and 3,500
gallons in 1996. Both prior spills were
caused by corroded pipes. Buckeye
agreed to pay for cleanup and recovery
expenses. For more information, please
contact Tom Condon, EPA Region 1, at
617- 918-1206 or Catherine Young, EPA
Region 1, at 617-918-1217.
Oil Seepage in Cut Bank, Montana
Since the 1930s, when oil and gas were
first discovered in the region, Cut Bank,
Montana has attracted large influxes of
workers and their families to the area. To
this day, Cut Bank's gas and oil fields are
one of the largest overall oil and gas
production areas in Montana and have
contributed significantly to the city,
county, and state economies. However,
taking advantage of these resources
presents environmental hazards that must
be addressed responsibly in order to
maintain the health and safety of the
community and the surrounding areas.
The most recent threat to the environment
in Cut Bank was caused by oil seepage
first spotted in August 2002.
At a location southwest of Cut Bank is a
steep cliff face that is composed of
sandstone, shaley siltstones and shales of
the upper Cretaceous Two Medicine
Formation. A mixture of black oil and
water was discovered seeping from the
cliff face. Lab results indicate that the oil
is similar to that of Canadian Crude oil.
Although the quantity that was discharged
is unknown, the seepage was considered a
substantial threat to the Cut Bank River.
Initially, the Cut Bank Fire Department
installed straw bales to absorb the oil, and
the river was boomed in order to contain
the oil sheen. The Montana Department
of Environmental Quality requested
support from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). Subsequently,
a Pollution Funding Authorization for
$15,000 was issued to Glacier County for
the purposes of controlling the oil seepage
at Cut Bank and preserving the river from
oil contamination. In order to stabilize the
area, several actions had taken place
between August 24-26, 2002, once EPA
became involved. The actions consisted
of digging into the surface of the cliff face
in order to install tin sheeting that directs
the water-oil mixture into two 126 gallon
stock tanks. PVC piping was also
installed to separate and drain the water
from the oil, and the oil was then removed
using sorbent pads stored in on-site
barrels. While this system proved
effective, collecting over 2 gallons of oil a
day and eliminating the oil sheen seepage
from that particular flowage, another
seepage was discovered, entering Cut
Bank River downstream from a small
drainage basin, not far from the initial
seepage. A third tank was installed at the
river's edge, and since September 25,
2002, the seepage at this location became
the major source of oil, although it was
not entering the river or flowing down the
slope. In order to control and contain the
U.S. EPA Oil Program Update
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October 2003
oil during the winter months, systems
were installed to pump the oil and heat the
tanks in late October. Since December, oil
seepage into the tanks has been minimal.
Through May 3, 2003, 1,427 gallons of oil
were collected in the three tanks and sent
to an oil recycler. The plan for future oil
containment activities include the
development of a system that collects the
seeping crude oil before it reaches Cut
Bank River following further investigation
that will involve attempts to determine the
oil's migration path
through drilling and
coring the cliff
sandstones and
siltstones. As of
July 17, 2003,
$60,600 have been
expended on
containment efforts.
EPA increased the
initial funding from
$15,000 to
$150,000. For
more information,
contact Al Lange,
On-Scene
Coordinator, EPA
Regions, 303-312-
6987.
USCG Spills of
National
Siginificance
Exercises
have been held in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; Valdez, Alaska; and New
Orleans, Louisiana. This year, California
was selected by USCG to host the
exercise.
A major portion of California, and
possibly Mexico will be affected by the
2004 SONS exercise. In order to test the
preparedness of both regional areas and
the nation's response system, a simulated
spill scenario is being designed to overtax
the resources of the local area and cause
Significant Spills Since OSPR's
Date
11/24/01
12/30/00
2/28/00
9/6/99
11/10/98
9/26/98
2/1 4/98
1/24/98
11/5/97
3/1/97
2/26/97
10/28/96
3/11/95
12/94
10/94
1/27/94
1/94
12/25/93
4/93
1992
3/91
1/31/01
1/8/91
Location
Bolinasto Carmel
E. Walker River
Ventura County
Eureka
Port of Long Beach
Half Moon Bay
Ventura
Bardsdale
Eureka
Donner Summit
Norden
San Francisco
Arroyo Passejero
San Diego River
Guadalupe Bch.
