All officials meeting the competency criteria are senior to those who do not, unless specifically charged with overriding authority applicable to the specific incident situation by state or federal law. Breadth of responsibility will be considered to increase from most local to state to federal. However, this protocol encourages the establishment of the ICS at the most local level practicable to assure the earliest implementation of a unified response strategy. However, use of an ICS throughout a response and cleanup is encouraged. Transition of Command Unified Command System Because oil and hazardous materials incidents involve many players and changes through time, it is important that the leadership, responsibilities and roles during a dynamic response action be established.
Some responders serve as support players, while others have a command role.
Rarely is one person or organization solely responsible for all aspects of a response to an incident involving oil or hazardous materials. A very large incident involving oil or hazardous substances might include responders from many different organizations, each responding according to their responsibilities and authorities. Upon agreement, the qualified individuals assume command roles. Unified command is not command by committee, but rather is a mechanism for coordination, cooperation, and communication, under which each party is allowed to operate in its appropriate sphere of command. Any single organization's command influence typically grows or shrinks as the incident continues, and as its area of responsibility and expertise come into or go out of play.