Oil as the Target: Reviewing the Government's Response to a Major Oil Spill Resulting from a Terrorist Attack

Abstract

ABSTRACT If the events of September 11th tell us nothing else, they clearly illustrate that our decades old response planning scenarios and response capabilities need to be re-evaluated. Intentional acts and terrorist incidents are designed to result in maximum impact. Had the terrorists chosen an oil storage facility as their target for mass destruction, how prepared would the National Response System be to mount the proper response in order to minimize the impact? This paper seeks to answer that question by first describing just such a scenario and the Federal government's role in managing the consequences. The emerging role of government agencies that do not typically respond to oil spills would join forces with core members of the National Response System (NRS) by way of the Federal Response Plan (FRP). This paper explores gaps in the integration of the FRP and the National Oil and Hazardous Materials Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) and proposes solutions that help bridge those gaps.