Martinez
Santa Clara River
McGrath Lake
Grapevine Creek
Avila Beach
El Segundo
Santa Clara River
Los Angeles Harbor
Inception
Source
SS Jacob Luckenbach
tank truck accident
tank truck accident
M/V Stuyvesant
M/T Neapolis
M/V Command
Texaco pipeline
Torch pipeline
M/V Kure
SFPP pipeline
UPRR transfer pipe
Cape Mohican
Chevron pipeline
fuel transfer line
Unocal pipelines
Shell pipeline
ARCO pipeline
Berry Petroleum pipeline
ARCO pipeline
Unocal tank Farm
Chevron pipeline
Mobil pipeline
M/V Sammi Superstar
Product
bunker fuel
#6 fuel oil
crude oil
bunker fuel
crude oil
bunker fuel
crude oil
crude oil
bunker fuel
gas, diesel, jet
red diesel
bunker fuel
crude oil
jet aviation fuel
diluent
diesel fuel
crude oil
crude oil
crude oil
crude oil
crude oil
crude oil
bunker fuel
Estimated
Barrels
unknown
86
143
48
150
72
200
500
108
unknown
405
200
6,000
1,000
120,000-476,000
1,200
4,607
2,000
6,200
2,100
238
1,000
308
Source: "The OSPR News", Spring 2003 edition, Issue 1, Vol. 10.
How do we know whether responders are
adequately prepared for a catastrophic oil
spill like the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster?
Every few years, the U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG) holds a "Spill of National
Significance" (SONS) drill to test
preparedness and practices response
procedures. SONS are considered those
spills that are so severe, large, or
threatening to the public or the
environment, that they require an
extraordinarily complex response and call
for more resources than local area
responders can provide. Responding to
SONS requires the coordination of
multiple groups of federal, state, local, and
industry responders. SONS exercises
the National Response System to be
activated. The multi-day drill will involve
setting up command posts, moving and
deploying cleanup and containment
equipment throughout California, and
importing response resources from outside
California. The scenario developed for
the exercise will test multiple oil spill
contingency plans, including the State of
California's plan; the EPA Region 9
Contingency Plan (which includes the
states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, and
Nevada, the tribal nations of the
Southwest, and the Pacific Islands); the
National Contingency Plan; and the
international Mexico-U.S. Response Plan
(MEXUSPAC).
SONS Exercise 2004 is sponsored by
USCG the California Department of Fish
and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and
Response (OSPR), and the American
Petroleum Institute (API). For more
information, please visit the OSPR Web
site at www.dfg.ca.gov/ospr/.
EPA Officials Discover Spill
During Spill Meeting
EPA officials
were in Fargo,
North Dakota on
August 13, 2003,
for a "lessons
learned" meeting
regarding a recent
spill. Twenty-
five officials from
state, local, and
federal
governments
attended the
meeting seeking
to determine why
the Red River
Valley
Contingency plan
had failed in
response to a spill
at a Flying J
Travel Plaza.
Problems with
the response
included lack of
communication,
public confusion
distinguishing
between agencies, and ill preparation for
the worst-case scenario.
Just outside the meeting location,
construction was underway on a new
Stamart convenience store. Unaware of
its contamination, workers had begun
pumping water out of the ground around
buried gas storage tanks in preparation for
moving them. After the conclusion of the
day's meeting, EPA officials walking to a
local restaurant noticed a hose discharging
water from the Stamart property and
detected the odor of diesel fuel.
Suspecting the water's contamination and
seeing that it was reaching a storm sewer,
U.S. EPA Oil Program Update
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October 2003
1
Baassasaj
Flying J Travel Plaza
EPA notified local officials. The local fire
department response to the discharge
using absorbents to soak up
contamination.
The Flying J spill occurred when more
than 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel was
released from a punctured fuel line. The
spill was discovered by employees of the
truck stop. Fuel may have been released
when employees pumped rain water out of
the recovery wells, which are designed to
detect contamination. Rain carried the
fuel to the Red River, subsequently
forcing the shutdown of the Fargo and
Moorhead water plants for two weeks.
Cleanup and water rerouting costs to the
Flying J totaled approximately $60,000.
Approximately 2,500 gallons of fuel was
recovered. The origin of the leak is still
unknown, and the fines are still pending.
The truck stop immediately contacted the
state health department, but failed to
comply with their legal obligation to
notify the National Response Center of the
spill. Flying J employees may not have
known it was illegal to pump run-off
water into the sewer systems. The law
that made this illegal was enacted several
years ago. For more information on these
incidents, contact Martha Wolf, On-Scene
Coordinator, EPA Region 8, 303-312-6839
Tanker Truck Driver Crashes after
Falling Asleep at the Wheel
The driver of a tanker truck admitted to
falling asleep while transporting 11,300
gallons of unleaded gasoline to a Wal-
Mart in Marysville,
Washington, resulting
in an fiery crash on 1-5
in the town of
Lynwood. Gary
Brammer, 32, of
Tukwila, showed no
signs of having drugs
or alcohol in his
system, nor were there
signs that he
*r r;fl-'~ % J-" "'". intentionally swerved
to avoid an obstacle.
