| Oil Spill Response |
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As
Louisiana’s lead office for oil spill
response, the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s
Office (LOSCO) coordinates the state agencies that
are involved in cleanups. A LOSCO staff member is
on call 24-hours a day, ready to respond as the State
On-Scene Coordinator (SOSC) should the need arise.
Besides quick response during spills, LOSCO has also
made advance preparation a priority. The Response
Program has one goal – to insure that the state
is ready to respond quickly and efficiently to any
oil spill emergency and makes every effort to minimize
adverse impacts from oil spills. |
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| Notifications |
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If you see spilled oil, the law
requires you to make two (toll-free) calls:
(1) Call the 24-hour Louisiana Emergency Hazardous Materials Hotline at (877)
925-6595
(2) Call the National Response Center (NRC) at (800) 424-8802
For information on spills notifications in Louisiana
reported to the National Response Center (NRC)
you can search the NRC
database. |
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| Area
Contingency Plans |
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The
Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 33 USC 2701
et seq. mandated
the creation of Area Contingency Plans (ACPs).
There are three such plans in Louisiana’s
coastal zone, one for each of the United States
Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Office (MSO) jurisdictions.
The plans describe response
strategies for targeted areas, thereby providing
an essential
layer of
preparation for oil spills. A committee guides
each plan’s development and revisions.
The committees are composed of representatives
from industry, environmental groups, and planners
from federal, state, and local government. The
committees meet regularly to update oil spill
response plans, identify sensitive resources,
and develop site-specific response strategies.
The meetings are co-chaired by LOSCO and the
USCG.
Inland areas are also at risk from oil spills.
The planning needs of these areas are covered
by the Region VI Regional Integrated Contingency
Plan.
LOSCO is working to incorporate the information
in all of the area plans into the overall State
Contingency Plan. |
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| Oil
Spill Response Drills |
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State and federal agencies are not
the only entities that develop oil spill contingency
plans. Oil companies are required to create oil
spill response plans and to test the plans by conducting
drills. The drills encompass the entire response
process, from spill notification to deployment
of equipment and personnel. LOSCO regularly participates
in drills, some of which are conducted as table
top exercises, and some of which require companies
to send employees and equipment into the field.
The drills give all parties involved the opportunity
to fine tune procedures, test response times, and
forge good working relationships with partners
who can assist them if a spill occurs.
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| Partnering
with Federal Agencies |
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LOSCO
works closely with federal agencies during spill
events to quickly and efficiently clean impacted
areas and to minimize adverse impacts from spills. Depending
on the location of the spill, LOSCO, as the SOSC,
will work with the Federal On-Scene Coordinator
(FOSC) to monitor or direct responses to oil
spills reported to the federal government.
In
the coastal area, the FOSC is either the:
· USCG/MSO
New Orleans
· USCG/MSO
Morgan City
· USCG/MSO
Port Arthur
The
US EPA is the FOSC in the inland zone. |
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| Regional
Response Teams |
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Acts of terrorism,
natural disasters, and large oil spills are emergencies
that require
quick and effective action. To prepare for these
kinds of events, state and federal government employees,
with expertise in emergency response, have formed
Regional Response Teams (RRTs). RRTs are a part
of the National
Oil and Hazardous Substances Response System,
which is the federal government's mechanism for
emergency response to discharges of oil and releases
of chemicals into the environment. The system provides
a framework for coordination among federal, state,
and local responders.
The RRT provides the mechanism
for regional development and coordination of
preparedness
activities before a response action is taken,
and for coordination of assistance and advice
to the On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) during such
response actions. The RRT provides guidance to
Area Committees,
as
appropriate, to ensure inter-area consistency
and consistency of individual Contingency Plans.
Every region in the United States has its own
RRT charged with planning for and responding
to emergency situations.
Louisiana is one of five states covered by the Region
VI RRT.
Region VI RRT membership consists of 15 federal
agencies and 10 state agencies with responsibilities,
interests, and expertise in various aspects of
emergency response to pollution incidents.
As a member of the Region VI
RRT, LOSCO plays a major role in shaping oil
spill response policy.
For example, LOSCO is working with RRT members
to make a full range of alternative response
technologies more easily available for field
operations. This includes "pre-authorization"
for the use of dispersants (Link
to PDF file); offshore
in situ burns (digital document is in development
and will be available soon); and surface washing
agents (Link
to PDF file).
Guidelines for inshore/near-shore in situ burns
(Link
to PDF file) and bioremediaton
applications (Link
to PDF file)
are also available.
The State of Louisiana has additional guidelines
that outline the monitoring requirements for
in situ burns of on-shore oil spills (Link
to PDF file). |
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| Response
Tools |
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A number of useful tools are available
to assist contingency planners and oil spill responders.
Tools to determine the extent of oiling, conduct
shoreline assessments, select recovery and response
strategies, and establish an effective incident
command system include:
Louisiana-specific GIS data is available from
atlas.lsu.edu.
For information on specific
wells, oil fields, operators, production reports,
and more, please
visit the LDNR
Strategic Online Natural Resources Information
System (SONRIS) web site.
For
Information on threatened
and endangered species, please visit the following:
Historical and near real time
meta ocean data including, wave height, period,
direction of propagation, water level, surge,
near surface current speed and direction, and
meteorological conditions along the Louisiana
coast, are available at:
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For other oceanic and climatological
data, please visit the following:
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| Related
Links |
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