Region 5 ICP - Section 3.1

Section 3. OPERATIONS

3.1 Assessment/Classification of Discharge

When the OSC receives a report of a discharge, initial actions include investigating the report to determine the threat posed to human health or welfare of the United States or the environment, the type and quantity of polluting material, and the source of the discharge. The OSC then officially classifies the size (i.e., minor, medium, major) and type (i.e., substantial threat, worst case discharge) of the discharge and determines the course of action to be followed. (See Table 3.1 below.)

Table 3.1 - Oil Spill Classification

TYPE OF SPILL	OIL	HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE	REQUIRED NOTIFICATION ACTIONS
MINOR	< 1,000 gal.	< Reportable Quantity	If circumstances warrant, POLREPs to Regional Response Center, affected State, Federal, Native American and foreign natural resource trustees and to the pollution response agency for the impacted State or States
MEDIUM	1,000 – 10,000 gal.	> Reportable Quantity but does not meet criteria for a major or minor release	Notifications must be issued to: The pollution response agency for the impacted State or States; The DOI representative; The HHS representative, if a public health emergency exists; The Director of the Emergency Response Division, US EPA; The DOC RRT5 representative in case of a release or threat of release to the surface waters of the United States; All affected State, Federal, Native American and foreign natural resource trustees; The appropriate USCG District office if the spill impacts navigable water; and The Fund Manager In the event of a major spill, notify Regional Response Center by the most rapid means available, providing all known information, even if it has not been confirmed by on-scene personnel. An Incident-specific RRT will then be activated.
MAJOR	> 10,000 gal.	Amount that poses a substantial threat to human health, welfare or the environment

3.1.1 Spill of National Significance

A Spill of National Significance (SONS) is a spill that, due to

severity,
size,
location,
actual or potential impact on the public health and welfare or the environment, or
the necessary response effort is so complex that it requires extraordinary coordination of Federal, State, local, Tribal, and responsible party resources to contain and clean up the discharge.

A discharge may be classified as a SONS by the Administrator of US EPA for discharges occurring in the inland zone and the Commandant of the USCG for discharges occurring in the coastal zone. For a SONS in the inland zone, the US EPA Administrator may name a senior Agency official to assist the OSC in communicating with the affected parties and the public and coordinating Federal, State, local, Tribal, and international resources at the national level. This strategic coordination will involve, as appropriate, the NRT, RRT(s), the Governor(s) of affected State(s), and the mayor(s) or other chief executive(s) of local government(s).

3.1.2 Worst Case Discharge

CWA Section 311(d)(2)(J) requires the ACP to include procedures and standards for removing a worst case discharge of oil and for mitigating or preventing a substantial threat of such a discharge. A "worst case" discharge for the purposes of this plan will be the catastrophic release as identified in Facility Response Plans (FRPs) submitted to US EPA. Since this is a requirement of OPA, only oil scenarios will be listed. See Appendix II: Worst Case Discharges in Region 5 for information on individual sites.