U.S. Navy Ship Salvage Manual Volume 6 - Oil Spill Response

S0300-A6-MAN-060are needed. Animal cleaning can take from a few days to many weeks, depending upon the numberof contaminated birds and mammals.There is a nationwide network of experts who are highly skilled at cleaning oiled birds and mammals.They have gained their skills from experience. This is not a field where persons equippedonly with good intentions can be successful. The best that can be done for oiled birds and animalsis to get experts on-scene quickly and fully support them.7-7 DISPOSAL OF OIL AND OILY DEBRISThe proper disposal of oil and oily debris is the last phase of a shoreline cleanup and is sometimesthe most difficult task. Ideally, disposal of oil and oily debris takes place at the rate at which oiland oily debris is retrieved. If the disposal process slows, eventually the retrieval process alsoslows as temporary storage capacity for oil and oily debris becomes full. Otherwise good responseefforts come to a halt when skimmer operators have no place to dispose of skimmed oil. Likewise,beach cleanups stop with when long lines of filled vacuum trucks must wait for disposal facilities.The final disposal of oil and oily debris may be the most difficult evolution of a beach cleanupoperation. A proper contingency plan addresses disposal of oil and oily debris.A shoreline cleanup can generate several types of material requiring proper disposal. Theseinclude oil, oil and water emulsions, oiled vegetation, dirt and sand contaminated with oil andoiled beach debris.The National Contingency Plan requires that:• Oil and contaminated materials recovered in cleanup operations shall be disposed of inaccordance with the Regional Contingency Plan (RCP) and On-Scene Coordinator(OSC) Contingency Plan and any applicable laws, regulations or requirements.• Oil and oily debris removed from a beach cleanup must be classified, transported anddisposed of in conformance with federal, state and local standards. Disposal optionsinclude recycling, placement in a landfill and incineration. The properties of the materialto be disposed of, the facilities available to receive the material and cost of disposaldetermine the disposal method. Figure 7-2 illustrates options available for disposal ofoil and oily debris.7-7.1 Classification of Material. A determination must be made if the recovered oil or oilydebris is a hazardous waste as defined by federal or state standards. The standard of care for a hazardouswaste is greater than for a material that is not a hazardous material.The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) and the Hazardous and SolidWaste Amendments of 1984 contain standards for the treatment, containment, transportation anddisposal of hazardous wastes in the United States. Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulationscontains implementing federal regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency is the federalagency responsible for implementation and enforcement of the Federal Hazardous Waste RegulatoryProgram.7-10