3982 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

1Reference is made in this preamble and in the 

NCP to both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

and the National Response Center. In order to avoid 

confusion, the preamble and the NCP spell out the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission and use the 

abbreviation ‘‘NRC’’ only with respect to the 

National Response Center. 

* * * * * 

Dated: January 5, 2016. 

R. V. Timme, 

Captain, U. S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Ohio Valley. 

[FR Doc. 2016–01375 Filed 1–22–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 300 

[EPA–HQ–SFUND–2014–0050; FRL–9940– 

20–OLEM] 

RIN 2050–AG78 

National Oil and Hazardous 

Substances Pollution Contingency 

Plan Revisions To Align With the 

National Response Framework 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing revisions to 

the National Oil and Hazardous 

Substances Pollution Contingency Plan. 

These proposed revisions align the 

National Oil and Hazardous Substances 

Pollution Contingency Plan with the 

Department of Homeland Security’s 

National Response Framework and 

National Incident Management System. 

The revisions also update the 

descriptions of federal agency 

organizational structures and 

capabilities and how they operate, and 

recognize the establishment of the 

Department of Homeland Security. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 25, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

SFUND–2014–0050, to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or withdrawn. The EPA may 

publish any comment received to its 

public docket. Do not submit 

electronically any information you 

consider to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Multimedia submissions (audio, video, 

etc.) must be accompanied by a written 

comment. The written comment is 

considered the official comment and 

should include discussion of all points 

you wish to make. The EPA will 

generally not consider comments or 

comment contents located outside of the 

primary submission (i.e., on the web, 

cloud, or other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, the full 

EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

Schumann, Office of Land and 

Emergency Management, Mail Code 

5104A, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460, (202) 564–1977, 

schumann.jean@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

The revisions primarily would affect 

the federal departments and agencies 

that participate in responding to 

incidents under the National Oil and 

Hazardous Substances Pollution 

Contingency Plan (NCP), which 

primarily consist of the departments 

and agencies on the NCP National 

Response Team (NRT). The descriptions 

and capabilities of these agencies have 

been updated, and some NCP 

terminology used by these agencies has 

been changed to be more consistent 

with the National Response Framework 

(NRF) and National Incident 

Management System (NIMS) issued by 

the Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS). Information has been added in 

notes to the regulation to explain that 

federal agencies follow the NRF and 

NIMS when appropriate. 

Additionally, this rulemaking 

proposes a clarification to § 300.405(d) 

that affects persons who notify the 

National Response Center (NRC) 1 of an 

incident, including representatives of 

industry and federal, state, tribal, and 

local governments. Paragraph (d) of 

§ 300.405 currently states that the NRC 

will generally need information that 

will help to characterize the release 

when people call to report an incident. 

Paragraph (d) of § 300.405 goes on to say 

that this information ‘‘will include, but 

is not limited to . . .’’ and provides a 

list of examples of the types of 

information the NRC will need. The 

current list of examples includes the 

‘‘possible source of the release.’’ These 

revisions would clarify paragraph (d) to 

state ‘‘possible source and cause of the 

release.’’ The NRC already collects 

information regarding the cause of the 

release, so this is not a new 

requirement. Adding ‘‘cause’’ to 

paragraph (d) will better prepare people 

who notify the NRC that they will be 

asked for this information. This change 

is also addressed in section IV of this 

preamble, under the discussion for 

§ 300.405. 

Impacts on potentially affected 

entities, direct and indirect, are 

summarized in section V of this 

preamble. A summary of potentially 

affected entities is provided in the table 

below. 

Type of entity Affected entities 

Industry ............................................................... Industries that report to the NRC. 

State, Local or Tribal Governments ................... State, local, or tribal governments that report to the NRC. 

Federal Government ........................................... Federal departments and agencies that report to the NRC, and federal departments and agencies that are members of the National Response Team. 

This table is not intended to be 

exhaustive, but rather provides a guide 

for readers regarding entities likely to be 

regulated by this action. This table lists 

the types of entities that EPA is now 

aware could potentially be regulated by 

this action. Others types of entities not 

listed in the table could also be 

regulated. If you have questions 

regarding the applicability of this action 

to a particular entity, consult the person 

listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

B. What is the agency’s authority for 

taking this action? 

The NCP is required by section 105 of 

the Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act of 1980, 42 U.S.C. 9605, as amended 

by the Superfund Amendments and 


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Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), 

Public Law 99–499 (hereinafter 

CERCLA), and by section 311(d) of the 

Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 

1321(d), as amended by the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), Public Law 

101–380. In Executive Order 12777 (56 

FR 54757, October 22, 1991), the 

President delegated to the EPA the 

responsibility for the amendment of the 

NCP. Amendments to the NCP are 

coordinated with members of the NCP 

NRT prior to publication for notice and 

comment. The NCP is applicable to 

response actions taken pursuant to the 

authorities under CERCLA and section 

311 of the CWA, as amended. 

II. Background 

The DHS issued the NRF and NIMS 

under the authority of the Homeland 

Security Act of 2002 (HSA), the PostKatrina Emergency Management Reform 

Act (PKEMRA), the Robert T. Stafford 

Disaster Relief and Emergency 

Assistance Act (Stafford Act), and 

Homeland Security Presidential 

Directive-5, Management of Domestic 

Incidents (February 28, 2003) (HSPD–5). 

The purpose of the NRF is to establish 

a comprehensive, national, all-hazards 

approach to domestic incident 

management. The purpose of the NIMS 

is to provide a consistent nationwide 

approach for federal, state, and local 

governments to work effectively and 

efficiently together to prepare for, 

respond to, and recover from domestic 

incidents, regardless of cause, size, or 

complexity. The NRF is built on the 

incident management concepts in 

NIMS. DHS issued the most recent 

version of the NRF in May 2013, and the 

most recent version of the NIMS in 

December, 2008, and may continue to 

update both documents periodically. 

Federal agencies are to follow the 

NRF and NIMS pursuant to those 

authorities. HSPD–5 also directed 

federal agencies to modify existing 

interagency plans to align with the 

National Response Plan, which was the 

predecessor to the NRF. EPA is 

proposing this rule to align the NCP 

with the NRF and NIMS. 

Other changes are being proposed to 

the NCP to update descriptions of 

federal department and agency 

organizations and capabilities and how 

they operate, and to recognize the 

establishment of the DHS, which was 

authorized by the HSA. 

III. Summary of This Action 

A. What is the scope of this proposed 

rule? 

This rulemaking proposes changes to 

the NCP in two general areas: (1) 

Changes that align the NCP with the 

NRF and NIMS; and (2) changes that 

update the descriptions and capabilities 

of the NRT federal agencies and how 

they operate, including the 

establishment of the DHS. EPA is not 

opening the NCP for comment on other 

types of changes, and the final rule will 

not address any comments received 

outside the scope of the proposed 

changes. Further, we are not taking 

comments on the substance of the NRF 

or the NIMS themselves, only on the 

changes made to the NCP to align with 

those documents. 

EPA is not including any proposed 

changes to the NCP’s ‘‘Appendix E to 

Part 300—Oil Spill Response’’ in this 

proposed rule. EPA proposed to remove 

appendix E from the NCP as part of a 

separate proposed rule on January 22, 

2015 (80 FR 3380). If EPA decides not 

to remove appendix E from the NCP 

after considering the comments received 

on that January 22, 2015, rulemaking, 

EPA will engage in a rulemaking to 

revise appendix E in accordance with its 

final decisions on this rulemaking. 

IV. What are the proposed revisions to 

the NCP? 

This section of the preamble explains 

the proposed revisions to the NCP by 

part and section number. 

A. Part 300 Table of Contents and 

Authority 

The proposed revisions would change 

the table of contents for part 300, 

subpart B, by changing the title of 

§ 300.165 from ‘‘OSC reports’’ to ‘‘OSC 

after action reports.’’ (‘‘OSC’’ is the 

abbreviation for On-Scene Coordinator.) 

This change would make the title of 

these reports more consistent with the 

terminology commonly used in incident 

management systems for such postincidents reports. The change would 

support the objectives of the NRF and 

NIMS for more consistency in national 

incident management systems. This 

change in terminology would also be 

carried forth into the proposed revision 

to § 300.165, as explained in this 

preamble under subpart B, § 300.165. 

We are proposing to update the 

‘‘Authority’’ citation for 40 CFR part 300 

by revising the scope of the CWA 

citation from ‘‘33 U.S.C. 1321(d)’’ to ‘‘33 

U.S.C. 1321’’ to make it parallel with the 

scope of the existing CERCLA citation. 

The existing CERCLA citation refers to 

all of the CERCLA authorities 

underlying the NCP, not just the specific 

CERCLA provision that authorizes the 

issuance of the NCP. The existing CWA 

citation (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)), however, 

refers only to the specific CWA 

provision that authorizes the issuance of 

the NCP. This change would broaden 

the CWA citation to refer to all the CWA 

authorities that underlie the NCP, not 

just the specific CWA provision that 

authorizes the issuance of the NCP, by 

deleting ‘‘(d)’’ and referring only to ‘‘33 

U.S.C. 1321.’’ 

B. Authority and Applicability (Section 

300.2) 

The existing § 300.2 states that 

amendments to the NCP are coordinated 

with members of the NRT prior to 

public notice and comment, and further 

explains that this includes the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA) and Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission in order to avoid 

inconsistent or duplicative requirements 

in the emergency planning 

responsibilities of these agencies. The 

specific reference to FEMA and the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission was 

based on language from Executive Order 

12580, January 23, 1987. Executive 

Order 12580 was amended by Executive 

Order 12777, October 18, 1991. 

Executive Order 12777 kept the 

reference to consultation with the NRT 

on NCP amendments, but deleted the 

specific reference to FEMA and the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The 

proposed revision to § 300.2 would 

therefore delete the sentence that refers 

to FEMA and the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission to be consistent with 

Executive Order 12777. However, both 

FEMA and the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission are members of the NRT, so 

EPA would continue to coordinate with 

both agencies on NCP amendments in 

their role as NRT members under the 

revised § 300.2. 

C. Scope (Section 300.3) 

The existing § 300.3(d) states that the 

NCP is in effect when the Federal 

Response Plan (FRP) is activated. The 

FRP is no longer in effect because it has 

been replaced by the NRF. The 

proposed changes would delete existing 

§ 300.3(d), therefore, and add a note to 

§ 300.3(a) that refers to the NRF instead 

of the Federal Response Plan. The note 

explains that the NRF was issued by 

DHS and is followed by federal 

departments and agencies. The NRF is 

a guide to how the Nation responds to 

domestic incidents under a variety of 

authorities at all levels, including 

response actions taken by federal, state, 

tribal, and local governments, 

communities, individuals, private sector 

organizations, and non-governmental 

organizations such as American Red 

Cross. The NRF addresses ‘‘all-hazards’’ 

incidents, such as natural disasters, 

terrorist attacks and other deliberate 

incidents, and accidents. The NCP 


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serves as an operational supplement to 

the NRF. The NRF is a guide to how the 

Nation responds to disasters and 

emergencies. While federal departments 

and agencies follow the NRF, it is not 

intended to alter or impede existing 

federal authorities, such as the CERCLA 

and CWA section 311 authorities that 

are the basis for the NCP. The NRF is 

publicly available on FEMA’s Web site. 

(See this preamble under § 300.5 below 

for the Web site address.) 

For some NCP responses, additional 

procedures under the NRF and 

supporting documents (e.g., annexes) 

may apply. For example, the NRF 

explains that the Secretary of DHS may 

coordinate federal responses pursuant to 

presidential directive, or may activate 

specific NRF response mechanisms to 

support other federal departments and 

agencies without assuming coordination 

of the overall federal response. When 

additional NRF procedures are activated 

for an NCP response, the NCP response 

will follow the appropriate procedures 

of both the NCP and NRF. The NRF and 

supporting documents also include 

information on how the federal 

government responds under the Stafford 

Act. Additional information on how the 

NCP applies during responses under the 

Stafford Act in particular is provided in 

this preamble under subpart B, 

§ 300.130. In cases where additional 

NRF procedures apply to NCP 

responses, those procedures are most 

likely to apply to NCP emergency 

removal actions rather than to NCP 

remedial actions because the NRF 

focuses on emergency and disaster types 

of incidents. 

D. Abbreviations (Section 300.4) 

The abbreviations in paragraphs (a) 

and (b) would be updated to include 

new department and agency title and 

operational abbreviations used in this 

rule and to delete abbreviations that are 

no longer used in this rule or no longer 

apply. The following abbreviations 

would be deleted: RSPA, ESF, FCO, 

FRERP, FRP, and RRC. The following 

abbreviations would be added to 

paragraph (a): DHS and PHMSA. The 

following abbreviations would be added 

to paragraph (b): AMS, CBRN CMAT, 

CMHT, CMRT, FRMAC, JIC, NARAC, 

NCERT, NIMS, NRF, RAP, REAC/TS, 

REOC, and SERT. The existing 

abbreviation for the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (USFWS) in paragraph 

(b) would be moved to paragraph (a). 

Since the USFWS is a distinct and 

significant component of the 

Department of the Interior (DOI), it is 

more appropriately listed in paragraph 

(a), which already includes some other 

distinct components of federal 

departments. 

E. Definitions (Section 300.5) 

EPA is proposing to update the 

definitions section to include new 

definitions and delete definitions that 

no longer apply. New definitions would 

be added to § 300.5 for the terms 

‘‘National Incident Management 

System’’ and ‘‘National Response 

Framework.’’ A note would be added to 

§ 300.5 with new definitions for the 

terms ‘‘Emergency Support Function 

#10—Oil and Hazardous Materials 

Response Annex’’ and ‘‘Emergency 

Support Function #15—External Affairs 

Annex.’’ All of these definitions are 

derived from the NRF and NIMS, and 

readers are referred to the NRF and 

NIMS for additional information 

regarding these definitions. The NRF 

may be found at the DHS/FEMA Web 

site at www.fema.gov/national-responseframework and NIMS may be found at 

www.fema.gov/national-incidentmanagement-system. 

The following definitions would be 

deleted: ‘‘Federal Radiological 

Emergency Response Plan’’ and 

‘‘Federal Response Plan.’’ These two 

plans have been replaced by the NRF 

and supporting documents, including 

supporting annexes. 

In addition, a minor change is being 

proposed to the definition of a ‘‘Spill of 

National Significance’’ (SONS) to clarify 

that, under the NCP, this type of 

incident is so classified by the EPA for 

discharges occurring in the inland zone 

or by the United States Coast Guard 

(USCG) for discharges occurring in the 

coastal zone, so readers do not confuse 

a SONS determination with any type of 

declaration or determination that may 

be made by other federal officials or 

federal departments or agencies under 

the NRF. This proposed change is 

discussed in more detail in this 

preamble under subpart D, § 300.323. 

