Minutes
of the
Upper Mississippi River
Hazardous Spills Coordination Group Meeting
April 17-18, 2002
Davenport, Iowa
John Grump of
the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources called the meeting to order at
1:30 p.m. on April 17, 2002. The
following Spills Group members and observers were present:
|
Jim O’Brien |
Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency |
|
Dave Perry |
Iowa
Department of Natural Resources |
|
Alan
Reinkemeyer |
Missouri
Department of Natural Resources |
|
John Whitaker |
Missouri
Department of Natural Resources |
|
John Grump |
Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources |
|
Theresa Duvall |
U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District |
|
Harvey Dexter |
U.S. Coast
Guard, Eighth District |
|
David Webb |
U.S. Coast
Guard, MSD Quad Cities |
|
Kristina Hynes |
U.S. Coast
Guard, MSD Quad Cities |
|
Chris Clark |
U.S. Coast
Guard, National Response Center |
|
Steve Faryan |
U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5 |
|
Scott Hayes |
U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 |
|
Gary Haden |
McKinzie
Environmental |
|
Joel Mohr |
Iowa-American
Water Company |
|
Jim Case |
Iowa-American
Water Company |
|
Bryan Butler |
Rock Island
Arsenal Water Treatment Plant |
|
Barb Naramore |
Upper
Mississippi River Basin Association |
Minutes of the October Meeting
The minutes of
the October 24-25, 2001 UMR Spills Group meeting were approved as written.
OSC/Corps Coordination Protocol
Barb Naramore
reported that the Corps’ Mississippi Valley Division (MVD) and its three UMR
districts have responded to the Spills Group’s request for clarification
regarding coordination between OSCs and the Corps. She distributed letters from MVD Commander General Arnold and the
three district commanders. Naramore
noted that the four letters are somewhat inconsistent in their use of
terminology, but appear to outline generally similar procedures for
coordination between the Corps and federal responders and/or federally
designated “on-scene incident commanders.”
Theresa Duvall acknowledged the ambiguous language, but emphasized that
her intent in drafting the Rock Island District’s letter was not to limit the
coordination procedures to FOSCs. The
Corps’ capabilities as outlined in the letters include reporting and
monitoring, logistics support, contracting and technical support, possible
assistance with control and containment, and potential changes to river
operations. The letters also identify
various limitations, including the Corps’ responsibilities to its established
missions and the limited response training of its personnel. After some discussion, it was agreed that
Naramore would use the letters to draft a protocol governing coordination with
the Corps. She will distribute this to
MVD, the three districts, and the Spills Group prior to adding the language to
the UMR Spills Plan.
National Response Center
Lieutenant
Commander Chris Clark provided an overview of the National Response Center’s
structure and operations. Established
in 1974, the NRC serves 16 federal agency customers and is co-chaired by the
U.S. EPA and U.S. Coast Guard. It is
the communications center for the National Response Team and the national point
of contact for reporting oil and hazardous materials spills, radiological and
biological releases, incidents involving terrorism and weapons of mass
destruction, and railroad and transit incidents. Approximately one-third of callers to the NRC are reporting an
incident. The NRC makes an average of 7
notifications for each incident report it receives. The number of reported incidents has varied between approximately
25,000 and 35,000 annually in recent years, but there has been a steady upward
trend in the number of outgoing notifications over the same period. In declining order, the 10 states with the
most reported incidents in FY 01 were Texas, Louisiana, California, Florida,
New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, and Washington. The most commonly reported oils are mystery
sheens and diesel spills. Unknown
chemicals and nitrogen oxide lead the list of reported chemical spills.
The NRC operates
on a fee-for-service basis. Customers,
including federal agencies, states, and others, pay for the incident reports
that they receive. Other services, such
as statistical data and analysis, are also available on a reimbursable
basis. Notifications are determined
based on the nature of the report and location of the incident. For example, the notification group is
typically smaller for pre-release reports than post-release reports. Notifications are generally made within 15
minutes of the NRC receiving a report, unless a customer agency is operating on
an after hours paging system.
