Response Plan: Section 4. Response Activities

Section 4 would include the following:

(a)  Responsibilities of, and actions to be taken by, operating personnel to initiate and supervise response actions pending the arrival of the qualified individual [an English-speaking representative of an operator, located in the United States, available on a 24-hour basis, with full authority to activate and contract with required oil spill removal organization(s); activate personnel and equipment maintained by the operator; act as liaison with the OSC; and obligate any funds required to carry out all required or directed oil response activities] or other response resources [the personnel, equipment, supplies, and other resources necessary to conduct response activities] identified in the response plan [the operator's core plan and the response zone appendices for responding to the maximum extent practicable, to a worse case discharge of oil, or the substantial threat of such a discharge];

(b)  The qualified individual's responsibilities and authority, including notification of the response resources identified in the plan;

(c)  Procedures for coordinating the actions of the operator [a person who owns or operates onshore oil pipeline facilities] or qualified individual with the action of the OSC On-Scene Coordinator - The federal official designated by the Administrator of the EPA or by the Commandant of the USCG to coordinate and direct federal response under subpart D of the National Contingency Plan (40 CFR part 300) responsible for monitoring or directing those actions;

(d)  Oil [oil of any kind or in any form, including, but not limited to, petroleum, fuel oil, vegetable oil, animal oil, sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil] spill response organizations available, through contract or other approved means [(1) A written contract or other legally binding agreement between the operator and a response contractor or other spill response organization identifying and ensuring the availability of the specified personnel and equipment within stipulated response times for a specified geographic area; (2) Certification that specified equipment is owned or operated by the pipeline operator, and operator personnel and equipment are available within stipulated response times for a specified geographic area; or (3) Active membership in a local or regional oil spill removal organization that has identified specified personnel and equipment to be available within stipulated response times for a specified geographic area], to respond to a worst case discharge [the largest foreseeable discharge of oil, including a discharge from fire or explosion, in adverse weather conditions. This volume will be determined by each pipeline operator for each response zone and is calculated according to §194.105] to the maximum extent practicable [the limits of available technology and the practical and technical limits on a pipeline operator in planning the response resources required to provide the onwater recovery capability and the shoreline protection and cleanup capability to conduct response activities for a worst case discharge from a pipeline in adverse weather]; and,

(e)  For each organization identified under paragraph (d) of this section, a listing of:

(1)  Equipment and supplies available; and

(2)  Trained personnel necessary to continue operation of the equipment and staff the oil spill removal organization [an entity that provides response resources] for the first 7 days of the response.