Finally, the existing definition of 

‘‘national response system’’ would be 

modified to correct a capitalization 

error. 

F. General Organizational Concepts 

(Section 300.105) 

A note would be added to 

§ 300.105(d) to reflect that NIMS is 

issued by DHS, and that federal agencies 

follow the NIMS and have adopted it for 

appropriate use in NCP emergency 

removal actions. The existing 

§ 300.105(d) explains that the NCP 

response management structure is a 

system that brings together the functions 

of the federal government, state 

government, and responsible party(ies) 

to achieve an effective and efficient 

response, where the federal OSC retains 

his/her authority. The addition of the 

proposed note would provide further 

clarification that NIMS is the emergency 

preparedness and response management 

system adopted by federal departments 

and agencies for appropriate use in NCP 

emergency removal actions. 

The Secretary of DHS required federal 

departments and agencies to submit 

their plans for adopting NIMS to DHS in 

December, 2004. Under HSPD–5, federal 

departments and agencies also were 

directed to make adoption of the NIMS 

a requirement, to the extent permitted 

by law, for providing federal 

preparedness assistance through grants, 

contracts, or other activities. HSPD–5 

directed the Secretary of DHS to 

develop standards and guidelines for 

determining whether a state or local 

entity has adopted the NIMS. The DHS 

is responsible for developing standards 

and guidelines for determining whether 

federal, state, local, and tribal entities 

have adopted the NIMS. 

The NIMS represents a core set of 

doctrines, concepts, principles, 

terminology, and organizational 

processes that enables effective, 

efficient, and collaborative incident 

management. It includes both 

preparedness and response components. 

Preparedness elements include 

establishing emergency operations plans 

and procedures; identifying response 

resources and establishing procedures 

for their use; training and credentialing 

response personnel; conducting 

exercises, evaluations, and corrective 

action programs; establishing and 

maintaining agreements for assistance; 

and planning for scientific support. 

For managing the response to an 

incident, the NIMS uses the Incident 

Command System (ICS), which provides 

a flexible core mechanism for 

coordinated and collaborative incident 

management. The ICS integrates the 

facilities, equipment, personnel, 

procedures, and communications 

involved in a response within a 

common organizational structure. The 

ICS follows a number of key principles 

and concepts, including, but not limited 

to, the following: 

• Field command and management 

functions are performed in accordance 

with a standard set of ICS organizations, 

doctrines, and procedures. Incident 

commanders, however, retain the 

flexibility to modify procedures or 

structures as needed to ensure a 

successful response to a specific 

incident. 

• ICS is modular and scalable. It has 

a scalable organizational structure that 

is based on the size and complexity of 

the incident. Smaller incidents may be 


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handled by relatively few individuals 

who would perform all the necessary 

response functions and fulfill all of the 

ICS roles. Larger incidents may require 

many individuals, each fulfilling a 

specific position within the ICS. ICS can 

be used for incidents occurring within 

a single jurisdiction or being managed 

by a single agency, or for incidents 

occurring across multiple jurisdictions 

or involving many agencies. 

• ICS establishes common terms, 

standards, and procedures that enable 

diverse organizations to work together 

more effectively. ICS includes a 

standard set of predesignated 

organizational elements and functions, 

common names for resources used to 

support incident operations, and 

common identifiers for facilities and 

operational locations used to support 

incident operations. 

• ICS uses measurable objectives. 

Incidents are managed by establishing 

overarching objectives for the response 

and more specific measurable objectives 

for various response activities; directing 

efforts to obtain those objectives; and 

documenting the results of those efforts 

to measure performance and support 

corrective action. Incident objectives are 

communicated throughout the on-scene 

level command structure through the 

development of incident action plans. 

Under NIMS, an Incident Command 

Post (ICP) is established at the on-scene 

tactical level. This is the location from 

which tactical response operations are 

directed. The ICP organization has five 

major functions: Command, operations, 

planning, logistics, and finance/

administration (with a potential sixth 

function to cover intelligence/

investigations, when needed). The ICP 

is led by the Incident Commander, the 

individual with the authority to direct 

the response. (For smaller incidents, the 

ICP may be as simple as the response 

vehicle from which the Incident 

Commander directs the on-scene 

response.) 

Where multiple Incident Commanders 

have jurisdiction over the response, the 

incident is led by a Unified Command. 

Unified Command enables agencies and 

organizations with different legal, 

geographic, and functional 

responsibilities to coordinate, plan, and 

interact effectively. Under Unified 

Command, Incident Commanders work 

together to establish the common 

objectives and carry out tactical 

response activities, with each Incident 

Commander retaining his/her regulatory 

authority. The exact composition of the 

Unified Command structure depends on 

the location and type of incident. If only 

one agency has jurisdiction or 

regulatory authority, Unified Command 

may not be necessary. In that case, other 

assisting agencies and organizations can 

still provide input to incident objectives 

and raise questions or concerns by 

providing a Liaison Officer on the 

Command Staff or a technical 

specialist(s) in an appropriate ICS 

section. 

An Area Command also may be 

established if needed, depending on the 

complexity of the incident and span-ofcontrol needs. An Area Command may 

be needed to oversee the management of 

multiple incidents that are being 

handled by separate ICS organizations 

or to oversee the management of a very 

large incident that involves multiple ICS 

organizations. Area Command may be 

used when there are a number of 

incidents in the same area and of the 

same type (e.g., two or more hazardous 

substance releases), which may compete 

for the same resources. If the incidents 

being managed by the Area Command 

are multi-jurisdictional, a Unified Area 

Command may be established. 

The NIMS also describes multi-agency 

coordination groups and centers, such 

as emergency operations centers, that 

may be established to support the ICP 

and coordinate incident-related 

response activities. The NRF is built on 

the incident management concepts in 

NIMS and describes additional federal 

multi-agency coordination groups and 

centers that may be activated or used 

during certain types of federal incident 

responses (e.g., the FEMA National 

Response Coordination Center may be 

used to support federal responses under 

the Stafford Act). 

Readers are referred to the NIMS for 

additional details on the incident 

management system. As noted earlier in 

this preamble, EPA is not taking 

comments on the substance of the 

NIMS, only on the NCP changes to align 

with the NIMS. 

The existing preparedness and 

response management structure for 

removal actions under the NCP national 

response system—which brings together 

the functions of the federal government, 

state government, and the responsible 

party to prepare for and achieve an 

effective and efficient response, where 

the OSC maintains his or her 

authority—is consistent with the NIMS. 

Appropriate preparedness elements of 

NIMS are used by the federal 

departments and agencies on the NRT to 

prepare for NCP responses. 

Under the NCP national response 

system for removal actions, the federal 

Incident Commander—the individual 

with the authority to direct and 

coordinate a removal action at the onscene level—is the federal OSC. Federal 

OSCs evaluate a potential or actual 

release of hazardous substances, 

pollutants or contaminants or discharge 

of oil to determine whether a federal 

removal action is needed, in accordance 

with existing delegations of authority to 

OSCs. If a federal response is needed, 

the removal action may range from 

overseeing a response by another party, 

to providing technical assistance, to 

assuming direction of the response. The 

extent of the federal response may 

increase or decrease during the course 

of the response as needed. If a federal 

OSC works in a Unified Command with 

state, tribal, or local governments and/ 

or the responsible party, the OSC 

maintains his/her NCP authorities. 

As explained above, an ICP 

organization typically has five major 

functions: Command, operations, 

planning, logistics, and finance/

administration. For NCP removal 

actions, the management of 

environmental data is often a crucial 

element of the response. This key 

function may be managed through the 

establishment of an Environmental Unit 

within the Planning Section of the ICP. 

For federally-led NCP removal 

actions, the responsible party for a 

discharge or release (if identified) may 

be part of a Unified Command, if 

established, and provide the response 

assets necessary for an effective and 

efficient response. The responsible party 

may, however, be directed or repositioned by the OSC if determined 

necessary for an effective and efficient 

response. Responsible party 

participation in the Unified Command 

is determined on an incident-specific 

basis by the OSC. 

Multi-agency coordination centers 

and groups may also be used to support 

NCP removal actions. For example, the 

EPA and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) have 

emergency operations centers in their 

headquarters and in EPA regional and 

USCG district offices that may be 

activated to support the on-scene 

response. The Regional Response Teams 

(RRTs) and the NRT described in the 

NCP are multi-agency coordination 

groups that also may be activated if 

needed to provide support to the onscene response of the federal OSC and 

to coordinate interagency activities. 

EPA developed a robust NIMS 

implementation plan, established 

training and certification requirements, 

and has used the ICS system for 

emergency responses. EPA has found 

NIMS ICS to be particularly beneficial 

in organizing large, complex, multijurisdictional emergency responses. 

Some removal actions have longer 

planning times before on-site removal 

activity must begin, while others require 

a quicker response. The detailed NIMS 


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ICS structure and process is used as 

appropriate for removal actions that are 

emergencies; these were the types of 

incidents for which the system was 

developed. OSCs typically use other onsite project management structures to 

conduct removal actions with longer 

planning times. (See preamble 

discussions in 53 FR 51396 and 51409, 

December 21, 1988, for a discussion 

about the types of removal actions, 

including emergencies and removal 

actions with longer planning times.) 

USCG and other NRT agencies have also 

adopted NIMS ICS for appropriate use 

in NCP emergency removal actions. 

In developing the NIMS document, 

DHS drew upon the traditional ICS used 

by fire-fighting organizations, but 

revised it to form a system that is more 

appropriate for all-hazard emergency 

response and more flexible for 

integrating the range of government and 

private sector assets and authorities that 

might be included in a federal response. 

While EPA had not previously adopted 

the traditional type of ICS for removal 

actions under the NCP, EPA did have 

the opportunity to provide input into 

the modification and implementation of 

the DHS version of ICS to help ensure 

it can provide an effective structure for 

federal NCP emergency removal actions. 

The DHS NIMS document emphasizes 

that federal agencies maintain their 

authorities within the incident 

command structure, and provides for 

flexibility, which has addressed EPA’s 

previous concerns about the traditional 

ICS (59 FR 47387, September 15, 1994). 

EPA has found that the DHS NIMS ICS 

can be tailored to provide appropriate 

coordination across multiple agencies 

and organizations leading and 

supporting NCP emergency removal 

actions. 

In § 300.105(e)(1), the term ‘‘national 

response system’’ would be capitalized. 

Several changes are being proposed to 

Figure 1a in § 300.105(e)(1). The term 

‘‘Special Forces’’ would be changed to 

‘‘Special Teams’’ to be consistent with 

the use of ‘‘special teams’’ elsewhere in 

the NCP. The list of ‘‘Special Forces’’ in 

Figure 1a would be revised to include 

the following additional special teams 

and assets: 

• USCG Incident Management 

Assistance Team (CG–IMAT), which 

now includes the Public Information 

Assist Team (PIAT) 

• USCG Salvage Engineering Response 

Team (SERT) 

• EPA Chemical, Biological, 

Radiological, Nuclear Consequence 

Management Advisory Team (CBRN 

CMAT) 

• EPA National Criminal Enforcement 

Response Team (NCERT) 

• Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA) Response 

Team 

• Department of Energy (DOE) Aerial 

Measuring System (AMS) 

• DOE Consequence Management Home 

Team (CMHT) 

• DOE Consequence Management 

Response Team (CMRT) 

• DOE National Atmospheric Release 

Advisory Center (NARAC) 

• DOE Radiological Assistance Program 

(RAP) 

• DOE Radiation Emergency Assistance 

Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) 

The functions and capabilities of 

these teams are described in the 

proposed language in § 300.145. These 

are only some of the federal teams that 

may provide support for NCP responses. 

Additional teams may be described in 

other guidance and reference documents 

for use by OSCs and Remedial Project 

Managers (RPMs). Therefore, Figure 1a 

would also be revised to add a box that 

says ‘‘Others’’ in this list to be clearer 

that these are not the only teams 

available. The order of the teams in 

Figure 1a would be changed to match 

the order in which the teams are 

described in § 300.145. 

The diamond in Figure 1a that 

currently asks ‘‘Federal Assistance 

Required?’’ would be changed to 

‘‘Federal Response Required?’’ This 

change does not reflect any change in 

existing NCP authorities. The change is 

being made to more accurately describe 

existing NCP authorities. A federal 

OSC’s response to a release or discharge 

may range from providing assistance 

(e.g., response support and advice to 

state and local responders), to directing 

and overseeing response activities by a 

responsible party or other entity, to 

directing a federal response. Similarly, 

an RPM may direct and oversee a 

remedial action by another party or 

direct a federal remedial action. It may 

not be clear that the word ‘‘assistance’’ 

was intended to capture all of these 

possible types of response. This NCP 

Figure is often used by EPA, USCG, and 

other NRT agencies when explaining to 

others how the NCP national response 

system works, so EPA is proposing this 

change to better describe existing NCP 

response authorities. 

A new footnote also would be added 

to Figure 1a. The new footnote would 

explain that the NRC does not notify 

RPMs directly of incidents involving 

their sites. Rather, the NRC notifies the 

predesignated OSC, who, in turn, 

notifies the cognizant RPM. 

Original footnotes 1 and 2 in Figure 

1a would become footnotes 2 and 3, 

respectively. The newly numbered 

footnote 2 which currently reads ‘‘This 

includes local representation as well’’ 

would be changed to ‘‘This includes 

local and tribal representation as well’’ 

to correct a previous oversight. Tribal 

governments may also participate in the 

command structure. 

Figure 1b in § 300.105(e)(1) would be 

revised to add the following new special 

teams to the list under ‘‘Sources of Input 

and Guidance to Area Committees,’’ 

‘‘Government’’: 

• CG–IMAT 

• USCG SERT 

• EPA CBRN CMAT 

• EPA NCERT 

• OSHA Response Team 

• DOE AMS 

• DOE CMHT 

• DOE CMRT 

• DOE NARAC 

• DOE RAP 

• DOE REAC/TS 

• Others 

‘‘Others’’ would be added to the end 

of the list to indicate that additional 

teams not listed in this Figure may be 

described in other documents. While 

existing NCP § 300.210(c)(1) states that 

Area Committees prepare Area 

Contingency Plans in consultation with 

certain special teams—the District 

Response Groups (DRGs), the National 

Strike Force Coordination Center 

(NSFCC), and Scientific Support 

Coordinators (SSCs)—Area Committees 

may also request assistance from any 

special team. 

The order and the way in which the 

special teams are listed in Figure 1b 

would also be revised to be consistent 

with the order and way in which the 

special teams would now be listed in 

Figure 1a, which would follow the order 

in which the teams would be listed in 

revised § 300.145. The current special 

teams lists in Figure 1a and Figure 1b 

are slightly different and this change in 

Figure 1b is intended to avoid any 

confusion this difference may have 

caused. 