Clark explained
that the NRC’s web site (www.nrc.uscg.mil) includes information regarding reporting
requirements and procedures, statistics, environmental statutes, and links to
other sites. Privacy- and
security-restricted information is not available on-line. The NRC accepts on-line reporting, but
prefers phone reports. The Incident
Reporting Information System (IRIS) is an Oracle-based database designed to
handle detailed incident-specific information.
A matrix with various prompts ensures that the NRC staffer asks callers
the right questions for the type of incident.
The NRC has
experienced a 45 percent increase in incident reports since September 11, 2001,
with weapons of mass destruction-related reports increasing by 2,500
percent. The NRC is working with the
Department of Justice and others to establish a national terrorist hotline
(1-866-SOS-TIPS). The hotline is
scheduled to be operational in June.
Initially, efforts will focus on encouraging employees in specific
industries in key cities to report suspicious incidents. Pre-release reports will be forwarded to the
FBI for investigation, while post-release reports will be relayed to local
emergency responders.
Jim O’Brien
explained that the UMR Spills Group is working with public water suppliers on
the Upper Mississippi to ensure that suppliers receive timely notification of
incidents that may affect them. O’Brien
noted there is not complete overlap between reports to the NRC and reports to
the states. He estimated that
approximately 20 percent of reports go only to the federal or state level,
rather than to both as required under federal and state law. He also noted that the states do not necessarily
receive NRC faxes sent after hours until the next business day. Given these factors, O’Brien suggested that
it might be helpful if the water utilities could receive NRC faxes directly.
Clark said the
UMR water suppliers could receive NRC notifications either via fax or
e-mail. He said the fee for this type
of service would be approximately $1,500 per year, assuming the number of
notifications does not exceed 2,000 to 5,000 annually. For a single annual fee, the utilities could
form a group and designate what fax numbers or e-mail addresses should receive
notifications for particular clusters of counties. Clark said it is also possible to designate both business and
after hours contacts for each entity.
In response to a question from Harvey Dexter, Clark said municipalities
and other local units of government can also become NRC customers for
notifications. Responding to John
Grump, Clark said federal agencies are currently the only entities subscribing
to the NRC’s phone notification service.
This level of service costs approximately $300,000 to $500,000
annually.
Bryan Butler
said the Rock Island Arsenal would be interested in receiving NRC notifications
directly. O’Brien advised intake
operators to request notification of all incidents in upstream counties, rather
than trying to set an upstream cut-off.
Clark said a utility could modify its notification parameters if
personnel were overwhelmed by reports.
Clark and O’Brien both cautioned that the initial quantity estimates
provided to the NRC and state are seldom correct.
Clark reported
that the NRC is considering a notification software system that would be
programmed to try all known phone numbers for a particular entity/individual
until successful contact is made. A
computerized message would provide basic information about the reported
incident. Subscribers would not have to
pay an additional fee beyond what they are already paying for fax/e-mail
notifications and they could still receive those fax/e-mail notifications as
well. Clark asked for feedback on the
utility of such a system, noting that Washington-level response personnel have
questioned its value. John Grump, Alan
Reinkemeyer, and Dave Perry each indicated that such a system would be quite
useful because it would allow duty officers to receive notifications at remote
locations. Under the current system,
faxes sent to the central office after hours typically go unread until the next
business day.
In response to
several questions, Clark provided a variety of additional information. It is the FOSC’s responsibility to follow-up
regarding violations of federal reporting requirements. The NRC does not follow-up on incidents in
any manner at present, though it is possible that the Center may collect
follow-up information in the future.
EPA can ask to be notified of incidents that appear to fall under the
Coast Guard’s jurisdiction. EPA would
simply need to modify its MOU with the NRC in order to receive these additional
notifications. The NRC cannot provide
states with information regarding the caller reporting an incident. To do so would violate Privacy Act
restrictions. However, states are free
to consult with the EPA and Coast Guard, which do receive caller information
from the NRC.
John Grump
thanked Clark for his presentation.
Grump also expressed appreciation for the NRC’s flexibility in working
with the states and, potentially, the UMR water utilities.
