Responding to Spills
epa.gov
Despite the nation's best efforts to prevent spills, almost 14,000 oil spills are
reported each year, mobilizing thousands of specially trained emergency
response personnel and challenging the best-laid contingency plans. Although
many spills are contained and cleaned up by the party responsible for the spill,
some spills require assistance from local and state agencies, and occasionally,
the federal government. Under the National Contingency Plan, EPA is the lead
federal response agency for oil spills occurring in inland waters, and the U.S.
Coast Guard is the lead response agency for spills in coastal waters
and deepwater ports.
Whether or not it manages the response, EPA tracks all reports of oil spills.
EPA usually learns about a spill from the responsible party, who is required by
law to report the spill to the federal government, or from state and local
responders. Once the federal government receives the report, either through the
National Response Center, EPA, or another agency, it is recorded in the
Emergency Response Notification System, or ERNS. ERNS contains historical
spill information for the entire country dating from 1986, and is currently
available for downloading.
This page last updated on December 1, 1999 |