The RRT section of Figure 1b would 

also be revised. The box that currently 

says ‘‘State(s)’’ would be revised to say 

‘‘State(s)/Tribe(s)’’ to correct a previous 

oversight. As stated in existing NCP 

§§ 300.115(d) and (h) and § 300.180, 

tribal governments may also participate 

on RRTs. 

The footnote to ‘‘RRT’’ on Figure 1b 

(indicated by an asterisk) would be 

revised to change ‘‘Standard Federal 

Regions’’ to ‘‘EPA Regions.’’ The 

wording of § 300.105(e)(2) also would be 

revised to change ‘‘standard federal 

regional boundaries’’ to ‘‘EPA regional 

boundaries.’’ In addition, the title of 

Figure 2 in § 300.105(e)(2) would be 


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revised to change ‘‘Standard Regional 

Boundaries for Ten Regions’’ to ‘‘EPA 

Regional Boundaries for Ten Regions.’’ 

These three revisions reflect a change 

made by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB). The ten standard federal 

regions were originally established by 

OMB Circular A–105, ‘‘Standard Federal 

Regions,’’ in April, 1974, and were 

required for all federal agencies. In 

1995, OMB determined that a strict 

regional structure for all federal 

agencies was inefficient and 

unnecessary and rescinded the Circular 

(60 FR 15171, March 22, 1995). While 

this regional structure is no longer 

‘‘standard’’ for all federal agencies, EPA 

still uses these original boundaries for 

its current regional structure, and these 

boundaries are still used to delineate 

RRT boundaries. 

Figure 2 in § 300.105(e)(2) also would 

be corrected to change the current 

Region ‘‘V1’’ designation to ‘‘VI.’’ In 

addition, a footnote would be added to 

Figure 2 to describe the geographic 

boundaries of the RRTs. 

G. Regional Response Teams (Section 

300.115) 

The existing sentence in 

§ 300.115(j)(4)(v) that says RRTs may 

submit pollution reports to the NRC 

would be deleted because it is an 

outdated federal practice that is no 

longer followed or needed. OSC 

pollution reports are the key situation 

reports describing the status of NCP 

removal actions. These OSC reports are 

sent or made electronically available to 

RRTs and the NRT as needed when 

those teams are activated for an 

incident, rather than to the NRC. The 

RRTs and NRTs are the appropriate 

organizations to receive these reports 

when needed. 

The term ‘‘Regional Response Center’’ 

in § 300.115(j)(5) would be changed to 

‘‘Regional Emergency Operations 

Center’’ to use terminology for such 

centers that is more common in incident 

management systems, again, to aid 

responders in communicating and 

working together. This change supports 

the objectives of the NRF and NIMS for 

greater consistency in national incident 

management systems. The last sentence 

in § 300.115(j)(5) would be further 

revised by changing the word 

‘‘provided’’ to ‘‘identified.’’ 

The term ‘‘pollution reports’’ in 

§ 300.115(j)(8) would be changed to 

‘‘situation reports’’ to be consistent with 

DHS and NRF terminology for the 

periodic reports that describe incident 

response status and activities. The term 

‘‘situation report’’ is also a more 

accurate description of the contents of 

these reports and is therefore a more 

user-friendly name for the reports. 

H. Notification and Communications 

(Section 300.125) 

Changes are being proposed to 

§ 300.125(a) and (b) to clarify the 

language, and to clarify the role and 

operation of the NRC. Language would 

be added to paragraph (a) to explain that 

the NRC also distributes notifications to 

state and tribal government agencies 

that have established a written 

agreement or understanding with the 

NRC. This is a current practice by the 

NRC; the language would be modified to 

better reflect current practice. 

Paragraph (b) would be revised to 

change ‘‘The Commandant, USCG’’ to 

‘‘The agencies that provide the NRT 

Chair and Vice Chair.’’ This change 

better reflects that both EPA and USCG 

provide significant support for NRC 

operations. 

A sentence would be added to 

paragraph (b) to explain that the 

Director of the NRC is responsible for its 

operation and management. This does 

not represent a change in who manages 

the NRC; it simply helps to distinguish 

the role of the NRT Chair and Vice Chair 

from that of the Director and may be 

helpful information for members of NRT 

agencies who may need to work with 

the NRC. 

I. Determination To Initiate Response 

and Special Conditions (Section 

300.130) 

The first three sentences in paragraph 

(f), and all of paragraphs (h) and (i), in 

§ 300.130 would be deleted and 

replaced with a note that discusses the 

NRF. Current paragraphs (f), (h), and (i) 

refer to the Federal Radiological 

Emergency Response Plan (FRERP) and 

FRP. The FRERP described how federal 

radiological responses were conducted, 

and the FRP described how federal 

assistance was provided under the 

Stafford Act. The FRERP and FRP are no 

longer in effect. Both plans have been 

replaced by the NRF and supporting 

documents (e.g., annexes, federal 

interagency operational plans). 

Therefore, a note would be added to 

§ 300.130 to refer to the NRF and 

supporting documents. As explained 

earlier in this preamble, the NRF is a 

guide issued by DHS under the 

authority of the HSA, PKEMRA, the 

Stafford Act, and HSPD–5. It is not 

intended to alter or impede other 

existing federal authorities, such as 

CERCLA and the CWA. 

The NRF and supporting documents 

describe how the NCP may be used for 

radiological releases and how the NCP 

relates to Stafford Act assistance. The 

NCP serves as an operational 

supplement to the NRF. As explained in 

this preamble under Subpart A, § 300.3, 

for some NCP responses, additional 

procedures under the NRF and 

supporting documents may apply. 

When additional NRF procedures are 

activated for an NCP response, the NCP 

response will follow the appropriate 

procedures of both the NCP and NRF. 

The existing paragraph (f) refers to the 

FRERP as the applicable plan for 

coordinating some federal radiological 

responses. The FRERP has been 

replaced with the NRF and its 

supporting documents, with most of its 

provisions located in an annex called 

the Nuclear/Radiological Incident 

Annex. Most radiological incidents that 

historically have been carried out under 

the NCP will continue to be handled 

under the NCP alone, but when the 

Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex is 

activated for an NCP response, NCP lead 

and support agencies will conduct their 

NCP activities consistent with the 

Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex. 

When the Annex is activated for a 

response to which the NCP also applies, 

the OSC continues to carry out OSC 

responsibilities under the NCP, but 

coordinates those activities with NRF 

activities as described in the Nuclear/

Radiological Incident Annex. For 

example, under the Annex, the 

Secretary of DHS may coordinate a 

federal NCP response to a radiological 

release under presidential directive. The 

Annex also describes some additional 

specific federal response assets that are 

not listed in the NCP but may be 

requested by the OSC to assist with a 

federal NCP response to a radiological 

release, such as the Advisory Team for 

Environment, Food, and Health. 

The existing fourth sentence in 

paragraph (f), which is a paraphrase of 

a portion of the CERLCA definition of 

release in 42 U.S.C. 9601(22)(C), would 

be deleted and replaced with the exact 

statutory language for additional clarity. 

The federal government may also 

provide assistance for disasters and 

emergencies under the Stafford Act. 

Existing paragraphs (h) and (i) in 

§ 300.130 refer to the Stafford Act and 

activation of the FRP to provide federal 

assistance under the Stafford Act. The 

FRP has been replaced by the NRF and 

supporting documents, so those 

paragraphs are being replaced with a 

note that discusses the NRF. 

If an incident is of such severity and 

magnitude that effective response is 

beyond the capabilities of the state and 

local governments and/or federally 

recognized Indian tribal governments, 

the President may, under the Stafford 

Act, act upon a request by the governor 


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or Chief Executive of an affected Indian 

tribal government and declare a major 

disaster or emergency. In certain 

circumstances, the President may 

declare an emergency without a request 

from a governor or Chief Executive 

when the primary responsibility for 

response rests with the United States 

because the emergency involves a 

subject area for which the United States 

has exclusive or preeminent 

responsibility and authority under the 

Constitution or laws of the United 

States. 

In the event of a declaration of a major 

disaster or emergency by the President 

under the Stafford Act, FEMA 

coordinates the overall federal response 

and the President appoints a Federal 

Coordinating Officer (FCO) for each 

affected state or territory to coordinate 

federal disaster assistance activities. 

Delivery of federal assistance for 

Stafford Act responses is facilitated 

through annexes to the NRF called 

Emergency Support Functions (ESFs). 

EPA and/or USCG may be requested 

to provide support to address oil and 

hazardous materials releases under the 

ESF #10—Oil and Hazardous Materials 

Response Annex, which further 

describes how EPA and USCG OSCs and 

other EPA and USCG personnel would 

coordinate their response actions with 

the FCO and FEMA. In general, EPA and 

USCG OSCs respond at the on-site level 

to carry out actions to address oil and 

hazardous materials releases. EPA and 

USCG also provide ESF #10 

representatives to FEMA and other 

coordination centers as needed, such as 

the FEMA Joint Field Office(s), Regional 

Response Coordination Center(s), and 

National Response Coordination Center. 

RRTs and the NRT may also be activated 

to provide support to the OSC for the 

ESF #10 response. EPA and USCG OSCs 

also maintain the authority to respond 

under the NCP if necessary. In this case, 

coordination with the FCO and FEMA 

would still occur as described above. 

It is important to note that the NRF 

states that nothing in the NRF is 

intended to alter or impede the ability 

of any federal government department 

or agency to carry out its authorities or 

meet its responsibilities under 

applicable laws, executive orders, and 

directives. 

Paragraph (g) in § 300.130 also would 

be deleted. Paragraph (g) refers to a 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 

between the Department of Defense 

(DOD), DOE, and FEMA. While the 

MOU is still in effect, the signatory 

agencies agreed it is not necessary to 

reference this MOU in the NCP. 

J. Response Operations (Section 

300.135) 

Paragraph (e) would be revised to 

delete ‘‘and NSFCC’’ because the USCG 

believes this is an unnecessary burden 

on OSCs and RPMs during a response. 

The phrase ‘‘pollution reports’’ would 

be changed to ‘‘situation reports’’ in 

paragraph (m) to be more consistent 

with terminology used for such status 

reports under the NRF. This change 

would also be consistent with the 

change from ‘‘pollution reports’’ to 

‘‘situation reports’’ proposed in 

§ 300.115(j)(8). 

K. Special Teams and Other Assistance 

Available to OSCs/RPMs (Section 

300.145) 

Some of the descriptions of existing 

special teams would be updated or 

clarified. In paragraph (b)(4), the title 

‘‘Director, Emergency Response 

Division’’ would be changed to ‘‘Chief, 

Environmental Response Team’’ to 

address a reorganization in EPA 

headquarters. The description of EPA’s 

Radiological Emergency Response Team 

(RERT) in paragraph (f) would be 

divided into two separate subparagraphs 

and updated. EPA would make minor 

changes to the activation methods for all 

of the EPA special teams in this section, 

including EPA Scientific Support 

Coordinators (SSCs), to make the 

activation methods consistent across the 

EPA teams. Each EPA special team 

would be able to be contacted via: The 

EPA Headquarters Emergency 

Operations Center, EPA representative 

on the RRT, or EPA manager of the 

team. 

Several additional special teams or 

resources would be added to the list of 

assets available to assist OSCs and 

RPMs. Some of these are new resources, 

while some were existing resources that 

were not previously listed in the NCP. 

Descriptions of the following resources 

would be added to new paragraphs (i) 

through (n) of § 300.145: 

• CG–IMAT 

• USCG SERT 

• EPA CBRN CMAT 

• EPA NCERT 

• OSHA Response Team 

• DOE AMS 

• DOE CMHT 

• DOE CMRT 

• DOE NARAC 

• DOE RAP 

• DOE REAC/TS 

The proposed language in § 300.145 

paragraphs (i) through (n) describes the 

capabilities of these teams. Additional 

federal teams that can support NCP 

responses may be described in other 

guidance and reference documents. 

Paragraph (e) would also be modified to 

add the USCG SERT to the list of 

resources that OSCs/RPMs may contact 

for assistance with marine salvage 

operations. 

L. Public Information and Community 

Relations (Section 300.155) 

The acronym ‘‘(JIC)’’ would be added 

after ‘‘Joint Information Center’’ in 

paragraph (a). 

In paragraph (b), the term ‘‘on-scene 

news office’’ would be changed to ‘‘JIC’’ 

to make it consistent with the existing 

reference to the JIC in paragraph (a) and 

with NIMS. Under NIMS, a JIC 

coordinates incident-related public 

information activities, including acting 

as the central point of contact for the 

news media near the scene of an 

incident. Language would also be added 

noting that the federal OSC/RPM 

consults with other appropriate 

response organizations in locating the 

JIC to reflect actual practice. ‘‘On-scene’’ 

would be replaced by ‘‘near the location 

of the incident’’ to allow flexibility to 

establish the JIC in a safe location with 

appropriate support capabilities. The 

word ‘‘federal’’ would be deleted, as 

well as a sentence about the facility 

being headed by a representative of the 

lead agency, to be consistent with the 

purpose of a JIC established under the 

NCP, which is to coordinate public 

information activities at the tactical 

level across multi-jurisdictional 

responding agencies. The JIC would be 

headed by a single Public Information 

Officer, who may appoint as many 

assistants (Assistant Public Information 

Officers or JIC Specialists) as necessary 

and the assistants may represent 

assisting agencies, jurisdictions, and/or 

other response partners. 

A note would be added to § 300.155 

that explains that additional NRF public 

information procedures may be 

activated and implemented for an NCP 

response. The NRF contains additional 

procedures for coordinating federal 

public information activities in the 

Emergency Support Function (ESF) 

#15—External Affairs Annex and 

supporting documents, which also 

would be followed as appropriate when 

ESF #15 is activated for an NCP 

response. For example, while a JIC may 

be established by the OSC and other 

incident commanders near the incident 

scene under NIMS for an NCP removal 

action, if the ESF #15 Annex is also 

activated, the federal government may 

also establish a national-level JIC. The 

national-level JIC would coordinate its 

activities with the local JIC and any 

other JICs established for the incident. 

Other ESF #15 communications 

mechanisms may also be used, such as 


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the State Incident Communications 

Conference Line (SICCL) and Private 

Sector Incident Communications 

Conference Line (PICCL). Again, it is 

expected that when it does occur, an 

ESF #15 activation would be for an NCP 

removal action rather than for a 

remedial action. Note that EPA is not 

taking comment on the NRF public 

affairs procedures, only on the NCP 

changes to align with those procedures. 

