In order to prepare bureaus and staff within the Department of the Interior to plan for and respond to inland oil spills and hazardous substances releases, the IOSPP sponsored the development and delivery of a new course offering at the National Conservation Training Center – CSP3129: Inland Oil Spill Response for DOI. The course is recommended for staff that may participate in spill/release responses to learn agency roles in responding to spills/releases that affect resources under the trusteeship of the Department. In this course, response procedures are described for inland and freshwater environments with emphasis placed on planning for an emergency response and coordinating the multi-agency response within the Incident Command System as led by EPA.
Selected objectives in the IOSPP Course include:
IOSPP training is targeted for Department of the Interior personnel whose responsibilities include overseeing, planning, or participating in an inland oil spill response. For DOI personnel: To register for any available scheduled classes, please contact either your Bureau IOSPP Workgroup Member or the contact person identified for each class.
A Spill of National Significance (SONS) is an oil spill that due to its severity, size, location, actual or potential impact on the public health and welfare or the environment, or the necessary response effort, is so complex that it requires extraordinary coordination of federal, state, local, and responsible party (RP) resources to contain and clean up the discharge.
In order to better prepare for the complexities of responding to a SONS, the USCG developed and manages the SONS Exercise and Training Program. The program organizes executive-level tabletop exercises and seminars designed to provide senior officials across the federal government with an opportunity to explore and discuss complex policy considerations related to a major oil spill.
SONS Executive Seminar Documents;
SONS Executive Reference Guide
SONS Public Affairs Reference Guide
SONS Executive Steering Committee Charter
2016 SONS Executive Seminar After Action Report
2018 SONS Executive Seminar After Action Report
Due to the multiple roles and trustee responsibilities of DOI with regards to a SONS, DOI conducted its own SONS workshop in 2018. The workshop used similar scenarios and objectives to that of the 2018 Multi-Agency SONS Executive Seminar, but focused specifically on DOI and its bureaus role, responsibilities, and resources. 2018 DOI SONS Workshop After Action Report.