D.Best Practices for Migratory Birds.
The Service’s manual, Best Practices for Migratory Bird Care During Oil Spill Response was edited by Catherine Berg, and became Fish and Wildlife Service policy in March, 2004, after the revised migratory bird regulations for rehabilitators became final. It discusses techniques for preventing oiling of birds as well as good practices for cleaning, caring for, and releasing recovered birds. It incorporates and replaces several parts of the previous edition of this contingency plan.
BestPracticesmar04rev.pdf (3.8MB)
E. Migratory Bird Permits
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act requires that all persons, including Federal employees, capturing, holding, or otherwise “taking” migratory birds be appropriately permitted. The MBTA permit regulations are in the file
50CFRPart21.pdf
The requirement for permits for Federal employees is discussed in:
MigratoryBirdPermitsforFeds.pdf
This requirement is met for Fish and Wildlife Service field biologists involved in emergency response by blanket permits issued annually to Regional Directors. An example of one of these permits is found at:
MBTAFWSPermitSample.pdf (3MB)
Regulations for rehabilitators, including minimum requirements for facilities and experience are discussed and found in:
RehabPermitPressRelease.pdf
RehabRegulations.pdf
See also the “Best Practices” Manual (Appendix D, above) regarding rehabilitation facilities and practices.
F. Coast Guard Fund & Reports.
Funds for response and for initiation of NRDA at oil spills are available from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is managed by Coast Guard. The most recent information and forms from the Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center can be found at:
On U.S. Coast Guard Website
Their “User Guide”, which incorporates both response and initiate procedures and forms is included here (check the web site above for updates):
URG.pdf (5.4MB) (see especially chapters 3 and 6 and Appendix B of guide)
This directory also includes instructions and copies of certain forms and sample documents for your use:
CG5136.pdf
CG5136A.doc
FORM-A.doc
FORMSA&B.doc
IncidentReport.doc
Incident-Report-Form.pdf
INITIATE.doc
REMOVAL.doc
NPFC Response Documentation.pdf
NPFCbackground.pdf
PRFA_Federal_Master.pdf
PRFA_Non_Federal_Master.pdf
PRFAAGENCYCOSTCERTSAMPLE.pdf
PRFAFOSCCOSTCERTSAMPLE.pdf
PRFAtasklist.pdf
G. Coast Guard Vessel Removal Procedures.
Reserved, no directory or files. An agreement was drafted several years ago with Coast Guard concerning removal of vessels threatening release of oil onto Federal lands, but was never finalized. We are reserving space for such an agreement should it become finalized.
H. Field Kit List
A recommended list of equipment for Service biologists for response is included in:
FIELDKITLST.doc
(Note that additional equipment for rehabilitation of migratory birds is listed in the “Best Practices” manual – Appendix D above, and additional safety equipment is listed in Appendix U of this contingency plan.)
I. Call Lists.
FWS and other agency contacts for oil spills are listed in:
CallListFWS-Agencies05.doc
Department of the Interior Regional Environmental Officers (REO’s), Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance are listed in:
REOlist05.doc
Coast Guard National Pollution Fund Center contacts are listed in:
CG-NPFC-contacts.pdf
Current Coast Guard contacts may be found at:
U.S. Coast Guard Website
Maps of Coast Guard Districts and EPA Regions:
Coast_Guard_Districts_Map.pdf
EPA_Regions.pdf
J. Law Enforcement.
The role of FWS Law Enforcement at oil spills is discussed in a Powerpoint presentation prepared in Region 5:
ResponsetoOilSpillsv3withNotes.ppt (67MB)
Law Enforcement has a database (requires Microsoft Access) to catalogue birds that have died and been collected at an oil spill:
Description: OilSpildatabasedescriptionver2.doc
Database template: Oildbtemplate.mdb (2.7MB)
K. DOT Emergency Response Guidebook.
This guidebook, issued by the Department of Transportation, provides data on hazardous materials in transport, including petroleum products. The web site should be consulted for up-to-date information, but the most recent version (2004) of the guidebook is included here for quick reference:
On Department of Transportation Website
erg2004.pdf (2.8MB)
L. Wildlife Response Plans.
Response plans specific to several fish and wildlife species or groups are included here:
For migratory birds, see:
Migratory Bird Care During Oil Spill Response:
Cover Memo,and
Final Document (4MB pdf)
