USE OF DISPERSANTS - U.S. National Response Team (NRT)

APPENDIX IVDispersant Use Decision Elements and Documentation/Application FormsForms to document important response information during a dispersant application are contained in thisappendix. Also procedures for requesting dispersant application in non pre-authorized areas are provided.Procedures for requesting approval must be followed, as outlined in this Appendix, for the EPA, DOI,DOC, and the affected State(s). Only the OSC can authorize the use of dispersants, therefore, onceapproval is obtained, it is the OSC's responsibility -- not the potential Responsible Party's -- to make therequest and provide the trustees with all required documentation information.The Documentation/Application Form is provided as a summary of important information to beconsidered by the OSC along with the Dispersant Use Decision Elements contained in this appendix.This information must be considered when reviewing any request to conduct dispersant operations inresponse to offshore oil spills within Caribbean RRT (CRRT). The information on theDocumentation/Application Form shall be provided prior to approval of dispersant application in allzones that are not pre-authorized. The information must be recorded for documentation purposes for anyoffshore use of dispersants.The Dispersant Use Decision Elements in this appendix list the basic components of a dispersant usedecision; and are phrased in the form of questions to be considered and answered by the OSC. In somecases, the questions will be easy to answer, and the OSC can use the "Elements" list to rapidly, confirmthat each component of a dispersant use decision has been evaluated. In many cases, spill-specificconsiderations will require a more in-depth approach.No one document could contain all of the information which may be pertinent to an OSC during thedecision-making process. Therefore, CRRT highly recommends that the 0SC draw on the expertise ofstate and local officials, the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator, the Trustees, and any other relevantsource of information when making a dispersant-use decision.