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| Northwest Area Contingency Plan | |
|---|---|
| Name | Northwest Area Contingency Plan |
| Jurisdiction | Pacific Northwest |
| Developed by | Unified Command |
| Established | 20th century |
| Purpose | Oil spill response, hazardous substance incident coordination |
Northwest Area Contingency Plan is a regional response framework for oil spill and hazardous substance incidents covering the Pacific Northwest maritime and coastal zones. The plan integrates national and regional authorities, port operators, indigenous nations, and private sector stakeholders to coordinate prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and resource allocation. It synthesizes statutory mandates, interagency protocols, geographic response strategies, and logistical arrangements to reduce environmental, economic, and public health impacts.
The plan aligns with National Response Framework, National Contingency Plan, United States Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, and Federal Emergency Management Agency protocols while interfacing with State of Washington, State of Oregon, British Columbia, Alaska, City of Seattle, and Port of Tacoma authorities. It references operational standards from American Petroleum Institute, International Maritime Organization, Salvage Association, United States Army Corps of Engineers, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to guide shoreline protection, trajectory modeling, and resource staging. Stakeholders include Tulalip Tribes, Muckleshoot Tribe, Suquamish Tribe, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Lummi Nation, Coast Salish, Vancouver Port Authority, San Juan County, Clallam County, and industry partners such as Chevron Corporation, BP plc, Shell plc, ExxonMobil, and regional terminal operators.
Legal authorities derive from Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Clean Water Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and bilateral instruments like the Canada–United States Air Quality Agreement for cross-border cooperation. International conventions influencing the plan include the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation 1990, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Enforcement and liability regimes reference Deepwater Horizon litigation precedents, Exxon Valdez settlements, and guidance from the Department of Justice, National Transportation Safety Board, Washington State Department of Ecology, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Coverage spans the coastal and marine zones of the Salish Sea, Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Columbia River, Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor, Yaquina Bay, and adjacent oceanic approaches. Risk assessments incorporate vessel traffic analyses from Automatic Identification System, incident histories including Exxon Valdez, Selendang Ayu, M/V New Carissa, and Zante incidents, weather patterns influenced by the North Pacific High, El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Sensitive resources inventories cite estuaries, eelgrass beds, kelp forests, intertidal zones, and species listings under Endangered Species Act such as Southern Resident killer whale, Steller sea lion, Marbled murrelet, and regional salmon stocks including Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Chum salmon. Shoreline classifications reference methodologies from NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, Environment Canada, and regional universities such as University of Washington, Oregon State University, University of British Columbia, and Simon Fraser University.
Command relationships follow Incident Command System and Unified Command principles, integrating federal entities like the United States Coast Guard District 13, EPA Region 10, provincial authorities such as British Columbia Ministry of Environment, and state agencies including Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Tribal co-management engages Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Hoh Tribe, Quinault Indian Nation, Nisqually Indian Tribe, and Yakama Nation with roles for Port of Everett, Port of Seattle, Port of Vancouver USA, Oregon Department of Transportation, Washington State Ferries, BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, Washington State Patrol, and municipal responders like Seattle Fire Department. Industry responsibilities reference Responsible Party obligations under Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and contractual arrangements with responders such as Marine Spill Response Corporation, Salvage Tug, and private contractors.
Response phases include notification, assessment, containment, recovery, natural resource damage assessment, and decontamination, coordinated through National Response Center notifications and Area Contingency Plan operational checklists. Tactical guidance uses boom deployment, skimming operations, in-situ burning guided by EPA and NOAA protocols, and shoreline cleanup tactics from Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique. Logistics integrate staging areas at Pier 91, Tote Terminal, Port of Grays Harbor, and helicopter support from United States Navy, Washington State National Guard, and civilian aviation contractors. Scientific support draws on NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator, USFWS, National Marine Fisheries Service, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and laboratories such as Washington State Public Health Laboratories for oil fingerprinting, fate and transport modeling with tools like GNOME and ADIOS.
Preparedness emphasizes tabletop exercises, functional drills, and full-scale exercises coordinated with Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force, Regional Citizens’ Advisory Councils, National Strike Force, Sector Columbia River, Sector Puget Sound, and international counterparts like Transport Canada. Training curricula incorporate standards from National Incident Management System courses, OSHA, American Red Cross, and spill response certifications from American Petroleum Institute. Past exercises reference scenarios modeled on M/V Selendang Ayu and multi-jurisdictional responses such as those used for 2010 Winter Olympics marine security planning. Volunteer and community involvement includes Citizen Corps, Coastwatchers, Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and local NGOs like Surfrider Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Friends of the San Juans, and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance.
Impact assessments address fisheries losses affecting Pacific Fishery Management Council allocations, tourism impacts for destinations like San Juan Islands and Olympic National Park, and harbor commerce disruptions at Port of Olympia and Port of Vancouver. Natural resource damage assessment coordinates with NOAA Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and tribal restoration plans under Natural Resource Damage Assessment frameworks. Economic modeling uses data from Bureau of Economic Analysis, Washington State Employment Security Department, Oregon Employment Department, and regional chambers of commerce including Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and Vancouver Chamber of Commerce to estimate losses, guide compensation, and prioritize restoration projects in collaboration with NGOs such as World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International.
Category:Oil spill response plans