He escaped with only a
minor foot injury just moments before the
truck exploded.
The crash occurred just north of Seattle at
the 44th Avenue West Overpass at 12:30
p.m., July 12, 2003. After extinguishing
flames that could be seen for miles, fire
crews cleared the remaining debris and
checked for structural damage to the
bridge overpass. Dave McCormick, the
state transportation department's Assistant
Regional Administrator for Maintenance
and Traffic, declared the bridge safe to
drive on. The only damage occurred to
the surface of the roadway. Southbound
lanes reopened about three hours after the
crash, but temporary repairs on the
northbound lanes were not completed until
6:30 a.m. the following day, about 18
hours after the initial crash. Apparently,
the top layer of the bridge separated from
the rest of the structure, which may have
helped the heat to dissipate
more effectively and
ultimately prevented the
overpass from being
structurally damaged.
In addition to $30,000 in
department staff time and
materials costs, 100 feet of
guardrail will have to be
replaced and the overpass
resurfaced. All repairs are
expected to be completed by
the fall of 2003. The area
was inspected for
environmental damage by
the Department of
Transportation, but no
problems were discovered.
Water samples from Scriber
Creek and area soil samples
were taken for further testing.
Harris Transportation of Portland, the
trucking company Brammer works for,
has been cooperating with the
investigation, the aftermath of which has
resulted in Brammer's termination of
employment. Though Brammer was
considered a good driver and employee,
the trucking company wants to emphasize
to other drivers that this type of behavior
is not acceptable.
Current/Coming Events
Fifth Biennial Freshwater Spills
Symposium
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency will host the Fifth Biennial
Freshwater Spills Symposium (FSS) in
New Orleans, Louisiana, April 6-8, 2004.
The FSS offers an opportunity for local,
state, federal, and industry responders;
natural resource trustees and managers;
facility response planners; and additional
stakeholders to exchange information on
the unique problems of freshwater oil
spills. The symposium continues to
emphasize the importance of addressing
spills in inland water bodies. Threats to
human health and the environment from a
freshwater spill can be significant because
Tanker Fire on 1-5 (photo credit - Lynwood Police Department)
U.S. EPA Oil Program Update
-------
October 2003
these spills often occur close to populated
or biologically sensitive areas, placing
resources we value and depend on, such as
drinking water, wildlife, and habitats, in
jeopardy.
The symposium's design team is excited
about the speakers and topics planned for
the upcoming event. New faces, new
research, recent lessons-learned, and a
great location promise an exceptional
experience for attendees. Topics
anticipated inFSS2004 sessions include:
Aboveground Storage Tanks and
Industry Standards
Barge Response
Chemical and Biological
Countermeasures
Cold Weather Prevention and
Response
Emergency Response and
Counter-Terrorism Issues
Equipment and Contract
Management
Facility Security
Fast Water Response
Infrastructure: Collection,
Transportation, and Production
Inland Rivers: Salvage and
Firefighting
Mississippi River Topics
Overview of State Approaches to
Regulating ASTs
Pipelines and Production Areas
Response and Prevention
Technologies
Sediments and Toxicity
Toxicity Testing
Unannounced Drills
Unusually Sensitive Areas
The 2004 symposium will be held at:
The Hilton New Orleans Riverside
Two Poydras Street
New Orleans, LA 70140
To make hotel reservations, call 800-774-
1500 or visit the Hilton web site at
www.hilton.com. For more information,
or if you are interested in presenting a
paper at the symposium, visit the FSS2004
web site at www.freshwaterspills.net/
fss2004. You may also contact the
FSS2004 Coordinator:
Ms. Beatriz Oliveira
USEPA Oil Program
1235 Jefferson Davis Hwy.
Crystal Gateway 1, 12 fl.
Arlington, VA 22202
oilinfo@epa.gov
EPA Region 3 - 2003 Emergency
Preparedness and Prevention
Conference
This year's EPA Region 3 Emergency
Preparedness and Prevention Conference
will be held November 16-19, 2003, at the
Norfolk Waterside Marriott in Norfolk
Virginia. The main conference hotels will
be the Marriott Waterside, the Sheraton
Waterside, and the Renaissance
Portsmouth. Hotel rooms are $55 a night,
plus taxes, and conference registration
fees are $185.
The 2003 conference theme 'Stay the
Course', emphasizes the continued
importance of diligence and focus on
emergency planning and preparedness
efforts. The four-day conference will
offer training, workshops, general
sessions, networking opportunities and an
exhibit hall for a broad range of audiences
including: local committee planning
representatives, state emergency response
commission members, emergency
managers and planners, Hazmat response
teams, and counter-terrorism professionals
and specialists. Some of the numerous
training sessions available include:
Hazmat Awareness Level Course, Hazmat
Operations Level Course, Getting Started
with CAMEO, ALOHA, and MARPLOT,
CAMEO WMD, and Street Smart
Chemistry.