UMR Early Warning Monitoring Network
Barb Naramore
reported that the UMRBA and EPA Region 5 will be modifying their agreement
governing spills mapping and planning to include an effort to scope a potential
early warning monitoring network (EWMN) for the UMR. In addition, EPA Region 5’s START contractor will be available to
provide technical assistance to the scoping effort. Assuming a viable scope is developed, Region 5 is also prepared
to provide $75,000, through the UMRBA, to equip a pilot monitoring
station. These activities will all be
coordinated through Region 5’s Superfund program. Staff with Region 5’s UMR Team are also exploring the possibility
of other funding to support a longer term UMR source water protection
initiative. Activities under such an
initiative might include facilitating communication among states, federal
agencies, and utilities; articulating a shared vision for the waterway; and
implementing an early warning monitoring system. The funding prospects for the source water protection initiative
are unknown at this point.
Naramore also
briefly summarized a January 26, 2002 conference call coordinated by Rich
Gullick of American Water Works Service Company. The call was designed to assess the potential involvement of
several agencies in development of a UMR early warning monitoring network. In those discussions, representatives of
USGS’s Biological Resources Division (BRD), which operates the Upper Midwest
Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin, indicated that BRD is
not a candidate for providing real time data dissemination. Representatives of USGS’s Water Resources
Division (WRD) said that WRD serves real time data from some of its monitoring
stations. Those stations must comply
with WRD’s QA/QC standards and other data protocols.
Naramore
explained that, in forming the EWMN Scoping Group, she would attempt to include
a mix of state, federal, municipal, and private industry representatives. In addition, the group will include a
combination of spill responders, intake operators, and drinking water and water
quality regulators. Naramore invited
Spills Group members to identify potential Scoping Group members.
Joel Mohr said
Iowa-American is potentially interested in hosting the pilot monitoring
station. He asked whether the pilot
station budget would include funding for personnel costs related to staffing
the station. Mohr also emphasized the
Suppliers Coalition’s perspective that a UMR EWMN needs to provide for
structured notification and communication.
Dave Perry said
staff in Iowa DNR’s water supply section identified fertilizer, pesticides,
metals, and medical waste as leading contaminants concerns. Naramore asked whether these were general
drinking water concerns or were specific to spills, noting that the two lists
might look quite different. Perry also
noted that the parameters of primary concern may vary with location. Jim O’Brien suggested the possibility of
mapping past spills to provide a sense of spatial distribution as well as
common contaminants. O’Brien said
petroleum has been the most frequently spilled product on the UMR. Bryan Butler identified herbicides, ammonia,
nitrogen/nitrates, and oil as the contaminants with which he is most
concerned. After some further
discussion, Spills Group members and other meeting participants agreed that
Butler’s list reflected the primary contaminants of concern for the UMR. Mohr suggested adding microbial contaminants
to the list. O’Brien also suggested
monitoring basic parameters such as dissolved oxygen and turbidity, noting that
they could serve as indicators for sudden changes in river conditions.
Regarding the
spatial distribution of monitoring stations, Mohr suggested that a site
upstream of the Quad Cities would provide the best protection for water
suppliers in the metro area. He
identified issues associated with such an approach, including the need to
secure remote monitoring locations and increased costs if staff must travel to
the monitoring station. Mohr also
suggested sampling in the main channel, rather than in off-channel areas. O’Brien said locks and dams might afford
secure, main channel sampling opportunities at appropriate locations. O’Brien also suggested considering
biotoxicity monitoring devices, noting that there are some promising new
products, though more for batch sampling than continuous monitoring.
There was
general agreement among meeting participants that a UMR EWMN should employ
continuous monitoring to the extent feasible.
John Grump observed that modeling or research efforts might help guide
decisions about monitoring locations, including where in the water column to
draw samples. Alan Reinkemeyer
recommended reviewing the river’s spills history when making decisions about
monitoring locations. Naramore observed
that the UMR water suppliers vary widely in terms of the depth and channel
locations of their intakes.
Regarding
communication and notification, Grump suggested considering a modified version
of the system used on the Ohio River.
