OilSpillToolKit ForCitizensMonitoringEmergencies PhotoscourtesyoftheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration(NOAA) New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Delaware Riverkeeper Network FundingprovidedbyUSEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,Region2 AlthoughthedevelopmentofthistoolkithasbeenfundedinpartbytheUnitedStatesEnvironmentalProtectionAgencyRegion2,ithasnotbeensubject totheAgency’srequiredpeerandpolicyreviewandthereforedoesnotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsoftheAgencyandnoofficialendorsementshouldbeinferred. Informationpresentedinthistoolkitisconsideredpublicinformationandmaybedistributedorcopied.Useoftheappropriatebyline/photo/imagecreditisrequested. Contents TheStoryofAthosIand 1 AMessagefromtheDelawareRiverkeeper Introduction NationalResponseSystem 2 Adescriptionofwhathappenswhenaspilloccurs. ReportingPollutionIncidents 4 Alistofnumbersandinformationtohaveonhandwhenreportinganewoilspill. VolunteerMonitoringCoordinatorRole 5 Atipsheetforemergencyresponsemonitoring. Appendices 8 AppendixI-TipSheets OilAssessmentTipsforInitialOilEvaluation 9 Atipsheettobehandedouttovolunteerstohelpthemperforminitialassessments aftertheoilspill. OilAssessmentTipsforResidualOilEvaluation 11 Atipsheettobehandedouttovolunteerstohelpthemperformaresidualassessment 2+monthsaftertheoilspill. AppendixII-FieldAssessmentSheets OilContaminationAssessmentSheet 13 Eachvolunteershouldusethissheettoindexeachoftheirsites. QuickShorelineAssessmentForm 15 Oneofthesesheetsshouldbefilledoutateachsiteduringeachvisit. WildlifeAssessmentForm 16 Thisformshouldbefilledoutateachsitewhereoiledwildlifeisobserved. AppendixIII-Examples ReachAssignmentMap 17 Anexampleofamapgiventovolunteerstoshowthemtheirassessment assignmentlocation. SampleMonitoringReport 18 Anexamplereportprovidedtotrusteesinvolvedwithanoilspill. AthosIMap 19 AmapofthemonitoringlocationsoftheAthosIoilspill. AssessmentSheets 20 Anexampleofablankandcompletedassessmentsheet. SamplePressRelease 24 ThankYouCard 25 AnexampleThankYoucardsentouttovolunteersfortheirwork. OilSpillToolKitForCitizensMonitoringEmergencies i TheStoryofAthosIand AMessagefromtheDelawareRiverkeeper OntheeveningofNovember26,2004,thedayafterThanksgiving,theDelawareRiverwasinthemidstof sufferingitsworstoilassaultindecades.Venezuelancrudeoil,amongtheheaviestofoils,wasspewingintotheRiver fromtheAthosI,aGreektanker.Asmuchas473,000gallonsofoilmayhavespilledintotheriver.Itbeganastheoil tankerwasmaneuveringtocomeintothedockinPaulsboro,NewJersey.Thetankerhitacombinationofobjects includinga15-footpumpcasing,aconcreteblockanda7-footlonganchorrestingonthebottomoftheriver.Two gashesrippedopenthehullofthetanker.Thefirstbeingapproximately5-footby9inchesandthesecond approximately2-footby1-foot.Crudeoilbeganspillingoutofthebreachedhull,quicklycoveringtheriver.Soonthe birds,wildlifeandimportantriverandwetlandhabitatswerecoatedandcontaminatedbythethickoil. Althoughagenciesandhiredcleanuppersonnelmovedquicklytoaddressthespill,damagewasalreadydone.Theoil wasspreadingeachdaycoveringmoreoftheriver,flowingintoandcontaminatingtributarystreamsandtheirsensitive