M. OSC After Action Reports (Section 

300.165) 

The term ‘‘OSC report’’ would be 

expanded to ‘‘OSC after action report’’ 

in the title of § 300.165 and in 

paragraphs (a) and (b) of the section to 

be more consistent with terminology 

commonly used in incident 

management systems for such postincident reports. This change supports 

the objectives of the NRF and NIMS for 

greater consistency in national incident 

management systems. 

N. Federal Agency Participation 

(Section 300.170) 

A sentence would be added to the 

introductory paragraph of § 300.170 to 

recognize that some NRT agencies also 

may have specific land management 

laws, policies, and regulations that 

could inform or affect NCP response 

actions on federal lands managed by 

those agencies. For example, proposed 

§ 300.175(b)(9)(i) describes the authority 

of the DOI USFWS to authorize entry to, 

and activity on, refuge system lands. 

The new sentence in § 300.170 would 

not be a new requirement placed on 

NCP response actions; it is merely a 

clarification of roles and authorities that 

NRT agencies already have. In the next 

sentence in that paragraph, the phrase 

‘‘of these agencies’’ would be deleted 

because it is repetitive and not needed. 

The introductory paragraph in 

§ 300.170 currently uses the word 

‘‘duties’’ in each of the three sentences 

in that paragraph. The proposed rule 

would delete the word ‘‘duties’’ in these 

three sentences and replace it with the 

phrase ‘‘certain authorities and 

responsibilities.’’ The purpose of this 

change is to conform the language in the 

introductory paragraph of § 300.170 

with the relevant language in the 

remainder of § 300.170 and with the 

title of § 300.175 and the language in 

§ 300.175(a). 

Paragraph (b)(1) would be revised to 

delete the phrase ‘‘the Secretary of’’ 

because it is an unnecessary level of 

detail and does not reflect the real 

intention of paragraph (b)(1), which is to 

make information available to NRT 

members, not just ‘‘the Secretary.’’ This 

is parallel to the intention in paragraph 

(b)(1) of making information available to 

RRTs and Area Committees. (In any 

case, the NRT does not currently have 

a ‘‘Secretary’’; it has an Executive 

Director. Federal agencies typically 

provide information to the NRT 

Executive Director for subsequent 

distribution to NRT members.) 

O. Federal Agencies; Additional 

Responsibilities and Assistance (Section 

300.175) 

Like the introduction to § 300.170, 

paragraph (a) in § 300.175 would be 

modified to recognize that some NRT 

agencies also may have specific land 

management laws, policies, and 

regulations that could inform or affect 

NCP response actions on federal lands 

managed by those agencies. Again, this 

is not a new requirement being placed 

on NCP response actions; it is merely a 

clarification of roles and authorities 

these agencies already had. 

Paragraph (b) of § 300.175 would be 

revised to update and clarify the current 

responsibilities, organizations, and 

capabilities of all of the federal agencies 

listed in paragraph (b), as described in 

the proposed language. 

These revisions include updating the 

descriptions of USCG and FEMA to 

show that they are part of DHS. The 

DHS was established in November 2002 

by the passage of the HSA. USCG and 

FEMA were integrated into the DHS at 

that time. DHS develops and 

coordinates the implementation of a 

comprehensive national strategy to 

secure the United States from terrorist 

threats or attacks, major disasters, and 

other emergencies. DHS coordinates 

collection and analysis of threat 

information and domestic activities of 

terrorists or terrorist groups. DHS 

coordinates federal resources used in 

the prevention of, preparation for, 

response to, or recovery from terrorist 

attacks, major disasters, or other 

emergencies within the United States in 

accordance with its authorities. DHS, 

through FEMA, administers the NRF 

and NIMS. DHS and FEMA work with 

federal, state, tribal and local agencies 

and private entities in performing these 

functions. 

In addition to USCG and FEMA, the 

DHS organization includes components 

responsible for policy, infrastructure 

protection, intelligence and analysis, 

domestic nuclear detection, science and 

technology, customs and border 

protection, immigration and customs 

enforcement, and transportation 

security. 

In paragraph (b)(5), which describes 

DOE’s roles and capabilities, the 

reference to the ‘‘FRERP’’ would be 

deleted because the FRERP was 

replaced by the NRF and supporting 

documents. However, it is not necessary 

to reference the NRF in this paragraph 

because DOE can provide support and 

assistance for NCP responses directly as 

a member of the NRT, without going 

through the NRF. 

Federal agencies described in 

§ 300.175 may have additional roles and 

responsibilities, as outlined in the NRF 

and supporting documents, for 

incidents that are managed under the 

NRF. 

P. Planning and Coordination 

Structures (Section 300.205) 

Figure 4, under paragraph (g) in 

§ 300.205, would be revised to change 

the current reference to the ‘‘Federal 

Response Plan (FRP)’’ to the ‘‘National 

Response Framework (NRF)’’ because 

the NRF has replaced the FRP. A dotted 

line would be added between the NRF 

and the Area Contingency Plans to 

reflect an additional point of 

coordination between the two. A 

footnote would be added to ‘‘Facility 

Response Plan’’ and ‘‘Vessel Response 

Plan’’ that would refer readers to 

§ 300.211 for examples of facility and 

vessel response plans. 

Q. OPA Facility and Vessel Response 

Plans (Section 300.211) 

A technical correction would be made 

to paragraph (f) of § 300.211. Paragraph 

(f) currently states that the federal 

regulations that implement the response 

plan requirements under CWA section 

311(j)(5) for rolling stock are codified in 

‘‘49 CFR part 106 et al.’’ These 

regulations are found in 49 CFR part 

130, so paragraph (f) would be changed 

to refer to 49 CFR part 130. 

A table would be added to the end of 

§ 300.211 that would summarize the 

information on response plan 

regulations in paragraphs (a) through (f) 

of that section for easier readability. The 

table would also identify the federal 

department or agency that issues those 

regulations, and the names of the 

response plans under those regulations, 

to provide readers with additional 

useful information. The last sentence in 

the introductory paragraph to § 300.211 

would be revised to add the phrase ‘‘and 

summarized in Table 1’’ to introduce 

the new table. 

R. Spills of National Significance 

(Section 300.323) 

Section 300.323(a) would be amended 

to add the word ‘‘by’’ before ‘‘the 

Commandant of the USCG’’ for clarity. 

The phrase ‘‘spill of national 

significance’’ would also be deleted 

from paragraph (a), and only the 

acronym ‘‘SONS’’ used, because the 


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acronym would now be spelled out 

earlier in the NCP in the new text that 

is proposed to be added to the USCG 

description in § 300.175(b)(1). 

Additionally, a note would be added 

after § 300.323(c) to clarify that the EPA 

Administrator and USCG Commandant 

have the authority to declare an oil spill 

as a SONS under the NCP. 

The note after § 300.323(c) would be 

added to highlight the distinction 

between the EPA inland zone and USCG 

coastal zone authority under the NCP to 

declare a SONS, and any declaration or 

determination that may be made by 

other federal officials or other 

departments and agencies under the 

NRF. This would include any 

determinations that may be made by 

DHS to implement HSPD–5 authorities. 

For example, under HSPD–5, the 

Secretary of DHS has the authority to 

assume overall coordination 

responsibilities for a federal response to 

an incident. The Secretary may or may 

not assume overall federal coordination 

responsibilities under HSPD–5 for an 

incident that EPA or USCG declare as a 

SONS under the NCP. That decision is 

made by the Secretary. The EPA 

Administrator and USCG Commandant 

maintain the authority to designate an 

incident as a SONS under the NCP. (The 

USCG Commandant, subject to the 

Secretary’s oversight, direction, and 

guidance, may declare a SONS and 

designate a National Incident 

Commander. See Commandant 

Instruction 16465.6, Spill of National 

Significance (SONS) Response 

Management, May 23, 2012.) If the 

Secretary assumes overall coordination 

responsibilities for the federal response 

to a SONS under HSPD–5, or activates 

NRF elements in response to a request 

for support from the EPA or USCG 

without assuming overall coordination 

responsibilities, the response is 

conducted concurrently under the 

appropriate NCP and NRF procedures. 

The Secretary may make a 

determination that it is not necessary to 

assume responsibility for coordinating 

the federal response to a SONS under 

HSPD–5. Further, EPA and USCG may 

determine that adequate federal 

resources are being provided under NCP 

coordination mechanisms for the 

response and there is no need to request 

DHS to activate additional elements of 

the NRF. In that case, the SONS 

response may be carried out under the 

NCP without activating additional 

federal NRF elements (such as 

Emergency Support Functions). EPA or 

USCG, however, would keep DHS 

informed of its response activities as 

appropriate to support DHS situational 

awareness. 

It is also possible that the President 

could make a Stafford Act declaration 

for a SONS, or that the President could 

make a Stafford Act declaration for a 

broader incident that contributes to 

causing a SONS, such as a catastrophic 

earthquake that results in widespread 

impacts, including a SONS. (See the 

preamble under Subpart B, § 300.130 for 

a more detailed explanation of the 

Stafford Act.) In such cases, the SONS 

response would be carried out under the 

appropriate NCP and NRF procedures. 

S. Discovery or Notification (Section 

300.405) 

This rule proposes a clarification to 

§ 300.405(d). Paragraph (d) currently 

says that when people contact the NRC 

to report a release, the NRC will 

generally need information that will 

help to characterize the release. 

Paragraph (d) says this information 

‘‘will include, but is not limited to. . .’’ 

and goes on to provide a list of 

examples of the types of information the 

NRC will need. The current list of 

examples includes the ‘‘possible source 

of the release.’’ The proposed revisions 

would clarify paragraph (d) to state 

‘‘possible source and cause of the 

release.’’ The NRC already collects 

information regarding the cause of the 

release, even though ‘‘cause’’ is not 

currently specifically cited as an 

example in § 300.405(d), so collecting 

‘‘cause’’ information would not be a 

new requirement. The proposed 

revisions would add ‘‘cause’’ as another 

specific example in the rule language to 

better prepare people who notify the 

NRC that they will be asked for this 

information. As already stated in 

§ 300.405(d), however, reporting should 

not be delayed due to not having 

complete notification information. 

Paragraph (f)(3) currently states that if 

radiological substances are present in a 

release, the OSC should notify the EPA 

Radiological Response Coordinator for 

evaluation and assistance directly or via 

the NRC, consistent with §§ 300.130(e) 

and 300.145(f). Paragraph (f)(3) would 

be revised to: (1) Replace ‘‘EPA 

Radiological Response Coordinator’’ 

with ‘‘RERT’’; (2) change the methods 

for notification from ‘‘directly or via the 

NRC’’ to ‘‘the EPA Headquarters 

Emergency Operations Center, EPA 

representative on the RRT, or on-duty 

EPA RERT Team Commander in the 

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air’’; and 

(3) delete the reference to § 300.130(e). 

‘‘EPA Radiological Response 

Coordinator’’ would be replaced with 

‘‘RERT’’ because EPA no longer has a 

position called a ‘‘Radiological 

Response Coordinator.’’ The notification 

methods would be changed to be 

consistent with the changes to 

notification methods being proposed to 

the RERT description in § 300.145(f). 

The reference to § 300.130(e) would be 

deleted because it is no longer 

appropriate. 

The reference to § 300.130(e) is no 

longer appropriate because: (1) The 

existing NCP reference to § 300.130(e) is 

incorrect; it was intended to be a 

reference to § 300.130(f) instead; and (2) 

the FRERP that is cited in the existing 

§ 300.130(f) has been replaced by the 

NRF, including the Nuclear/

Radiological Incident Annex, and the 

NRF does not contain specific language 

about an OSC contacting the RERT for 

assistance with NCP removal actions 

involving a radioactive substance. 

Paragraph 300.130(e) in the existing 

NCP refers to discharges originating in 

the Outer Continental Shelf, which was 

not the original intention for that 

reference in § 300.405(f)(3). The original 

intention in § 300.405(f)(3) had been to 

refer to § 300.130(f), which refers to the 

old FRERP in the existing NCP. The 

NCP final rule issued on March 8, 1990, 

correctly cited § 300.130(f) in 

§ 300.405(f)(3) (55 FR 8842, March 8, 

1990). However, when other revisions to 

the NCP were published on September 

15, 1994, the § 300.130(f) citation in 

§ 300.405 was erroneously changed to 

§ 300.130(e) (59 FR 47448, September 

15, 1994). So, the existing NCP reference 

to § 300.130(e) in § 300.405(f)(3) is an 

inadvertent error; it should have been a 

reference to § 300.130(f), which 

references the FRERP in the existing 

NCP. However, as explained earlier in 

this preamble under the changes to 

§ 300.130, the FRERP has been replaced 

by the NRF and supporting documents, 

including the Nuclear/Radiological 

Incident Annex. The NRF and Nuclear/ 

Radiological Incident Annex do not 

contain specific language stating that an 

OSC should notify the EPA Radiological 

Response Coordinator (or the RERT) for 

assistance with NCP removal actions 

involving a radioactive substance, so it 

would not be appropriate to cite the 

NRF here in § 300.405(f)(3). 

T. Removal Action (Section 300.415) 

Paragraph (f) of § 300.415 would be 

revised to change ‘‘FEMA’’ to ‘‘EPA’’ 

and ‘‘shall’’ to ‘‘may.’’ FEMA was 

delegated the authority to conduct 

temporary relocations for CERCLA 

responses under Executive Order 12580, 

Section 2(c), but FEMA re-delegated that 

authority to EPA in 1990. The proposed 

revisions, therefore, explain that the 

NCP lead agency may ask EPA to 

conduct a temporary relocation or 

request that state or local officials 

conduct an evacuation, where necessary 


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to protect public health or welfare. (If 

another federal agency is the lead 

agency for a CERCLA removal action 

and requests EPA to conduct a 

temporary relocation using CERCLA 

funds, Section 9(j) of Executive Order 

12580 provides that the CERCLA fund 

must be reimbursed by that agency.) The 

change from ‘‘shall’’ to ‘‘may’’ would 

provide the lead agency with more 

flexibility to determine the appropriate 

action. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

Additional information about these 

statutes and Executive Orders can be 

found at http://www2.epa.gov/lawsregulations/laws-and-executive-orders. 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is not a significant 

regulatory action and was therefore not 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for review. 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

This action does not impose any new 

information collection burden under the 

PRA. OMB has previously approved the 

information collection activities 

contained in the existing regulations 

and has assigned OMB control number 

2050–0046. EPA is not revising the 

existing notification requirements that 

are contained in 40 CFR part 302; it is 

merely clarifying in § 300.405(d) that 

the NRC asks callers about both the 

source and cause of a release, if known. 

