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

S0300-A6-MAN-060• Additional equipment in limited quantities, such as boats, vehicles, chemical transfersystems, viscous oil pumping units, nonsubmersible pumps, communications gear,monitoring equipment and computers.Like the ESSM-based equipment, the open water containment and recovery systems are designedfor offshore use in terms of deployability and ruggedness, but are not effective at containing orrecovering oil in conditions more severe than sea state 3.3-3.2 NOAA. Because NOAA is a member of each Regional Response Team, NOAA personnelreceive early notice of an oil spill. A NOAA member acts as the Scientific Support Coordinator tothe FOSC. Although it is an advisory agency, NOAA operates computer programs that forecastoil and hazardous substance movement through trajectory modeling. This information assists inthe determination of sensitive areas that must be protected from free oil. The trajectory predictioncapabilities form a vital part of any contingency plan. NOAA also provides expertise on livingmarine resources and their habitats, including endangered species, marine mammals and NationalMarine Sanctuary ecosystems. Other information provided includes actual and predicted meteorologicalconditions for marine, coastal and inland waters and tide and circulation data for coastal,territorial waters and for the Great Lakes. NOAA operates a number of research vessels that aresuitable platforms for command sites and oil slick monitoring.3-3.3 State and Local Agencies. States have state and local contingency plans in place andassets to combat oil spills. Fish and game departments customarily have small boats that can beused to monitor the effects of the spill. Advice from state agencies should be sought on:• The location of sensitive areas• How sensitive areas should be protected and/or cleaned• Impact on local populations• Managing security and crowd control• Other matters of local concern, interest or expertiseIn a large spill, local assets can be critical to success.3-3.4 Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC). The MSRC was created by oil companiesto respond to major oil spills in and around U.S. waters extending out to approximately 200 miles.Through this mechanism, oil companies plan to be able to respond quickly to contain and clean upmajor oil spills generated by member companies. The organization was to be fully equipped andfunctioning by early 1993.MSRC, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is to have five Regional Response Centers:• New York/New Jersey (Northeast)3-4