SEATTLE — The Northwest Area Committee NWAC and the Regional Response Team RRT received the Washington Oil Spill Advisory Council’s most recent technical study Friday.
This study, posted to the Council’s web site at http://governor.wa.gov/osac/assets/pdf/2009report_combined.pdf, measures whether the oil spill response resources equipment and personnel available for spill response in Washington are sufficient to effectively contain, clean up, and mitigate environmental impacts from a very large spill. The study considers response capacity for five different spill response methods: on-water mechanical recovery, non-mechanical recovery of oil such as chemical dispersants and burning of oil, sensitive shoreline protection, clean up of oiled shorelines to prevent the remobilization of beached oil, and oiled wildlife response.
The NWAC and RRT are made up of emergency response representatives from local, state, federal and tribal governments within the Pacific Northwest Region Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. The NWAC and RRT mission is to protect public health and safety and the environment by ensuring a coordinated, efficient, and effective support effort to significant oil and hazardous substance incidents.
The NWAC and RRT provide for the development, coordination and implementation of the NWAC plan prior to a pollution incident by addressing regional and international preparedness issues. In addition, the NWAC provides guidance to industry, state and tribal emergency response commissions, and local emergency committees.
The NWAC and RRT review all major reports regarding oil spill events and issues that are published in the region. The 2009 Washington Oil Spill Advisory Council report on “Washington State’s Capacity to Respond to Large-scale Oil Spills” will be reviewed accordingly. The NWAC and RRT will look for and consider lessons learned from the report.
The issue of preparedness is an important element in protecting the natural and economic resources of the Pacific Northwest Region from oil and hazardous spills.
For more information about the NWAC/RRT, visit the website: www.rrt10nwac.com.