The NRC already collects information 

regarding the cause of the release, even 

though ‘‘cause’’ is not currently cited as 

an example in § 300.405(d), so 

collecting ‘‘cause’’ information would 

not be a new requirement. The proposed 

revisions would add ‘‘cause’’ as another 

specific example in the rule language to 

better prepare people who notify the 

NRC that they will be asked for this 

information. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

I certify that this action will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the RFA. In making this 

determination, the impact of concern is 

any significant adverse economic 

impact on small entities. An agency may 

certify that a rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities if 

the rule relieves regulatory burden, has 

no net burden or otherwise has a 

positive economic effect on the small 

entities subject to the rule. This rule 

adds no new burden on small entities. 

EPA is not revising the existing NRC 

notification requirements that are 

contained in 40 CFR part 302; it is 

merely clarifying in § 300.405(d) that 

the NRC asks callers about both the 

source and cause of the release, if 

known. The NRC already collects 

information regarding the cause of the 

release, even though ‘‘cause’’ is not 

currently cited as an example in 

§ 300.405(d), so collecting ‘‘cause’’ 

information would not be a new 

requirement. The proposed revisions 

would add ‘‘cause’’ as another specific 

example in the rule language to better 

prepare people who notify the NRC that 

they will be asked for this information. 

We have therefore concluded that this 

action will add no new regulatory 

burden on all directly regulated small 

entities. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

This action does not contain any 

unfunded mandates as described in 

UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, and does 

not significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. 

This action imposes no enforceable 

duty on any state, local, or tribal 

governments or the private sector. That 

is, this action proposes changes that 

align the NCP with the NRF and NIMS 

and updates the descriptions and 

capabilities of the NRT federal agencies 

and how they operating, including the 

establishment of DHS. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications. It will not have substantial 

direct effects on the states, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications, as specified in Executive 

Order 13175. This rule does not 

significantly or uniquely affect the 

communities of Indian tribal 

governments, nor would it impose 

substantial direct compliance costs on 

them. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does 

not apply to this action. Although this 

action does not have impacts on tribes, 

it does propose to add language that 

would reflect existing NCP practices 

regarding coordination with tribes for 

activities occurring on tribal lands, such 

as adding language to NCP Figures to 

show that tribal governments may 

participate in the incident command 

structure and on RRTs. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 

as applying only to those regulatory 

actions that concern health or safety 

risks that the EPA has reason to believe 

may disproportionately affect children, 

per the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory 

action’’ in section 2–202 of the 

Executive Order. This action is not 

subject to Executive Order 13045 

because it does not concern an 

environmental health risk or safety risk. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not subject to Executive 

Order 13211 because it is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

This rulemaking does not involve 

technical standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

The EPA believes the human health or 

environmental risk addressed by this 

action will not have disproportionately 

high and adverse human health or 

environmental effects on minority, lowincome or indigenous populations. This 

action does not affect the level of 

protection provided to human health or 

the environment. EPA is proposing an 

alignment of the NCP with the DHS’s 

NRF and NIMS and an update of federal 

department and agency organizations 

and capabilities. These proposed 

changes are primarily administrative 

and procedural in nature. They look to 

provide a consistent nationwide 

approach for federal, state, and local 

governments to work effectively and 

efficiently together to prepare for and 

respond to domestic incidents, 

regardless of cause, size, or complexity, 

and to more accurately describe federal 

department and agency capabilities. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Chemicals, Hazardous 

materials, Hazardous substances, 

Incorporation by reference, 

Intergovernmental relations, Natural 

resources, Occupational safety and 

health, Oil pollution, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, 


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3992 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

Waste treatment and disposal, Water 

pollution control, Water supply. 

Dated: January 7, 2016. 

Gina McCarthy, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, EPA proposes to amend 40 

CFR part 300 as follows: 

PART 300—NATIONAL OIL AND 

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES 

POLLUTION CONTINGENCY PLAN 

■ 1. Revise the authority citation for part 

300 to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321; 42 U.S.C. 

9601–9657; E.O. 13626, 77 FR 56749, 3 CFR, 

2013 Comp., p. 306; E.O. 12777, 56 FR 54757, 

3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 

FR 2923, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193. 

■ 2. Revise § 300.2 to read as follows: 

§ 300.2 Authority and applicability. 

The NCP is required by section 105 of 

the Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act of 1980, 42 U.S.C. 9605, as amended 

by the Superfund Amendments and 

Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), 

Public Law 99–499, (hereinafter 

CERCLA), and by section 311(d) of the 

Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 

1321(d), as amended by the Oil 

Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), Public Law 

101–380. In Executive Order (E.O.) 

12777 (56 FR 54757, October 22, 1991), 

the President delegated to the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

the responsibility for the amendment of 

the NCP. Amendments to the NCP are 

coordinated with members of the 

National Response Team (NRT) prior to 

publication for notice and comment. 

The NCP is applicable to response 

actions taken pursuant to the authorities 

under CERCLA and section 311 of the 

CWA, as amended. 

■ 3. Amend § 300.3 by: 

■ a. Adding a note to paragraph (a); and 

■ b. Removing paragraph (d). 

The addition reads as follows: 

§ 300.3 Scope. 

* * * * * 

Note to paragraph (a): The National 

Response Framework (NRF) is issued by 

the Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) and followed by federal 

departments and agencies. When NRF 

procedures are activated for an NCP 

response, the response is conducted 

concurrently under the appropriate NCP 

and NRF procedures. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Amend § 300.4 by: 

■ a. In paragraph (a) by: 

■ i. Revising the term ‘‘CDC’’; 

■ ii. Adding in alphabetical order the 

terms ‘‘DHS’’ and ‘‘PHMSA’’; 

■ iii. Removing the term ‘‘RSPA’’; and 

■ iv. Adding the term ‘‘USFWS’’; and 

■ b. In paragraph (b) by: 

■ i. Adding in alphabetical order the 

terms ‘‘AMS’’, ‘‘CBRN CMAT’’, ‘‘CG– 

IMAT’’, ‘‘CMHT’’, ‘‘CMRT’’; 

■ ii. Removing the terms ‘‘ESF’’, ‘‘FCO’’, 

‘‘FRERP’’; 

■ iii. Adding in alphabetical order the 

term ‘‘FRMAC’’; 

■ iv. Removing the term ‘‘FRP’’; 

■ v. Adding in alphabetical order the 

terms ‘‘JIC’’, ‘‘NARAC’’, ‘‘NCERT’’, 

‘‘NIMS’’, ‘‘NRF’’, ‘‘RAP’’, ‘‘REAC/TS’’, 

‘‘REOC’’; 

■ vi. Removing the term ‘‘RRC’’; 

■ vii. Adding in alphabetical order the 

term ‘‘SERT’’; and 

■ viii. Removing the term ‘‘USFWS’’. 

The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 300.4 Abbreviations. 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * 

CDC Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

DHS Department of Homeland 

Security 

* * * * * 

PHMSA Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

* * * * * 

USFWS United States Fish and 

Wildlife Service 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

* * * * * 

AMS Aerial Measuring System 

* * * * * 

CBRN CMAT Chemical, Biological, 

Radiological, Nuclear Consequence 

Management Advisory Team 

* * * * * 

CG–IMAT Coast Guard Incident 

Management Assistance Team 

CMHT Consequence Management 

Home Team 

CMRT Consequence Management 

Response Team 

* * * * * 

FRMAC Federal Radiological 

Monitoring and Assessment Center 

* * * * * 

JIC Joint Information Center 

* * * * * 

NARAC National Atmospheric Release 

Advisory Center 

NCERT National Criminal 

Enforcement Response Team 

* * * * * 

NIMS National Incident Management 

System 

* * * * * 

NRF National Response Framework 

* * * * * 

RAP Radiological Assistance Program 

* * * * * 

REAC/TS Radiation Emergency 

Assistance Center/Training Site 

REOC Regional Emergency Operations 

Center 

* * * * * 

SERT Salvage Engineering Response 

Team 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Amend § 300.5 by: 

■ a. Removing the definitions ‘‘Federal 

Radiological Emergency Response Plan’’ 

and ‘‘Federal Response Plan’’; 

■ b. Adding in alphabetical order 

definitions for ‘‘National Incident 

Management System’’ and ‘‘National 

Response Framework’’; 

■ c. Revising the definitions ‘‘National 

response system’’ and ‘‘Spill of National 

Significance’’; and 

■ d. Adding a note to the end of § 300.5. 

The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 300.5 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

National Incident Management 

System (NIMS) is a consistent 

nationwide template for the 

management of domestic incidents, 

issued by the DHS under the authority 

of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

(HSA), Post-Katrina Emergency 

Management Reform Act (PKEMRA), 

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford 

Act), and Homeland Security 

Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD–5). 

NIMS provides a systematic, proactive 

approach to guide government 

departments and agencies at all levels, 

nongovernmental organizations, and the 

private sector to work together 

seamlessly to prevent, protect against, 

respond to, recover from, and mitigate 

the effects of incidents, regardless of 

cause, size, location, or complexity, in 

order to reduce the loss of life or 

property and harm to the environment. 

To provide for interoperability and 

compatibility among responding 

organizations, the NIMS includes a core 

set of concepts, principles, procedures, 

organizational processes, and 

terminology. These include the incident 

command system; multi-agency 

coordination systems; training; 

identification and management of 

resources; qualification and 

certification; and the collection, 

tracking, and reporting of incident 

information and incident resources. 

* * * * * 

National Response Framework (NRF) 

is a guide to how the Nation conducts 

all-hazards response, issued by the DHS 

under the authority of the HSA, 


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PKEMRA, Stafford Act, and HSPD–5. 

The NRF documents the key response 

principles, roles and responsibilities, 

and coordinating structures that 

organize national response. It describes 

how communities, all levels of 

government, and private-sector and 

nongovernmental partners apply these 

principles for a coordinated, effective 

national response. 

National Response System (NRS) is 

the mechanism for coordinating 

response actions by all levels of 

government in support of the OSC/RPM. 

The NRS is composed of the NRT, RRTs, 

OSC/RPM, Area Committees, and 

Special Teams and related support 

entities. The NRS is capable of 

expanding or contracting to 

accommodate the response effort 

required by the size or complexity of the 

discharge or release. 

* * * * * 

Spill of National Significance (SONS) 

means a spill of oil that due to its 

severity, size, location, actual or 

potential impact on the public health 

and welfare or the environment, or the 

necessary response effort, as determined 

by the EPA Administrator or by the 

Commandant of the USCG, is so 

complex that it requires extraordinary 

coordination of federal, state, local, and 

responsible party resources to contain 

and clean up the discharge. 

* * * * * 

Note to § 300.5: 

1. Emergency Support Function #10— 

Oil and Hazardous Materials Response 

Annex is an annex to the NRF. It 

describes how federal support for 

environmental response to an actual or 

potential discharge and/or release of oil 

or hazardous materials is provided 

under the NRF when the annex is 

activated. 

2. Emergency Support Function #15— 

External Affairs Annex is an annex to 

the NRF. It describes how federal 

support for external affairs is provided 

under the NRF when the annex is 

activated. It includes components for 

public affairs, congressional affairs, 

intergovernmental affairs, and 

communications with the private sector. 

■ 6. Amend § 300.105 by: 

■ a. Adding a note to paragraph (d); 

■ b. Revising paragraph (e)(1) and 

Figures 1a and 1b; and 

■ c. Revising paragraph (e)(2) and 

Figure 2. 

The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 300.105 General organization concepts. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

Note to paragraph (d): The National 

Incident Management System (NIMS) is 

issued by DHS. Federal departments 

and agencies follow NIMS and have 

adopted it for appropriate use in NCP 

emergency removal actions. 

(e)(1) The organizational concepts of 

the National Response System (NRS) are 

depicted in the following Figures 1a and 

1b: 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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EP25JA16.059</GPH>asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

1a 

National Response System Concepts: Response 

National 

Resource 

Trustees 

The NRC notifies predesignated OSC, who notifies the cognizant 

RPM as appropriate. 

This includes local and tribal as welL 

Resources available to support OSC/RPM upon request 

Notification 

Incident Occurs 

National 

Response 

Center 

OSC/RPM1 

Notification 

Notification 

Not
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 2016 / Proposed Rules 3995 

(2) The EPA regional boundaries 

(which are also the geographic areas of 

responsibility for the RRTs) are shown 

in Figure 2: 

* * * * * 


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3996 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

■ 7. Amend § 300.115 by revising 

paragraphs (j)(4)(iii) and (iv), removing 

paragraph (j)(4)(v), and revising 

paragraphs (j)(5), and (j)(8) to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.115 Regional Response Teams. 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(iii) Help the OSC/RPM prepare 

information releases for the public and 

for communication with the NRT; and 

(iv) If the circumstances warrant, 

make recommendations to the regional 

or district head of the agency providing 

the OSC/RPM that a different OSC/RPM 

should be designated. 

(5) At the regional level, a Regional 

Emergency Operations Center (REOC) 

may provide facilities and personnel for 

communications, information storage, 

and other requirements for coordinating 

response. The location of each REOC 

should be identified in the RCP. 

* * * * * 

(8) Notification of the RRT may be 

appropriate when full activation is not 

necessary, with systematic 

communication of situation reports or 

other means to keep RRT members 

informed as to actions of potential 

concern to a particular agency, or to 

assist in later RRT evaluation of 

regionwide response effectiveness. 

* * * * * 

■ 8. Amend § 300.125 by revising 

paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows: 

§ 300.125 Notification and 

communications. 

(a) The National Response Center 

(NRC) is a component of and serves the 

National Response System, and is 

located at USCG Headquarters. It serves 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 2016 / Proposed Rules 3997 

as a national communications center, 

continuously manned, for handling 

activities related to response actions. 

The NRC provides communications 

support for the NRT. The NRC acts as 

the single point of contact under the 

NCP for receiving and disseminating 

reports of pollution incidents. Notice of 

discharges and releases must be made 

telephonically through a toll free 

number or a special local number. 

(Telecommunication Device for the Deaf 

(TDD) and collect calls are accepted). 

(Notification details appear in 

§§ 300.300 and 300.405.) The NRC 

receives and immediately relays 

telephone notices of discharges or 

releases to the appropriate 

predesignated federal OSC. The 

telephone report is also distributed to 

any interested NRT member agency, 

federal entity, or state or tribal 

government agency that has established 

a written agreement or understanding 

with the NRC. The NRC evaluates 

incoming information and immediately 

advises FEMA of a potential major 

disaster situation. 

(b) The agencies that provide the NRT 

Chair and Vice Chair, in conjunction 

with other NRT agencies, shall provide 

the necessary personnel, 

communications, plotting facilities, and 

equipment for the NRC. The operation 

and management of the NRC is the 

responsibility of the Director of the 

NRC. 

* * * * * 

■ 9. Amend § 300.130 as follows: 

■ a. Revise paragraph (f); 

■ b. Remove paragraphs (g), (h), and (i); 

and 

■ c. Add a note to the end of § 300.130. 

