Geographic Response Plans (GRPs)

The illustration above shows how a boom might be deployed to reduce oil spill impacts in a cove. The photograph on the right shows a boom being deployed across a river. Boom can also be used to contain or collect spilled oil.

Geographic Response Plans (GRPs) are site-specific response plans for oil spills to water. They include response strategies tailored to a specific beach, shore, or waterway and meant to minimize impact on sensitive areas threatened by the spill. Each GRP has two priorities, which are to:

• Identify sensitive natural, cultural or significant economic resources; and
• Describe and prioritize response strategies.

GRPs are developed in partnership with Washington State Department of Ecology, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, USCG and EPA as part of the Region 10 Response Team (RRT) and Northwest Area Committee (NWAC). Currently, all coastal and some selected inland water areas in Washington are covered by 19 GRP regions. 

Marine GRP updates:

The 30-day public review period for the revised Chapter 4s for the North Puget Sound and San Juan Islands GRPs ended on March 11, 2009.  The final, updated GRPs are now published.

Our responses to public comments that were submitted last spring, prior to the field evaluation of the GRPs in those regions, have been summarized in Responsiveness Summaries for the San Juans and North Puget Sound.

Inland GRP updates:

New! A Workshop for the Spokane River GRP was held on June 9, 2009
at the Spokane Public Library.

The session informed stakeholders about how they could contribute to the planned complete update of the GRP for the Spokane River GRP in 2009. The public has 30 days (until July 9, 2009) to submit comments. For more information, please contact Todd Hass.

**

The final revised Chapter 4 for the Snohomish segment (73Mb pdf) of the Snohomish River Watershed (WRIA 7). The next two inland areas to be updated will be the Skykomish segment and Snoqualmie segment of WRIA 7. Further WRIAs will be undertaken dependent upon funding, contractor and stakeholder participation and the number of strategies that are developed.