habitats.Inadditiontothesmellofoil,anairofhurtandharmhungheavilyovertheriversidecommunities.Twenty, forty,sixtymilesonitswaydowntotheBayandtheocean,itspreadintheformofdenseslugsoftar,smalltarballs, sheenandoil. Justtwoweeksfromthetimethetankerbegandumpingit’sload,119milesofshorelinehadbeenimpactedbythe spill.Oftheover1,000birdsexpectedtobeharmedbythespill,only190hadbeencapturedalive.Bythetimethe cleanupresponsewasover,theAthosIhadexposedit’stoxicpollutantto115milesofriver,280milesofshoreline, over16,000birds,aswellastheriver’sfish,shellfish,wildlifeandmanyofit’simportanthabitats. Withouttheaidofthevolunteersandthededicatedcitizensconcernedaboutthehealthoftheirriver,environmentand community,thedamagewouldhavebeenworse.Morethan100volunteershelpedgatherinformationonthe environmentalharmbeinginflictedontheriveranditsecosystemsasaresultoftheAthosIoilspill.Thesevolunteers helpeddeterminetheareasinimmediateneedofprotectivemeasures,suchasbooms.Theyalsoidentifiedareas whereprotectivemeasureswerefailingandrequiredrepair.Andtheylocatedandreportedinjuredwildlifeinneedof care.DataprovidedbythevolunteerswasusedbyNJDEPprofessionalstoenhancetheirassessmentsofwhatwas happeningonthegroundandtosupportfutureenforcementefforts,includingcleanupcostrecoveryandprovidingfor environmentalrestorationoftheriver. Whenacatastrophicspillhappens,citizenshaveacriticalroletoplayintheresponse.Citizensbandingtogetherand donatingtheirtimecandramaticallycomplement,stretchandmagnifytheresourceconstraintsthatourgovernment agenciesface.Thecitizens’singularcommitmenttoprotectingtheirenvironmentandcommunitymakethem irreplaceabletotheprocess.Theyhaveasourceofknowledgeandinformationthatcannotbeduplicatedbyotherswho maybedistractedbyissuesoflawyers,liabilityandlimitedresources. You,ourcitizenmonitors,haveanimportantroletoplayifyourcommunityandriverishitwithacatastrophe.Itis ourhopethatthismanualwillhelpprovidethetoolsandinformationyoucanusetostrengthenthesuccessof yourresponse. Sincerely, MayaK.vanRossum,theDelawareRiverkeeper OilSpillToolKitForCitizensMonitoringEmergencies 1 Introduction InspiredbyoureffortstoengageandsupportcitizenactioninresponsetotheAthosIoilspillontheDelaware River,thistoolkitwasassembledbytheNewJerseyWatershedWatchNetworkandtheDelawareRiverkeeperNetwork asawaytohelplocalwatershedgroupseffectivelyrespondtofutureoilspillsthatmaythreatenthehealthoftheir waterway,communityandenvironment. Whenacatastrophicspillhappens,thereisadefinedroleforcitizenmonitorstoplayintheresponseand documentationofthespill.Havingtrainedcitizenmonitorsonthegroundwhenadevastatingspilloccurscanhavea hugeimpact.Anarmyoftrainedvolunteerscanhelpidentifywhenandwhereprotectivemeasuresand/orcleanupare needed.Theycanalsomonitoranddocumenttheprogressofcleanupeffortsfromtheonsettotheweeksandmonths thatfollow.Informationprovidedbytrainedvolunteerswillnotonlyenhancethesuccessofthecleanupresponse,but canprovideanindependent,moreobjectivesourceofinformationforthepublic,thepressandconcernedpoliticians. Thistoolkitisintendedtoprovideideasandastartingpointforyourownvolunteerresponseeffort.Itisnotthebeall andendallbutsimplyaplacetostart.Everyareaandeveryincidentisdifferent.Itwillbeimportantthatyouremain committedtolearningfromyourexperiencesandtoadjustingyourprogramastheincidentandtheregional specificsdemand. TheNationalResponseSystem (excerptfromUSEnvironmentalProtectionAgencywebsite) Whenareleaseorspilloccurs,thecompanyresponsiblefortherelease,itsresponsecontractors,thelocalfire/ policedepartments,andthelocalemergencyresponsepersonnelprovidethefirstlineofdefense.Theyassessand determineifthespillneedsgreaterresponsefromahigherauthority.Avarietyofstateagenciesstandreadyto support,assist,ortakeoverresponseoperationsifanincidentisbeyondlocalcapabilities. WhoPlansForandRespondstoTheseEmergencies? Citizengroupsand Respondingtoenvironmentalemergenciesiscomplex.Responsibilitiesare monitorsareavital oftenspreadacrossthefederal,stateandlocalsectors,dependingonthe pieceofthepuzzleand sizeandtypeofemergency.Frequently,theenvironmental,emergency provideafirstlineof management,publicsafety,andpublichealthagenciesofallthreelevelsof defenseforthelocal governmentareinvolved.Industryalsohasaroletoplayinpreparingforand stream.Donotassume respondingtotheseemergencies. thatallthebasesare coveredinan TheNationalResponseCenter(NRC)servesasthesolenationalpoint emergencysituation.In ofcontactforreportingalloil,chemical,radiological,biologicaland mostcases,ifyouplan etiologicaldischargesintotheenvironmentanywhereintheUnited ahead,theagencies Statesanditsterritories.Inadditiontogatheringanddistributingspill andthecommand dataforFederalOn-SceneCoordinatorsandservingasthe centerinchargeofthe communicationsandoperationscenterfortheNationalResponse emergencywill Team,theNRCmaintainsagreementswithavarietyoffederalentities appreciatetheextra tomakeadditionalnotificationsregardingincidentsmeeting eyesandassistance. establishedtriggercriteria. OilSpillToolKitForCitizensMonitoringEmergencies 2 TheU.S.NationalResponseTeam(NRT)ismadeupof15federalagencieswithresponsibilitiesforpreparing for,orrespondingto,majoroilorhazardouschemicalemergencies.TheNRTisprimarilyanationalplanning, policyandcoordinatingbodyanddoesnotresponddirectlytoincidents. ThirteenRegionalResponseTeams(RRTs)locatedaroundthenationwhoseresponsibilitiesinclude: exchangeinformationabouttheirabilitiestorespondtoon-scene coordinators’(OSCs)requestsforassistance; developRegionalContingencyPlanstoensurethattherolesoffederaland stateagenciesduringanactualincidentareclear; conducttrainingtotesttheabilitiesoffederal,stateandlocalagenciesto coordinatetheiremergencyresponseactivities;and identifyavailableresourcesfromeachfederalagencyandstatewithin theirregions. BesuretoasktoreviewyourRegionalandAreaContingencyPlansandEmergencyResponsePlans.Offerto beapartoftheprocess.Yourlocalknowledgemayhelpmaketheseplansmorethoroughandprotective.To viewanexampleofanAreaResponsePlan,visitwww.savebuzzardsbay.org/bayinfo/bbgrp.htm OilSpillToolKitForCitizensMonitoringEmergencies 3 ReportingPollutionIncidents Ifyouarewitnesstoanoilspillbesuretoreportit.Don’tassumesomeoneelsehasalreadyundertakenthat importantjob.Youmaybethefirstonetoseetheproblem,sotakethetimetoreportit. Importantnumberstocontactinclude: Forcoastalwaters/GreatLakespills-contactthefederalgovernment’scentralizedreporting center,NationalResponseCenterat(800)424-8802 Forinlandspills-contactyourEPARegionalOffice.Youcanfindcontactinformationforyour regionalofficeatwww.epa.gov/epahome/locate2.htm Forinjuredwildlife-contacttheNationalWildlifeRefugeat(877)396-NWRAortheNational