§ 300.130 Determinations to initiate 

response and special conditions. 

* * * * * 

(f) Release of source, byproduct, or 

special nuclear material from a nuclear 

incident, as those terms are defined in 

the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, if such 

release is subject to requirements with 

respect to financial protection 

established by the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission under section 170 of such 

Act, is excluded from the definition of 

release in 42 U.S.C. 9601(22)(C). 

Note to § 300.130: The NRF and 

supporting documents describe how the 

NCP, and other federal authorities, may 

be used to respond to radiological 

releases. The NRF and supporting 

documents also describe how the NCP 

may be used in the event of a 

declaration of a major disaster or 

emergency by the President under the 

Stafford Act. The FEMA coordinates the 

federal response under the Stafford Act. 

The NRF and supporting documents, 

including the Emergency Support 

Function #10—Oil and Hazardous 

Materials Response Annex, describe 

how NCP response structures and 

activities integrate with FEMA 

structures and activities during these 

responses. The NRF does not alter NCP 

authorities. 

■ 10. Amend § 300.135 by revising 

paragraphs (e) and (m) to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.135 Response operations. 

* * * * * 

(e) The OSC/RPM should consult 

regularly with the RRT, as appropriate, 

in carrying out the NCP and keep the 

RRT, as appropriate, informed of 

activities under the NCP. 

* * * * * 

(m) The OSC shall submit situation 

reports to the RRT and other appropriate 

agencies as significant developments 

occur during response actions, through 

communications networks or 

procedures agreed to by the RRT and 

covered in the RCP. 

* * * * * 

■ 11. Amend § 300.145 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (a) introductory 

text; 

■ b. Removing paragraph (a)(3); 

■ c. Revising paragraphs (b)(4), (c)(1), 

(e), and (f); and 

■ d. Adding paragraphs (i) through (n). 

The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 300.145 Special teams and other 

assistance available to OSCs/RPMs. 

(a) The NSF is a special team 

established by the USCG, including the 

three USCG Strike Teams and the 

NSFCC. The NSF is available to assist 

OSCs/RPMs in their preparedness and 

response duties. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

* * * * * 

(4) OSC/RPM or RRT requests for ERT 

support should be made through the 

EPA Headquarters Emergency 

Operations Center, EPA representative 

on the RRT, or EPA Headquarters, Chief, 

Environmental Response Team. 

(c) * * * 

(1) Generally, SSCs are provided by 

NOAA in the coastal zone, and by EPA 

in the inland zone. OSC/RPM requests 

for SSC support can be made directly to 

the SSC assigned to the area or to the 

agency member of the RRT. EPA SSCs 

can also be requested through the EPA 

Headquarters Emergency Operations 

Center or the team-specific EPA point of 

contact designated in this section for the 

EPA special team whose type of 

expertise is needed. NOAA SSCs can 

also be requested through NOAA’s 

Office of Response and Restoration. 

NOAA SSCs are assigned to USCG 

Districts and are supported by a 

scientific support team that includes 

expertise in environmental chemistry, 

oil slick tracking, pollutant transport 

modeling, natural resources at risk, 

environmental tradeoffs of 

countermeasures and cleanup, and 

information management. 

* * * * * 

(e) For marine salvage operations, 

OSCs/RPMs with responsibility for 

monitoring, evaluating, or supervising 

these activities should request 

assistance from the USCG Salvage 

Engineering Response Team (SERT), 

DOD, the Strike Teams, or commercial 

salvors as necessary. 

(f)(1) The Radiological Emergency 

Response Team (RERT) is established by 

EPA in accordance with its radiological 

disaster and emergency responsibilities. 

The RERT can provide response and 

technical assistance to the OSC/RPM for 

incidents or sites containing 

radiological hazards. The RERT can 

provide technical advice and assistance 

to prevent or minimize threats to public 

health and the environment; provide 

advice on protective measures to reduce 

or minimize radiation exposure; provide 

assessments of dose; perform site 

assessment, contamination surveys, 

monitoring, sampling, laboratory 

analyses and data assessments to assess 

and characterize environmental 

impacts; and provide technical advice 

and assistance for containment, 

cleanup, waste management, 

restoration, and recovery following a 

radiological incident. The RERT directly 

supports EPA’s participation in the 

Federal Radiological Monitoring and 

Assessment Center (FRMAC), when the 

FRMAC is activated. 

(2) The OSC/RPM may request RERT 

support through the EPA Headquarters 

Emergency Operations Center, EPA 

representative on the RRT, or on-duty 

EPA RERT Team Commander in the 

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. 

* * * * * 

(i) The U.S. Coast Guard Incident 

Management Assistance Team (CG– 

IMAT) is a scalable resource designed to 

assist federal OSCs by providing highly 

trained personnel who can assist in: 

Major incident management activities; 

ongoing training and qualification of 

Coast Guardsmen throughout the United 

States; carrying out exercises which 

validate plans and procedures and build 

confidence in capabilities; and, for the 

Coast Guard in general, the ongoing 

development of competent and effective 

management capabilities at Coast Guard 


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field units. By maintaining this 

comprehensive functionality, the CG– 

IMAT has significant in-garrison 

responsibilities that actively support allhazard training, exercises, and readiness 

assessments. The CG–IMAT has four 

distinct capabilities: 

(1) Incident Management Capability— 

The CG–IMAT is a Type-1 IMAT that 

can assist operational commanders to 

successfully manage incidents and 

events through the deployment of 

highly trained individuals, four-person 

Away Teams, 15-person Deployable 

Elements, or the entire CG–IMAT. The 

structure provides adaptive force 

packages to best support the needs of 

the operational commanders. 

(2) Training Support Capability—The 

CG–IMAT can assist USCG Areas, 

Districts, Sectors, and Force Readiness 

Command in the conduct of NIMS 

training and support ongoing efforts to 

certify individuals in position-specific 

qualifications. 

(3) Exercise Support Capability—The 

CG–IMAT can employ specific 

personnel to assist in the development, 

training, conduct, and evaluation of 

exercises. 

(4) The Public Information Assist 

Team (PIAT) is an element of the CG– 

IMAT that is available to assist federal 

OSCs to meet the needs for public 

information during a response or 

exercise. 

(5) For non-USCG federal OSCs, 

requests for CG–IMAT support can be 

made through the USCG Headquarters 

National Command Center. Requests for 

PIAT assistance can be made through 

the CG–IMAT or NRC. 

(j)(1) The USCG SERT can provide 

immediate salvage engineering support 

in response to vessel casualties and 

emergencies. This includes independent 

technical evaluation of the situation and 

assistance in formulating practical and 

effective solutions. 

(2) The SERT can provide expertise in 

evaluating vessel casualties, reviewing 

and developing salvage plans, and 

providing salvage technical assistance 

directly to the OSC/RPM. The SERT has 

access to vessel plans and salvage 

engineering analysis software, and 

knowledge of commercial vessel 

construction and stability. The SERT is 

able to deploy and provide on-site 

assistance. 

(3) The OSC/RPM may request 

support through the NRC, directly from 

the SERT, or through the USCG 

Headquarters National Command Center 

or USCG Marine Safety Center. 

(k)(1) The EPA Chemical, Biological, 

Radiological, Nuclear Consequence 

Management Advisory Team (CBRN 

CMAT) can provide response and 

technical assistance for incidents or 

sites involving chemical, biological, 

radiological and/or nuclear hazards. 

Scientific and technical expertise can be 

provided to the OSC/RPM for all phases 

of CBRN environmental response, 

including characterization, 

decontamination and cleanup, 

clearance, and waste management. The 

CBRN CMAT directly supports EPA’s 

participation in the FRMAC, when a 

FRMAC is activated. 

(2) The CBRN CMAT can provide 

specialized scientific support and 

technical expertise specifically for 

characterization, decontamination and 

cleanup, clearance, and waste 

management of buildings and building 

contents, public infrastructure, 

transportation systems, and outdoor 

spaces. The CBRN CMAT engages in 

evaluating, advising, leading, or 

collaborating on various applied 

research projects that can support CBRN 

field response. 

(3) The CBRN CMAT maintains 

technologically advanced response 

assets and capabilities, including but 

not limited to, an airborne stand-off 

chemical and radiological detection, 

infrared and photographic imagery 

platform that provides results within 

minutes, and a mobile laboratory 

designed to detect chemical warfare 

agents and toxic industrial chemicals. 

(4) The OSC/RPM may request CBRN 

CMAT assistance through the EPA 

Headquarters Emergency Operations 

Center, EPA representative on the RRT, 

or EPA Headquarters, Director, CBRN 

Consequence Management Advisory 

Division. 

(l)(1) The EPA National Criminal 

Enforcement Response Team (NCERT) 

in the Office of Criminal Enforcement, 

Forensics, and Training supports 

environmental crime investigations 

involving chemical, biological, or 

radiological releases to the environment. 

The team can also provide specialized 

law enforcement services in support of 

the EPA’s overall mission to protect 

human health and the environment. 

(2) The NCERT provides specially 

trained Law Enforcement Officers with 

all-hazards response capability to 

collect forensic evidence within 

contaminated zones and serve as law 

enforcement liaisons with other law 

enforcement agencies. The NCERT 

maintains several strategically placed 

response platforms that contain safety 

and forensic equipment to properly 

process a contaminated crime scene. 

(3) The OSC/RPM may request 

NCERT support through the EPA 

Headquarters Emergency Operations 

Center, EPA representative on the RRT, 

or EPA Headquarters, Director, Office of 

Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and 

Training. 

(m)(1) The OSHA Response Team can 

support the OSC/RPM in the area of 

response worker safety and health. The 

team can provide safety and health 

expertise and support for incidents 

involving toxic industrial chemicals, 

chemical warfare agents, biological 

agents, ionizing and non-ionizing 

radiation, collapsed structures, 

demolition and other construction-type 

activities. The team is comprised of 

certified industrial hygienists, certified 

health physicists, professional 

engineers, toxicologists, occupational 

physicians, and specialized safety 

experts. 

(2) The OSHA Response Team is 

available to assist OSCs/RPMs in their 

preparedness and response duties. 

Requests for support should be made 

through the NRC, or directly to OSHA’s 

Health Response Team Director, located 

at OSHA’s Salt Lake Technical Center in 

Sandy, Utah or OSHA’s Director, 

Directorate of Technical Support and 

Emergency Management located in 

OSHA’s national office. 

(n)(1) DOE has the following special 

teams: 

(i) Aerial Measuring System (AMS) 

can provide a rapid survey of radiation 

contamination during a radiological 

emergency by using aircraft equipped to 

detect radioactive contamination on the 

ground. 

(ii) Consequence Management Home 

Team (CMHT) can assist field assets in 

the support of federal, state, tribal, and 

local response organizations with 

modeling, radiological operations 

planning, field monitoring techniques, 

and the analysis, interpretation and 

distribution of radiological data. These 

reach-back capabilities can be activated 

quickly to support public safety and 

minimize the health and environmental 

impact of a nuclear or radiological 

incident. 

(iii) Consequence Management 

Response Team (CMRT) can provide 

data collection, assessment, and 

interpretation for decision makers in the 

event of a radiological incident. 

(iv) National Atmospheric Release 

Advisory Center (NARAC) can provide 

near real-time assessment of 

atmospheric releases for rapid decisionmaking during an emergency involving 

a nuclear or radiological release. 

(v) Radiation Emergency Assistance 

Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) can 

provide reach-back radiation medical 

assistance or deploy personnel and 

equipment for direct medical care in 

support of a radiological emergency. 

The REAC/TS also conducts robust 


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radiation medicine training for 

healthcare providers. 

(vi) Radiological Assistance Program 

(RAP) can provide first response 

radiological assistance in the detection 

and identification of radiological and 

nuclear threats, and responds to events 

involving the release of radiological 

materials in the environment. 

(2) All DOE teams may be requested 

through the DOE Watch Office, DOE 

Headquarters (National Nuclear Security 

Administration, Office of Emergency 

Operations). All teams may be requested 

independently of any other response 

construct they support. For example, the 

CMHT, CMRT, or AMS may be 

requested independent of a request for 

a Federal Radiological Monitoring and 

Assessment Center (FRMAC), which 

those teams normally support as the 

DOE component of the FRMAC when a 

FRMAC is activated. Deployed CMRT 

and RAP teams are typically supported 

by the CMHT. An OSC/RPM request for 

a CMRT or RAP team would include the 

support of the CMHT when DOE 

determines such CMHT support is 

needed. 

■ 12. Amend § 300.155 by revising 

paragraphs (a) and (b) and adding a note 

to the end of § 300.155 to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.155 Public information and 

community relations. 

(a) When an incident occurs, it is 

imperative to give the public prompt, 

accurate information on the nature of 

the incident and the actions underway 

to mitigate the damage. OSCs/RPMs and 

community relations personnel should 

ensure that all appropriate public and 

private interests are kept informed and 

that their concerns are considered 

throughout a response. They should 

coordinate with available public affairs/ 

community relations resources to carry 

out this responsibility by establishing, 

as appropriate, a Joint Information 

Center (JIC) bringing together resources 

from federal and state agencies and the 

responsible party. 

(b) A JIC may be established near the 

location of the incident to coordinate 

media relations and to issue official 

information on an incident. The OSC/

RPM, in consultation with other 

response organizations as appropriate, 

determines the location of the JIC, but 

every effort should be made to locate it 

near the scene of the incident. If a 

participating agency believes public 

interest warrants the issuance of 

statements and a JIC has not been 

established, the affected agency should 

recommend its establishment. All 

federal news releases or statements by 

participating agencies should be cleared 

through the OSC/RPM. Information 

dissemination relating to natural 

resource damage assessment activities 

shall be coordinated through the lead 

administrative trustee. The designated 

lead administrative trustee may assist 

the OSC/RPM by disseminating 

information on issues relating to damage 

assessment activities. Following 

termination of removal activity, 

information dissemination on damage 

assessment activities shall be through 

the lead administrative trustee. 

* * * * * 

Note to § 300.155: NRF procedures for 

public affairs and external 

communications, including those in the 

Emergency Support Function #15— 

External Affairs Annex, may be 

activated and implemented in addition 

to NCP procedures. 

■ 13. Revise § 300.165 to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.165 OSC after action reports. 

(a) As requested by the NRT or RRT, 

the OSC/RPM shall submit to the NRT 

or RRT a complete report on the 

removal operation and the actions 

taken. The RRT shall review the OSC 

after action report and send to the NRT 

a copy of the OSC report with its 

comments or recommendations within 

30 days after the RRT has received the 

OSC report. 

(b) The OSC after action report shall 

record the situation as it developed, the 

actions taken, the resources committed, 

and the problems encountered. 

