• Military
• WMD
• Intelligence

• Security Menu                     

• Systems
• Industry
• Operations
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Space

March 27, 2000

Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Subcommittee, I am Ken Stroech, Deputy Emergency Coordinator of the Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office (CEPPO) in the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). My office supports the Federal anti-terrorism program by helping State and local responders prepare and plan for emergencies involving oil and hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. These include chemical, biological and radiological materials that also could be components of a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) . My office also is responsible for Section 112(r) - the Risk Management Program - of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and federal implementation of several sections of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

Also within OSWER and in collaboration with our Regional offices, we implement the domestic emergency response program. Along with the U.S. Coast Guard, EPA implements the

National Response System (NRS), the safety net created to back up local and State first

responders during hazardous materials and oil emergencies; the same individuals being trained under the Federal domestic preparedness program.

Today I will talk about EPA's role in the NRS and our inherent responsibilities and decision-making authorities that tie us to domestic preparedness and response. I will explain why EPA is involved in both response and preparedness and talk about our role should an act of terrorism occur in the United States.

Terrorist incidents have resulted in many deaths, numerous serious injuries and massive destruction of property. Familiar examples of such incidents, both at home and abroad, include:

A bomb exploding in a garage of the World Trade Center in New York City in February 1993; six people were killed, 994 injured, and millions of dollars in damages were sustained.

Highly toxic sarin gas intentionally released in the Tokyo, Japan, subway in March 1995; 11 people were killed and thousands were injured.

A bomb exploding in front of a Federal building in Oklahoma City in April 1995; 168 people were killed, 600 were injured, and millions of dollars in property losses to the Federal government and local businesses were sustained.

 

In addition, there have been numerous threats and hoaxes involving the use of a WMD over the past several years, which had they been real, could have resulted in many deaths and enormous property damage.

The U.S. government has responded to terrorist activities, like the ones I just mentioned, by helping State and local governments prepare for and respond to terrorist threats that involve

weapons of mass destruction. As you know, this planning effort is being conducted through a partnership that involves the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services through the Public Health Service, and EPA.

The President also has given EPA responsibility for some additional anti-terrorism activities. For example, EPA assists the FBI in determining what sort of hazardous substance may be, or has been, released in a terrorist incident. Following an incident, EPA can assist with environmental monitoring, sampling, decontamination efforts, and long-term site clean up activities.

EPA is focusing on five key emergency response areas: health and safety training for our on-scene coordinators; enhanced program coordination; EPA preparedness and asset pre-deployment for Federal Bureau of Investigation designated events; participation in State, local and federal training and exercises; and use and maintenance of analytical equipment for WMD consequences management.

Since 1986, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act has required every community to develop an emergency plan that prepares for accidental releases of

extremely hazardous substances, and should one occur, makes provisions for rapid responses to

protect the community. These existing plans, which are developed by Local Emergency Planning Committees, should be updated to incorporate planning and response to deliberate chemical releases that are the hallmark of terrorist incidents.

Consistent with the purpose of EPCRA, EPA provides national leadership and assistance to communities so that they get the expertise they need to respond to a deliberate chemical

release, should one occur.

For example, in addition to EPA's existing training programs for first responders, EPA is one of six Federal agencies participating in a training program for personnel who are likely to be first on the scene of a terrorist incident. These local first responders are trained to respond effectively and safely to potential terrorist attacks in which chemical or biological agents have been used against a civilian population.

EPA helped to develop the first responder training program, required under the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici legislation, which will be given to 120 of the largest cities in the U.S. by 2002 and assured that this program is consistent with Occupational Safety and Health Administration

(OSHA) requirements for hazardous materials response training. EPA also has specialized facilities and uniquely qualified personnel to help State and local partners prepare for and respond to emergencies, such as those that might result from a terrorist incident.

Since 1995, EPA has coordinated extensively with all of its Federal partners in WMD preparedness and response. There are numerous forums for these partnerships including: the Weapons of Mass Destruction Preparedness Group; the National Response Team; the Regional Response Teams; the Catastrophic Disaster Response Group; and the National Domestic Preparedness Office (NDPO). EPA is a strong supporter of the NDPO becoming a clearinghouse for coordination of WMD assistance to State and local governments.

As I mentioned before, Local Emergency Planning Committees, such as the one in Bridgeport, are critical to the success of community right-to-know and play a vital role in helping the public, emergency responders, and others understand chemical information, other environmental data, and what to do if a WMD incident occurs.

The National Response System (NRS) is the cornerstone of the national effort to prepare for and respond to hazardous materials incidents. EPA shares a leadership role with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), with the Agency taking responsibility for inland zones, while the USCG covers the coastal zones in the United States.

The NRS coordinates Federal, State, local and Tribal emergency response efforts; fielding potential terrorist threats through its emergency telephone hotlines; providing technical and operational advice; and preventing ongoing threats to human health and the environment by

responding to incidents resulting in contamination by hazardous materials and weapons of mass

destruction.

The National Response System can be accessed 24 hours daily by calling the National Response Center (NRC). The NRC is the primary Federal contact point for companies to report all accidental oil, chemical, biological and etiological discharges into the environment that might result from an accidental or intentional release or a terrorist incident in the United States and its territories. Once the NRC receives a WMD report, the Center contacts various Federal agencies including EPA's Regional emergency spill response line and the on-duty Federal On-Scene Coordinator (OSC).

Federal OSCs evaluate the need for Federal response and coordinate Federal efforts with the local response community. OSCs would be key members of the unified command at a WMD incident. They can call upon a variety of specialized equipment and highly trained personnel, including: the Environmental Response Team; the Radiological Emergency Response Team; the U.S. Coast Guard Strike Teams; and, the National Enforcement Investigation Center.

EPA's Environmental Response Team, located in Edison, N.J., can be activated to provide technical expertise for complex emergency responses involving or potentially involving weapons of mass destruction, especially industrial chemicals or other chemical weapons such as VX nerve agents and sarin gas. Likewise, ERT resources can and are often pre-deployed for

Special Events, such as the Olympics, which have a high degree of terrorism threats.

Many other EPA and NRS resources also are available to help States and locals respond to WMD emergencies including:

EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center - offers expertise in environmental forensic evidence collection and sampling; environmental forensic analysis; information management/computer forensics; and enforcement related technical analysis.

USCG National Strike Force - offers specially trained personnel and equipment to respond to major oil spills and chemical releases.

Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) contractors - provides immediate monitoring, sampling, analysis and technical support and performs minor containment activities.

Emergency and Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contractors - can mobilize to provide containment, countermeasure, cleanup and disposal services.

EPA Regional research laboratories also provide field monitoring and analytical and technical support and EPA has contracts with private laboratories to provide a wide range of state-of-the-art chemical and analytical services, if needed.

EPA's role in response to a nuclear/radiological terrorism incident will vary depending on the situation. The three main areas of EPA radiological response are:

Monitoring and assessment;

Protective action guidance; and

Assistance in coordinating Federal response during a cleanup.

EPA has developed Protective Action Guides to help State and local officials protect potentially affected populations.