M. DOI Response Strategy.
In 2000, the Department and its Bureaus agreed on an organization and strategy for response to oil and hazardous substances. The Department of the Interior Environmental Safeguards Plan for All-Hazards Emergencies (DOI ES Plan) was sent out in February 2005 for signature by heads of Bureaus but had not been finalized as of this writing (June, 2005). The DOI ES Plan incorporates the provisions of the DOI Emergency Preparedness and Response Strategy: Oil Discharges and Hazardous Substance Releases of August 18, 2000 (DOI Strategy), and, therefore, replaces it. Because they are included in the DOI ES Plan, the provisions of the DOI Strategy remain in effect, as revised. When finalized, the DOI ES Plan will be posted at
http://www.doi.gov/oepc/nrtr.html and on the FWS web page with the OSCP
The 2000 (current) strategy document is in the file:
DOIFinalStrategy.pdf
N. Manuals – Response – Assessment.
Several manuals useful for response and assessment, both at coastal and inland spills, prepared by NOAA and the Coast Guard, are included here. Additional useful references may be found online through:
Office of Response and Restoration
Office of Response and Restoration library
U.S. Coast Guard
National Response Team
Environmental Sensitivity Index Mapping: NOAA, in cooperation with other Federal and State agencies, has created maps that show sensitive environments and resources, which are available for most coastal areas in various formats, including both print and electronic versions.
Information, including ordering information, about ESI maps can be found at:
Office of Response and Restoration - Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Maps
A fact sheet, information from the web site, and the guidelines for ESI mapping are in the files:
esimappingfactsheet.pdf
esiintro.pdf
ESImappingguidelines.pdf
O. Endangered Species.
An interagency agreement was completed on how to deal with endangered species in oil spills; both a Word and pdf version are included here:
FinalMOA.doc
ESAMOAsignaturePDF.pdf
In addition, a “FAQ”, a training manual, powerpoint presentations, and sample documents are included:
The Endangered Species Act and the regulations and handbook for section 7 consultation:
P. National Park Service
We often work closely with the National Park Service where spills occur on or near NPS lands and other resources. NPS has additional broader authority under the Park Service Protection Act for seeking damages for losses to many kinds of resources due to causes other than oil spills and hazardous material releases. Their Director’s Order 14 and Manual for implementing Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Park Service Protection Act actions, and a list of NPS contacts are included:
DO14.pdf
DO14Handbook.pdf (2.8MB)
NPSContacts.pdf
Q. Historic Properties
Treatment of historic resources during oil spills is dealt with in:
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
HistPreservationinemergencies.pdf
R. Area Contingency Plans
Area Contingency Plans for Coast Guard areas are available through:
U.S. Coast Guard
S. Sampling.
NOAA protocols for sampling are discussed and included in several files here.
T. Training.
Service policy on required training is identified in:
MemoMar91998.pdf
And further discussed in:
NEEDS.doc
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a manual on training for oil spill workers:
On Occupational Safety and Health Administration Website
osha3172.pdf
U. Personal Safety.
A list of equipment for personal safety is included in:
EQPMNT.doc
FWS policies concerning safety can be found at parts 240-243 in:
http://www.fws.gov/policy/series.html
Aircraft safety requirements are at part 334 of the above link.
V. Safety Plans.
An outline of necessary elements for a Health and Safety Plan (HASP) is found in:
HASP.doc
A possible template for a HASP is included in:
HASPtemplate.doc
Two different software programs for preparing more complex HASPs are included in zip files; for use, either will have to be copied to a hard drive, “unzipped” and installed. The user manual for the eHASP program is included here as a pdf file.
CBN-Hasp_CD.exe (39MB)
e-hasp_com.zip (17MB)
ehasp-usermanual.pdf (1.7MB)
Current versions of these programs and further information may be found at:
Environmental Response Team Website
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
In preparing any HASP, values for toxicity from the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards will be needed. A 2001 abbreviated version of this is included as a zip file in the subdirectory \NIOSH Pocket Guide, and an unzipped version is included in the subdirectory \NIOSH Pocket Guide\NPG_only.
Start the Pocket Guide
The zip file for loading the guide onto your computer is:
NPG_only.zip (1.3MB)
For up-to-date toxicity data (recommended), refer to:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
W. NRDA.
A copy of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Regulations for oil spills and two amendments to those regulations are included:
15CFR990_OPA_Regs&Preamble.pdf (1MB)
opafr101.pdf
opafrjy1.pdf
The Department’s manual for organization of NRDAR is found in:
207chapter6.pdf
521chapters1-3.pdf (640KB)
NOAA’s Guidance on Oil Spill Damage Assessment is found at:
Office of Response and Restoration
