Oil Spill Blog

The National Response Center (NRC) is a national communication center of the federal government, which acts as a point of contact for reporting oil spills and chemical releases into navigable waters. The National Response System operates through a network established in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP).

The National Response Center functions through three high level organizations and four special force components.

First is the Federal On-Scene Coordinators (FOSC), an official assigned by the EPA if it occurs in inland areas and by the Coast Guard if in coastal or navigable waters. He coordinates all federal containment and oil spill clean up efforts when an incident is reported.

Next is the National Response Team (NRT) that is made up of 16 federal agencies with expertise in emergency response to oil spills and chemical releases. A planning, and coordinating body, it provides policy guidance for oil spill prevention and supporting FOSC with oil spill cleanup.

The third is the Regional Response Team (RRT) set up for different federal regions. They are also planning and coordinating bodies and help FOSC by means of Regional Contingency Plans. They also assist the state and the local governments in training for emergency responses to oil spills.

The four special force components mainly focus on the response to major oil spills. They are manned by highly trained scientists and engineers working in areas of hazard assessment, oil spill cleanup techniques, environmental chemistry, and oil slick tracking.

The National Response Center invites the public to submit reports on incidents of oil spills for them to act efficiently on the oil spill cleanup and also to develop strategies for oil spill prevention there after. They have an online reporting tool created for the purpose. A reply will be sent to the reporting party within 24 hours.

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