■ 14. Amend § 300.170 by revising the 

introductory paragraph and paragraph 

(b)(1) to read as follows: 

§ 300.170 Federal agency participation. 

Federal agencies listed in § 300.175 

have certain authorities and 

responsibilities established by statute, 

executive order, or Presidential 

directive which may apply to federal 

response actions following, or in 

prevention of, the discharge of oil or 

release of a hazardous substance, 

pollutant, or contaminant. Some of 

these agencies also have specific land 

management laws, policies, and 

regulations that may inform or affect 

response actions on federal lands under 

the jurisdiction, custody, or control of 

the agency. Some also have certain 

authorities and responsibilities relating 

to the restoration, rehabilitation, 

replacement, or acquisition of 

equivalent natural resources injured or 

lost as a result of such discharge or 

release as described in subpart G of this 

part. The NRT, RRT, and Area 

Committee organizational structure, and 

the NCP, RCPs and ACPs, described in 

§ 300.210, provide for agencies to 

coordinate with each other in carrying 

out these authorities and 

responsibilities. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) Make necessary information 

available to the NRT, RRTs, Area 

Committees, and OSCs/RPMs. 

* * * * * 

■ 15. Revise § 300.175 to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.175 Federal agencies: additional 

responsibilities and assistance. 

(a) During preparedness planning or 

in an actual response, various federal 

agencies may be called upon to provide 

assistance in their respective areas of 

expertise, as indicated in paragraph (b) 

of this section, consistent with agency 

capabilities and legal authorities, 

including any federal land management 

laws, policies, and/or regulations that 

may inform or affect response actions 

taken on federally controlled land. 

(b) The federal agencies include: 

(1) USCG, as provided in 14 U.S.C. 1– 

3, is an agency in DHS, except when 

operating as an agency in the United 

States Navy in time of war. USCG 

provides the NRT vice chair, co-chairs 

for the standing RRTs, and 

predesignated OSCs for the coastal zone, 

as described in § 300.120(a)(1). USCG 

maintains continuously manned 

facilities which can be used for 

command, control, and surveillance of 

oil discharges and hazardous substance 

releases occurring in the coastal zone. 

USCG also offers expertise in domestic 

and international fields of port safety 

and security, maritime law enforcement, 

ship navigation and construction, vessel 

salvage, the manning, operation, and 

safety of vessels and marine facilities, 

and vessel environmental pollution 

control. USCG may enter into a contract 

or cooperative agreement with the 

appropriate state in order to implement 

a response action. USCG manages the 

Preparedness for Response Exercise 

Program (PREP) and a Spill of National 

Significance (SONS) exercise program to 

test spill response plans at all levels of 

industry and government. The USCG’s 

NPFC manages the OSLTF. 

(2) EPA chairs the NRT and co-chairs, 

with the USCG, the standing RRTs; 

provides predesignated OSCs for all 

inland areas for which an ACP is 

required under CWA section 311(j) and 

for discharges and releases occurring in 

the inland zone and RPMs for remedial 

actions except as otherwise provided; 

and generally provides the SSC for 

responses in the inland zone. EPA 

provides expertise on human health and 

ecological effects of oil discharges or 

releases of hazardous substances, 


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pollutants, or contaminants; methods 

for determining the type and extent of 

environmental contamination; 

ecological and human health risk 

assessment methods; environmental 

pollution control techniques (e.g., 

containment, decontamination, 

removal); and waste management and 

disposal. Access to EPA’s scientific 

expertise can be facilitated through the 

EPA Headquarters Emergency 

Operations Center; the EPA 

representative to the Science and 

Technology Committee of the NRT; the 

EPA Office of Research and 

Development’s Superfund Technical 

Liaison or Regional Scientists located in 

EPA Regional offices; the EPA 

representative to the RRT; or, for EPA 

special teams, as described in § 300.145. 

In addition, EPA can provide 

radiological monitoring and assessment 

assistance as part of the FRMAC, an 

interagency entity established under the 

NRF that may be activated by the lead 

agency to coordinate all federal 

environmental radiological monitoring 

and assessment activities for 

radiological or nuclear accidents or 

incidents. EPA augments the DOE-led 

FRMAC during the initial response 

(through RERT, CBRN CMAT, and other 

personnel) and assumes leadership of 

the FRMAC from DOE at a mutually 

agreed upon time. EPA also provides 

legal expertise on the interpretation of 

CERCLA and other environmental 

statutes. EPA may enter into a contract 

or cooperative agreement with the 

appropriate state in order to implement 

a response action. 

(3) FEMA is an agency in DHS whose 

mission includes providing guidance, 

policy and program advice, and 

technical assistance in hazardous 

materials, chemical, and radiological 

emergency preparedness activities 

(including planning, training, and 

exercising). The FEMA Protection and 

National Preparedness Office 

administers financial and technical 

assistance to state and local 

governments to support their efforts to 

develop and maintain an effective 

emergency management and response 

capability. 

(4) DOD has responsibility to take all 

action necessary with respect to releases 

where either the release is on, or the 

sole source of the release is from, any 

facility or vessel under the jurisdiction, 

custody, or control of DOD. In the event 

of releases that are unrelated to DOD, 

DOD may, consistent with its 

operational requirements and upon 

request of the OSC, provide appropriate 

support to other federal agencies. In 

such event, the following components of 

DOD may have particular relevance or 

expertise: 

(i) United States Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE) can provide design 

services, construction services, channel 

maintenance, removal of navigation 

obstructions, contract formation and 

administrative services, technical 

support for responses involving 

chemical, biological, radiological, or 

nuclear materials, and assistance in 

conducting temporary relocations. 

USACE has discretionary authority in 

an emergency situation to remove 

sunken vessels that are located in a 

federally-maintained navigable channel 

under 33 U.S.C. 403 and 409. USACE 

also has limited authority to remove 

debris from federally-maintained 

navigable channels and waterways 

under section 202 of the Water 

Resources Development Act of 1976 

(Public Law 94–587). The USACE 

Regulatory Program administers Section 

10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 

1899, which requires Department of 

Army (DA) authorization for work or 

structures in, over, or under navigable 

waters of the U.S. or affecting the 

course, location, or condition of those 

waters; section 404 of the Clean Water 

Act, which requires DA authorization 

for the discharge of dredged or fill 

material into waters of the U.S., 

including wetlands; and section 103 of 

the Marine Protection, Research, and 

Sanctuaries Act, which requires DA 

authorization for the transportation of 

dredged material for ocean disposal. 

(ii) The Pentagon office of Joint 

Director of Military Support allocates 

DOD resources in response to requests 

from civil authorities. Such requests for 

assistance are typically processed and 

acted upon after a written request via 

the DOD Executive Secretary. 

(iii) U.S. Northern Command is the 

domestic combatant command which 

also has responsibility, when directed 

by the President or Secretary of Defense, 

to provide support and assistance to 

civil authorities, including consequence 

management operations. 

(iv) U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage 

(SUPSALV) is the DOD component most 

knowledgeable and experienced in ship 

salvage, harbor clearance, towing, oil 

and hazardous spill response, 

underwater ship repair, and diving. The 

U.S. Navy has an extensive array of 

specialized equipment and personnel 

available for use in these areas as well 

as specialized containment, collection, 

and removal equipment specifically 

designed for salvage-related and opensea pollution incidents. In addition to 

the capabilities provided by SUPSALV, 

DOD may also, consistent with 

operational commitments, provide 

locally deployed Navy oil spill response 

equipment and operating personnel. 

(5) DOE generally provides designated 

OSCs/RPMs that are responsible for 

taking all response actions with respect 

to releases where either the release is 

on, or the sole source of the release is 

from, any facility or vessel under its 

jurisdiction, custody, or control, 

including vessels bareboat-chartered 

and operated. In addition, DOE provides 

advice and assistance to other OSCs/

RPMs for emergency actions essential 

for the control of immediate radiological 

hazards. Incidents that qualify for DOE 

radiological advice and assistance are 

those believed to involve source, byproduct, or special nuclear material or 

other ionizing radiation sources, 

including radium, and other naturally 

occurring radionuclides, as well as 

particle accelerators. Radiological 

assistance is available as described in 

§ 300.145(n). In addition, DOE can 

provide radiological monitoring and 

assessment assistance to the OSC/RPM 

as part of the FRMAC, when the FRMAC 

is activated. DOE leads the FRMAC for 

the initial response, then transitions 

FRMAC leadership to EPA at a mutually 

agreed upon time. 

(6) Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

has scientific and technical capability to 

measure, evaluate, and monitor, either 

on the ground or by use of aircraft, 

situations where natural resources 

including soil, water, wildlife, and 

vegetation have been impacted by fire, 

insects and diseases, floods, hazardous 

substances, and other natural or mancaused emergencies. USDA may be 

contacted through Forest Service 

emergency staff officers who are the 

designated members of the RRT. 

Agencies within USDA have relevant 

capabilities and expertise as follows: 

(i) Forest Service has responsibility 

for protection and management of 

national forests and national grasslands. 

Forest Service has personnel, laboratory, 

and field capability to measure, 

evaluate, monitor, and control as 

needed, releases of pesticides and other 

hazardous substances on lands under its 

jurisdiction. Forest Service can also 

provide Incident Management Teams 

and support logistics such as 

communications and personnel. 

(ii) Agriculture Research Service 

(ARS) administers an applied and 

developmental research program in 

animal and plant protection and 

production; the use and improvement of 

soil, water, and air; the processing, 

storage, and distribution of farm 

products; and human nutrition. ARS has 

the capabilities to provide regulation of, 

and evaluation and training for, 

employees exposed to biological, 


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chemical, radiological, and industrial 

hazards. In emergency situations, ARS 

can identify, control, and abate 

pollution in the areas of air, soil, wastes, 

pesticides, radiation, and toxic 

substances for ARS facilities. ARS has a 

network of laboratories that can analyze 

samples of biologic select agents. 

(iii) Natural Resources Conservation 

Service has personnel in nearly every 

county in the nation who are 

knowledgeable in soil, agronomy, 

engineering, and biology. These 

personnel can help to predict the effects 

of pollutants on soil and their 

movements over and through soils. 

Technical specialists can assist in 

identifying potential hazardous waste 

disposal sites and provide review and 

advice on plans for remedial measures. 

(iv) Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) can respond 

in an emergency to regulate movement 

of diseased or infected organisms to 

prevent the spread and contamination of 

non-affected areas and assist in animal 

carcass disposal. APHIS/Wildlife 

Services can also provide assistance in 

the assessment of wildlife impacts, 

hazing and wildlife capture and 

deterrence, and other wildlife-related 

services. 

(v) Food Safety and Inspection 

Service (FSIS) has responsibility to 

prevent meat and poultry products 

contaminated with harmful substances 

from entering human food channels. In 

emergencies, FSIS works with other 

federal and state agencies to establish 

acceptability for slaughter of exposed or 

potentially exposed animals and their 

products. 

(7) DOC, through NOAA, provides 

trust resource representation to the NRT 

and RRTs, consultations on protected 

and endangered species, and scientific 

and operational support for responding 

to emergency events and contingency 

planning in coastal and marine areas 

and the Great Lakes. NOAA resources 

are available through the regional 

NOAA SSC, RRT representative, or 

through the NOAA Desk at the DHS 

National Operations Center. Specific 

NOAA responsibilities and capabilities 

are: 

(i) Scientific support for oil and other 

hazardous materials spill operations, 

including weapons of mass destruction 

events: on-scene SSCs; assessments of 

the hazards that may be involved; 

predictions of movement and dispersion 

of the pollutant through trajectory 

modeling; information on the sensitivity 

of coastal environments to oil; field 

assessments of oil distributions on water 

or shorelines; sampling and/or 

monitoring and analytical analysis; 

recommendations on best practices for 

protection of resources; coordination on 

the development of cleanup endpoints; 

recommendations on cleanup or 

mitigation techniques; and information 

management for environmental data; 

(ii) Scientific Support Coordinators as 

a special team, described in 

§ 300.145(c); established in a 

nationwide network, providing direct 

assistance to federal OSCs, coordinating 

scientific information from federal, 

state, local agencies, academia, tribes 

and private industry, supporting all 

aspects of response operations; 

(iii) Expertise and consultation on 

living marine resources and their 

habitats and other trustee resources, 

including endangered species, marine 

mammals, essential fish habitat, and 

National Marine Sanctuary ecosystems; 

ecological, historical, and cultural 

resources at risk; recommendations on 

best practices for protection of 

Endangered Species Act species, 

essential fish habitat, and marine 

mammals; on-scene or remote support 

for oiled wildlife recovery and 

rehabilitation practices for NOAA trust 

resources; access to user communities, 

local and state resource management 

agency partners and injury assessment 

staff; and natural resource damage 

assessment; 

(iv) Meteorological and 

oceanographic data and forecasts: 

information on actual and predicted 

meteorological, hydrological, ice, and 

oceanographic conditions for marine, 

coastal, and inland waters, and tide and 

circulation data for coastal and 

territorial waters and for the Great 

Lakes; and on-scene or remote National 

Weather Service support to include 

Incident Meteorologists or Warning 

Coordination Meteorologists; 

(v) Dissemination of informational 

messages associated with specific 

hazardous events through the use of 

NOAA All Hazards Radio and other 

NOAA alert broadcast methods; 

(vi) Rapid hydrographic surveys to 

locate underwater obstructions and 

update navigational charts; and 

(vii) Satellite and aircraft remote 

sensing and photogrammetric data. 

(8) HHS assists with the assessment, 

preservation, and protection of human 

health and helps ensure the availability 

of essential human services. HHS 

provides technical and nontechnical 

assistance in the form of advice, 

guidance, and resources to other federal 

agencies as well as territorial, tribal, 

state and local governments. 

(i) The principal HHS response is 

coordinated from the Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Preparedness 

and Response (ASPR). Within HHS, the 

primary response to a hazardous 

materials emergency comes from the 

Agency for Toxic Substances and 

Disease Registry (ATSDR) and Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC). Both ATSDR and CDC have a 24- 

hour emergency response capability 

wherein scientific and technical 

personnel are available to provide 

technical assistance to the lead federal 

agency and state and local response 

agencies on human health threat 

assessment and analysis, and exposure 

prevention, recovery, and mitigation. 

Such assistance is used for situations 

requiring evacuation of affected areas, 

human exposure to hazardous materials, 

and technical advice on mitigation and 

prevention. CDC takes the lead during 

petroleum releases regulated under the 

CWA and OPA, while ATSDR takes the 

lead during chemical releases under 

CERCLA. Both agencies are mutually 

supportive and have a centralized point 

of contact for supporting NCP 

responses. 