Participants may register online or print
out the registration form and fax or send it
by mail to the address below. For more
information, visit
www.2003conference.org or contact:
Attn: Katrina Harris
2003 Conference
General Physics Corporation
500 Edgewood Road, Suite 110
Edgewood, MD 21040
Conference Hotline 800-364-7974
Fax 410-676-8545
Unannounced PREP Exercises in
Region 3
During the week of September 29, 2003,
the EPA Region 3 Oil Program conducted
unannounced exercises in southeastern
Maryland following the guidelines of the
National Preparedness for Response
Exercise Program (PREP). EPA had
notified thirty-two facilities in the
Washington, DC area of the exercises.
Providing notice to facilities of the
possibility of an exercise ahead of time
improves overall response readiness
among the facilities not visited. The US
Naval Warfare Center in Indian Head,
Maryland, and Burch Oil Company in
Hollywood, Maryland, were each selected
to respond to a scenario involving a 2,100
gallon discharge of oil to a navigable
water.
The objective of PREP exercises is to test
notification procedures, equipment
deployment, and other actions associated
with a response to an oil spill as identified
in the Facility Response Plan (FRP).
EPA's On-Scene Coordinator (OSC)
responsible for planning in the DC area
along with EPA personnel from
headquarters participated in each exercise.
Both exercises concluded with an
assessment of the response and a
discussion of lessons learned. For more
information contact Eduardo Rovira, EPA
Region 3, at 215-814-3436 or Patricia
Fleming, EPA Region 3, at 703-603-0262.
EPA Region 8 Unannounced Drills
As an integral part of EPA Region 8's
Preparedness for Response Exercise
Program (PREP), Regional personnel
travel to facilities to conduct unannounced
drills. The goals of drilling are threefold:
1) to conduct proper notifications to
respond to an unannounced scenario of an
average most probable discharge and to
demonstrate that the response is timely; 2)
to conduct the drills with an adequate
amount of equipment for a scenario in
U.S. EPA Oil Program Update
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October 2003
Deploying boom during a drill
accordance with 40 CFR 112.20 Appendix
E, Section 3.0; and 3) to activate the
facility's Spill Management Team (SMT)
and Oil Spill Removal Organization
(OSRO).
Drills generally last two to three hours.
EPA explains the objectives, scenario, and
scope of the exercise and answers all
questions the facility operators may have
before beginning a drill. Following the
conclusion of a drill, EPA meets with
facility personnel to provide feedback on
their performance during the simulation
and to discuss lessons learned during the
exercise. Successful completion of the
exercise allows a facility to receive credit
for meeting PREP exercise regulations
and a respite from unannounced drilling
for three years.
Region 8 conducted five drills in the
month of August and four drills in
September 2003. A PREP exercise in
August at an Air Force base in South
Dakota went very well. The fire
department was on scene within 20
minutes and had containment equipment
deployed in not more than an hour. An
environmental sampling team and public
information unit arrived within one hour
and an Incident Command System was
established and operating within 30
minutes. At a pipeline terminal facility,
response equipment arrived within 30
minutes of the start of the exercise;
however, access to the equipment was not
available for nearly another half-hour. A
large, bankrupt steel facility failed their
PREP exercises. Due to their current
financial situation, they have only a
skeleton maintenance crew on-site and no
response capabilities. This facility will
require monitoring for future use, but
presently, its storage tanks contain only
residual materials. At another drill, a
refinery proved very well prepared for
exercises. Their Incident Command
System was fully established within 10
minutes and responders had equipment
deployed in 30 minutes.
For more information on PREP exercises
in Region 8, contact Martha Wolf, On-
Scene Coordinator, 303-312-6839.
PREP exercise site in Colorado
About The Update
The goal of the EPA Oil Program
Center Update is to provide straight-
forward information to keep EPA Re-
gional staff, other federal agencies
and departments, industries and
businesses, and the regulated com-
munity current with the latest devel-
opments. The Update is produced
quarterly, using a compilation of sev-
eral sources. The views expressed
here are not necessarily those of the
US EPA.
U.S. EPA Oil Program Update
7
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United States
Environmental Protection Agency
5203G
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
First-Class
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EPA
Permit No. G-35
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
OEPPR
Office of Emergency Prevention
Preparedness and Response
Oil Program 5203G
EPA EPA-540-N-03-002
OSWER OSWER 9360.8-61
October 2003
Beatriz Oliveira, Editor,
Oil Program
703-603-1229
David Evans, Director
Oil Program
703-603-8760
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Mail Code 5203G
Washington, D.C. 20460
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