  |
|
|
During major and catastrophic spills on the West Coast, it may be necessary to expedite the cross boundary transfer of additional response capabilities that can only be provided by private contractors. Many of these contractors have signed commitments with facility and/or vessel operators that, if released to another spill, would place them out of compliance with their federal or state/provincial approved spill contingency plan. Some West Coast states set performance standards (benchmarks) and let the plan holder and response contractors decide how they will be met. All major contractors have commitments under several contingency plans. This makes equipment "cascading" more difficult.
The members of the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force are the primary state and provincial spill prevention and response agencies for Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. In an effort to expedite and enhance the response to major West Coast spills, the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force members pre-approved and signed the 1996 mutual aid agreement (see section 9820) which will be activated by the unified command if additional resources are needed.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
