Characteristics of Site Response
The environmental emergency response plans for marine and inland oil spills and for hazardous material events are primarily written to address "site" level response in accordance with the BC Emergency Response Management System.
BC Emergency Response Management SystemThe following provides the characteristics of site response to a spill.
Generally, site response manages a single spill source or incident, such as an oil spill (vessel grounding) or hazardous material incident (railway accident, tire fire). Site response is where the BC Emergency Response Management System's Site-level Standard 1001, and internationally-established Incident Command System (ICS) within this standard, are applied. This ICS organizational structure is designed to handle small to very large and complex incidents. Its modular structure and organization expands to meet emergency management demands.
Three fundamental features delineate site response:
- the first line of communications to field personnel, including media and assisting/cooperating agencies;
- where tactical (operational) planning and decisions are undertaken; and
- where unified command (functional or jurisdictional) is established among participating local government, provincial government, federal government, First Nations and responsible party (spiller).
The facility where an Incident Management (Response) Team manages site response is called the Incident Command Post. The Incident Command Post may be near the incident or many kilometers away, and may be as simple as a trailer or established emergency operations building.
The "field" is where response personnel implement the approved tactical (operational) decisions of the incident management team such as shore cleanup, wildlife rescue, decontamination, and waste handling. The number of response personnel at the site's incident command post and in the field can be from a few people to hundreds.
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