Abstract
ABSTRACT Contingency plans have been an effective tool for responding to major pollution incidents for many years. In fact, section 300.210 of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) goes so far as to require that the U.S. Coast Guard on-scene coordinator (OSC) develop a contingency plan for all areas of the coastal zone. However, before the Exxon Valdez oil spill, most contingency plans, federal and state included, simply addressed a response to the largest spills that, historically, had occurred in the areas. The idea of a catastrophic oil spill the size of the Exxon Valdez spill was not considered. This, of course, all changed shortly after midnight on March 24, 1989. This paper discusses the guidance that was provided by U. S. Coast Guard Headquarters to each Coast Guard OSC for reviewing and revising their local contingency plans (LCPs). This guidance delineated certain areas of the planning process that require special attention (such as hazard identification, risk assessment, response times, and required equipment), specific criteria to be used while reviewing the LCPs, and guidelines to be used for determining response resource needs and shortfalls.
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