(ii) Other HHS agencies involved in 

support during hazardous materials 

incidents either directly or through the 

ASPR and/or ATSDR/CDC include the 

Food and Drug Administration, Health 

Resources and Services Administration, 

Indian Health Service, Administration 

for Children and Families, Substance 

Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration, and National Institutes 

of Health (NIH). 

(iii) Statutory authority for HHS/NIH/ 

National Institutes for Environmental 

Health Sciences (NIEHS) involvement in 

hazardous materials accident prevention 

is non-regulatory in nature and focused 

on two primary areas for preventing 

community and worker exposure to 

hazardous materials releases: worker 

safety training and basic research 

activities. Under section 126 of SARA, 

NIEHS is given statutory authority for 

supporting development of curricula 

and model training programs for waste 

workers and chemical emergency 

responders. Under Title IX, section 

901(h) of the Clean Air Act 

Amendments, NIEHS also is authorized 

to conduct basic research on air 

pollutants, as well as train physicians in 

environmental health. Federal research 

and training in hazardous materials 

release prevention represents an 

important non-regulatory activity and 

supplements ongoing private sector 

programs. 

(9) Department of the Interior (DOI) 

protects, manages, and provides access 

to U.S. natural and cultural resources 

and historic properties and to mineral 

resources in offshore waters of the U.S. 

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). DOI 

protects and manages the Nation’s 

natural resources and cultural heritage; 


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provides scientific and other 

information about those resources; and 

honors the Nation’s trust 

responsibilities and special 

commitments to American Indians, 

Alaska Natives, and affiliated island 

communities. DOI manages the National 

Park System, national wildlife refuges 

and fish hatcheries, the public lands, 

and certain water projects in western 

states. DOI is responsible for migratory 

bird and wildlife conservation; historic 

preservation; endangered species 

conservation; surface-mined lands 

protection and restoration; mapping, 

geological, hydrological, and biological 

science for the Nation; and financial and 

technical assistance for the insular 

areas. DOI also regulates exploration, 

development, and production of mineral 

resources in the OCS and regulates 

offshore alternative energy activities. 

DOI should be contacted through the 

Office of Environmental Policy and 

Compliance (OEPC) Regional 

Environmental Officers (REOs), who are 

the designated members of RRTs. OEPC 

is the official DOI point-of-contact for 

oil and hazardous substances pollution 

emergency preparedness and response 

(www.doi.gov/oepc). OEPC represents 

DOI on the RRTs and NRT, providing 

coordinated DOI input to RRT and NRT 

preparedness and response documents 

and activities. OEPC REOs receive 

initial notification of actual (or 

potential) oil discharges and hazardous 

substances releases from OSCs and 

RPMs. OEPC subsequently contacts the 

appropriate DOI Bureau(s) and 

coordinates DOI participation in NRS 

activities. When necessary, OEPC serves 

as the DOI representative for incidentspecific RRT and NRT activations and 

provides DOI input to decision-making 

on response actions to protect natural 

and cultural resources, which may 

address the use of chemical 

countermeasures and identification of 

places of refuge for vessels needing 

assistance. DOI bureaus and offices have 

relevant expertise as follows: 

(i) United States Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS): Provides expertise to 

protect threatened and endangered 

species and their habitats, migratory 

birds, anadromous fish, certain marine 

mammals, sea turtles on-shore, and 

historic properties, including input on 

appropriate cleanup techniques, actions 

and end points. Serves as the focal point 

within DOI for providing consultations 

to OSCs/RPMs regarding threatened or 

endangered species and their habitats. 

Coordinates all federal permitting for 

and oversight of bird hazing, collection, 

and treatment activities and 

coordination of all federal permitting 

activities for hazing, collecting, 

rescuing, and holding migratory birds, 

certain marine mammals, and 

threatened and endangered species. 

Authorizes entry to, and oversees 

activities on, national wildlife refuge 

system lands. 

(ii) National Park Service (NPS): 

Responsible for protection and 

management of units of the National 

Park System including, but not limited 

to, National Parks, National Recreation 

Areas, National Seashores, National 

Historic Sites, National Battlefield 

Parks, National Monuments, and Wild 

and Scenic Rivers. Provides advice on 

and participates in activities affecting 

historic properties and cultural 

resources. For incidents involving NPS 

lands and/or resources, NPS can 

participate in preparedness activities 

and response decision-making to 

address access, sensitive natural and 

cultural resources and historic 

properties, protection priorities, public 

health and safety, law enforcement, and 

other issues related to removal and 

remediation actions taken or planned on 

NPS-managed lands. NPS also has 

independent authority under the Park 

System Resource Protection Act 16 

U.S.C. 19jj for recovery of costs on 

response actions taken to minimize the 

destruction, loss, or injury to park 

system resources. 

(iii) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): 

Performs research in support of 

biological resource management; 

inventories, monitors, and reports on 

the status of and trends in the nation’s 

biotic resources; and transfers the 

information gained in research and 

monitoring to resource managers and 

others concerned with the care, use, and 

conservation of the nation’s natural 

resources. USGS biologic research 

laboratories can advise and support NCP 

responses. USGS can also provide 

support services related to geology, 

hydrology (ground water and surface 

water), geospatial information, and 

natural hazards. 

(iv) Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM): Responsible for authorization of 

entry to, and resource protection of, the 

land and minerals managed by BLM. 

BLM provides expertise in emergency 

response, particularly for fire and 

hazardous materials incidents. Many 

BLM offices are equipped to provide 

assistance with sampling, investigation, 

surveillance, and security. BLM also has 

expertise in on-shore energy production, 

cadastral survey, cultural and historic 

properties, natural resources, and 

federal property acquisition and 

disposal. 

(v) Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management (BOEM): Promotes energy 

independence, environmental 

protection, and economic development 

through responsible, science-based 

management of offshore conventional 

and renewable energy and marine 

mineral resources. BOEM’s Office of 

Environmental Programs conducts 

environmental reviews, including 

National Environmental Policy Act 

analyses and compliance documents for 

each major stage of energy development 

planning. These analyses inform the 

bureau’s decisions on its five year OCS 

oil and gas leasing program, and 

conventional and renewable energy 

leasing and development activities. 

Additionally, BOEM’s scientists 

conduct and oversee environmental 

studies to inform policy decisions 

relating to the management of energy 

and marine mineral resources on the 

OCS. 

(vi) Bureau of Safety and 

Environmental Enforcement (BSEE): 

Regulates and oversees the exploration, 

development, and production 

operations for oil and natural gas on the 

OCS to ensure that it is done in a safe 

and environmentally responsible 

manner. BSEE’s functions include oil 

and gas permitting, facility inspections, 

regulations and standards development, 

safety research, environmental 

compliance and enforcement, and oil 

spill prevention and readiness for 

facilities located in both federal (OCS) 

and state waters seaward of the 

coastline that handle, store, or transport 

oil. BSEE reviews and approves 

producers’ oil spill response plans, and 

conducts readiness capability 

assessments through unannounced oil 

spill exercises and inspection of oil spill 

response equipment. During oil spills 

from offshore facilities seaward of the 

coastline, BSEE provides expertise on 

source control activities under the 

direction of the federal OSC. BSEE also 

funds applied oil spill response research 

and manages Ohmsett—the National Oil 

Spill Response and Renewable Energy 

Test Facility—through its Oil Spill 

Response Research Program. 

(vii) Bureau of Reclamation (BOR): 

Provides advice and information on 

operation, control, and maintenance of 

water systems and related resources, 

including dams, reservoirs, and 

channels. BOR has expertise in 

engineering and hydrology and can 

provide design services, construction, 

contracting, oversight and 

administration activity. 

(viii) Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement: Provides 

advice on surface coal mining, 

including abandoned coal mined lands, 

coal outcrop fires, coal mine wastes, 

waste bank stability, and toxic drainage. 


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(ix) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): 

Assists in coordinating and 

communicating with, and obtaining 

access to, Indian lands and tribal 

officials. BIA has many programs to 

assist tribal governments and uphold 

Indian trust responsibilities. 

(x) Office of Insular Affairs: Provides 

assistance to American Samoa, Guam, 

the Federated States of Micronesia, the 

Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 

Republic of Palau, the Commonwealth 

of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands. May provide 

intergovernmental expertise to foster 

communications to implement the NCP 

in these areas. 

(xi) Office of Aviation Services: 

Provides access to DOI-approved 

aircraft, including on-scene inspection 

and certification teams, and arranges for 

air traffic control via the Federal 

Aviation Administration. 

(10) Department of Justice (DOJ) can 

provide expert advice on complicated 

legal questions arising from discharges 

or releases, and federal agency 

responses. In addition, DOJ represents 

the federal government, including its 

agencies, in litigation relating to such 

discharges or releases. Other legal issues 

or questions shall be directed to the 

federal agency counsel for the agency 

providing the OSC/RPM for the 

response. DOJ components, such as the 

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau 

of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 

Explosives, and Drug Enforcement 

Administration, can coordinate with 

OSCs on investigative and enforcement 

activities. 

(11) Department of Labor (DOL), 

through OSHA and the states operating 

plans approved under section 18 of the 

Occupational Safety and Health Act, has 

authority to conduct safety and health 

inspections of hazardous waste sites to 

assure that employees are being 

protected and to determine if the site is 

in compliance with: 

(i) Safety and health standards and 

regulations promulgated by OSHA (or 

the states) in accordance with section 

126 of SARA and all other applicable 

standards; and 

(ii) Regulations promulgated under 

the Occupational and Safety Health Act 

and its general duty clause. OSHA 

inspections may be self-generated, 

consistent with its program operations 

and objectives, or may be conducted in 

response to requests from EPA or 

another lead agency, or in response to 

accidents or employee complaints. 

OSHA may also conduct inspections at 

hazardous waste sites in those states 

with approved plans that choose not to 

exercise their jurisdiction to inspect 

such sites. On request, OSHA will 

provide advice and consultation to EPA 

and other NRT/RRT agencies as well as 

to the OSC/RPM regarding hazards to 

persons engaged in response activities. 

OSHA may also take any other action 

necessary to assure that employees are 

properly protected at such response 

activities. 

(12) DOT provides response expertise 

pertaining to transportation of oil or 

hazardous substances by all modes of 

transportation. Through the Pipeline 

and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration (PHMSA), DOT offers 

expertise in the requirements for 

packaging, handling, and transporting 

regulated hazardous materials. DOT, 

through PHMSA, establishes oil 

discharge contingency planning 

requirements for pipelines, transport by 

rail and containers or bulk transport of 

oil. 

(13) Department of State (DOS) plays 

a key role in supporting the 

development of international joint 

contingency plans. It will also help to 

coordinate an international response 

when discharges or releases cross 

international boundaries or involve 

foreign flag vessels. Additionally, DOS 

will coordinate requests for assistance 

from foreign governments and U.S. 

proposals for conducting research at 

incidents that occur in waters of other 

countries. 

(14) Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

will respond, as appropriate, to releases 

of radioactive materials by its licensees, 

in accordance with Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission incident response 

procedures to monitor the actions of 

those licensees and assure that the 

public health and environment are 

protected and adequate recovery 

operations are instituted. The Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission will keep EPA 

informed of any significant actual or 

potential releases in accordance with 

procedural agreements. In addition, the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission will 

provide advice to the OSC/RPM when 

assistance is required in identifying the 

source and character of other hazardous 

substance releases where the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission has licensing 

authority for activities utilizing 

radioactive materials. 

(15) General Services Administration 

(GSA) provides logistical support for a 

variety of goods and services via its 

acquisitions capability to federal, state, 

tribal, local and non-governmental 

organization entities. GSA also provides 

leasing support for needed facilities; 

transportation services for air, land, or 

sea; and telecommunications support. 

GSA can provide advisory assistance to 

other government agencies to facilitate 

lodging, charter air, and vehicle rentals, 

among other items, off of its Federal 

Supply Schedules. 

■ 16. Amend § 300.205 by revising 

Figure 4 in paragraph (g) to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.205 Planning and coordination 

structure. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 


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■ 17. Amend § 300.211 by: 

■ a. Revising the introductory text; 

■ b. Revising paragraph (f); and 

■ c. Adding table 1 to § 300.211 

The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 300.211 OPA facility and vessel 

response plans. 

This section describes and crossreferences the regulations that 

implement section 311(j)(5) of the CWA. 

A tank vessel, as defined under section 

2101 of title 46, U.S. Code, an offshore 

facility, and an onshore facility that, 

because of its location, could reasonably 

expect to cause substantial harm to the 

environment by discharging into or on 

the navigable waters, adjoining 

shorelines, or exclusive economic zone 

must prepare and submit a plan for 

responding, to the maximum extent 

practicable, to a worst case discharge, 

and to a substantial threat of such a 

discharge, of oil or a hazardous 

substance. These response plans are 

required to be consistent with 

applicable Area Contingency Plans. 

These regulations are codified as 

follows and summarized in table 1 to 

§ 300.211: 

* * * * * 

(f) For rolling stock, these regulations 

are codified in 49 CFR part 130. 


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■ 18. Amend § 300.323 by revising 

paragraph (a) and adding a note to the 

end of § 300.323 to read as follows: 

§ 300.323 Spills of national significance. 

(a) A discharge may be classified as a 

SONS by the Administrator of EPA for 

discharges occurring in the inland zone 

and by the Commandant of the USCG 

for discharges occurring in the coastal 

zone. 

* * * * * 

Note to § 300.323: The EPA 

Administrator and USCG Commandant 

maintain the authority to designate an 

incident as a SONS under the NCP. This 

authority is separate from other federal 

authorities that may be exercised by 

other federal officials and other federal 

departments and agencies under the 

NRF. 

■ 19. Amend § 300.405 by revising 

paragraphs (d) and (f)(3) to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.405 Discovery or notification. 

* * * * * 

(d) The NRC will generally need 

information that will help to 

characterize the release. This will 

include, but not be limited to: Location 

of the release; type(s) of material(s) 

released; an estimate of the quantity of 

material released; possible source and 

cause of the release; and date and time 

of the release. Reporting under 

paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section 

shall not be delayed due to incomplete 

notification information. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(3) If radioactive substances are 

present in a release, the RERT should be 

notified for evaluation and assistance 

through the EPA Headquarters 

Emergency Operations Center, EPA 

representative on the RRT, or on-duty 

EPA RERT Team Commander in the 

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, 

consistent with § 300.145(f). 

* * * * * 

■ 20. Amend § 300.415 by revising 

paragraph (f) to read as follows: 

§ 300.415 Removal action. 

* * * * * 

(f) Where necessary to protect public 

health or welfare, the lead agency may 

request that EPA conduct a temporary 

relocation or that state/local officials 

conduct an evacuation. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2016–00663 Filed 1–22–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 20 

[WT Docket No. 15–285; DA 16–26] 

Fourteen-Day Extension of Time To 

File Comments and Reply Comments 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 


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