The RCP is developed pursuant to Sections 300.210 of the NCP. The NCP is required by Section 105 of CERCLA, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), by Section 311(d) of CWA, as amended by OPA. The ESF 10 components of this plan are required by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Act (Public Law 93-288), as amended. The RCP is applicable to response actions taken pursuant to the authorities under CERCLA, Section 311 of CWA, and OPA. The NCP requires establishment of RRTs, which are responsible for Regional planning and preparedness activities before response actions, and for providing advice and support to the RRT when activated during a response.
To accomplish the coordinated planning structure envisioned under OPA, the CWA requires the President to designate specific Areas for which Area Committees (ACs) are established. Each AC, under the direction of an OSC, must prepare and submit to the President for approval an ACP that, in conjunction with the NCP, is adequate to remove a worst case discharge (WCD) from a vessel or facility operating in or near that Area. This RCP/ACP and its associated subarea contingency plans (SACPs) identify the various response strategies that have proven to be effective in controlling and mitigating the impact of a discharge or release and evaluates WCDs. The SACPs, which are incorporated into this RCP/ACP by reference, also include likely discharge scenarios from vessels, onshore facilities, and offshore facilities operating in or near the Region 5 Area.
To meet the requirements of the CWA and EPA’s regulations at 40 C.F.R. § 300.210, this RCP/ACP includes the following:
(I) A description of the area covered by the plan, including the areas of special economic or environmental importance that might be damaged by a discharge;
(ii) A description in detail of the responsibilities of an owner or operator and of federal, state, and local agencies in removing a discharge, and in mitigating or preventing a substantial threat of a discharge;
(iii) A list of equipment (including firefighting equipment), dispersants, or other mitigating substances and devices, and personnel available to an owner or operator and federal, state, and local agencies, to ensure an effective and immediate removal of a discharge, and to ensure mitigation or prevention of a substantial threat of a discharge (this may be provided in an appendix or by reference to other relevant emergency plans (e.g. state or LEPC plans), which may include such equipment lists);
(iv) A description of procedures to be followed for obtaining an expedited decision regarding the use of dispersants; and
(v) A detailed description of how the plan is integrated into other ACPs and tank vessel, offshore facility, and onshore facility response plans approved by the President, and into operating procedures of the NSFCC.
Through Executive Order 12777, the President delegated to the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) responsibility for designating the Areas and appointing the committees for the inland zone as designated in the NCP. The Administrator further delegated this authority to the US EPA Regional Administrators, and designated the 10 pre-existing RRT areas as the Areas for OPA planning purposes. US EPA Region 5, which consists of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, is one Area. Establishment of the Area Committee is required by Section 311(j)(4) of CWA. As set forth in the NCP at § 300.115, the RRT is responsible for revising the RCP as needed and for recommending changes to the ACP.