Maintaining Ecosystem Integrity Using Geographic-Specific Tactical Response Plans

Abstract

ABSTRACT There were approximately 7,900 oil spills reported to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) totaling 410,000 gallons in the navigable waterways of the United States in 1997. The USCG acts as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for coastal oil spills and is responsible for ensuring an environmental and economic balanced oil clean up operation. The majority of oil spill responses are reactive in nature and driven by the need to remove the oil from the environment expeditiously in concurrence with public expectations. In a reactive response the primary focus is on the removal of oil with less emphasis on the ecosystem integrity of an area due to time constraints. A proactive response is an environmentally driven response, which is referred to as an “environmental response.” An environmental response is accomplished utilizing Geographic-Specific Tactical Response Plans (GSTRPs) to select response options based on area specific environmental concerns. Essential to the effective use of this system is the identification and prioritization of environmentally sensitive areas and the designation of divisions prior to an oil spill. The GSTRPs compile information in the Area Contingency Plan (ACP) into a tactical field resource document. The required information in the ACPs have turned them into a cumulative response database. The GSTRPs balance the environment and maritime commerce by providing a field tool, which identifies area specific biological, ecological, physical, chemical, archaeo-cultural, and socio-economic concerns. The information in these plans allows minimal oversight and decreases the time spent on decision making during the first 24 hours of a response. This tool is reality-based for required resources, protection strategies, and area size. It was developed specifically for use in the Incident Command System and is effectively an Incident Action Plan for the first crucial hours of oil spill response operations.