O’Brien said ORSANCO’s approach is quite labor-intensive, noting that
ORSANCO staff are responsible for evaluating information and making
notifications as well as coordinating equipment maintenance. O’Brien observed that the Ohio River
approach is a product of the time and circumstances under which it was
developed and suggested that a more efficient system could be developed. Mohr stressed the importance of having
someone responsible for evaluating data anomalies before information is
disseminated broadly, noting that Iowa-American trains the operators of its
on-line instruments to question aberrations.
He emphasized that redundant information, equipment maintenance, and
proper calibration all build confidence in data. Grump said confidence will be a key issue for a UMR EWMN because
people will be making decisions based on the information they receive and those
decisions will have real costs.
In response to a
question from Naramore, Theresa Duvall said likely security issues associated
with locating monitoring equipment at locks and dams would include the physical
location of the equipment and access to the site by non-Corps personnel. Duvall said the Corps would be willing to
discuss these and other issues with the EWMN Scoping Group if locks and dams
are identified as preferred locations for monitoring stations.
Steve Faryan
noted that the Region 5 Response Branch’s support for the UMR EWMN would likely
be limited to the funding already identified for the scoping effort and
potential pilot station. He stressed
that other sources would have to fund actual implementation and operation of a
monitoring network. Faryan and O’Brien
volunteered to participate in the Scoping Group. Reinkemeyer said he would ask Deana Cash, Missouri DNR’s
emergency water supply coordinator, to serve on the group. Perry said he would ask a member of Iowa
DNR’s water supply section to participate.
Report from Tri-State Hazmat Group
Dave Perry
reported that Craig Strand of Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety is now
chairing the Tri-State Hazmat Group.
Perry reported that the group has a communication exercise scheduled for
August 22-23. The exercise is designed
to assess the effectiveness of different communications options in the
blufflands area. Ham radios, cell
phones, and radios will all be assessed.
Tri-State also has a barge training class tentatively scheduled for
May. Some funding issues have emerged,
so plans for the barge training, which would include both hands-on and
classroom sessions, remain tentative.
John Grump emphasized that federal and state personnel are welcome to
join Tri-State events.
Planning and Mapping
Updates
Scott Hayes
reported that the Quad Cities Sub-Area Committee has scheduled a field survey
next week as part of its effort to develop response strategies. This is similar to the effort already
undertaken in the Twin Cities Sub-Area.
Gary Haden reported that the Greater St. Louis
Sub-Area Committee has asked to observe Koch Pipeline’s next equipment
deployment in the sub-area. Koch has
not yet set the date for the deployment.
The Committee is also awaiting further developments concerning
interoperability of radio frequencies.
Committee member Steve Makky has been working with an interagency state
group on an option that would permit agencies, contractors, and industry to
share dedicated frequencies for emergency operations. Users would have to sign a memorandum of understanding governing
appropriate use. John Whitaker is
participating along with Makky on the Missouri group.
Barb Naramore
reported that the Peoria County LEPC has elected to develop an oil annex to its
all-hazards plan rather than a freestanding sub-area contingency plan. UMRBA staff have been working with committee
members to draft the annex, which is nearing completion.
Hayes expressed
cautious optimism that Region 7 will allocate funds to developing inland
sensitivity maps for additional portions of the region. Hayes said the Missouri River is Region 7’s
top mapping priority. He expects a
decision on funding by the beginning of July.
The meeting
adjourned for the day at 5:07 p.m. and reconvened at 8:10 a.m. on April 18.
Security Issues
John Grump
reported that Wisconsin has removed several databases from the internet,
including those related to public drinking water supplies. In addition, the state has increased
security at its buildings. Jim O’Brien
said Illinois has conducted approximately 20 half-day seminars for water
suppliers. In addition, the state held
a series of one-day homeland security briefings for local officials and
others. O’Brien said the state is
reviewing its information access policies and is denying more Freedom of
Information Act (FIOA) requests, particularly requests for detailed facility
plans. He emphasized that the state
does not want to unnecessarily deny access to information, so frequently asks
people seeking data to identify the purpose of their request, the individuals
who would have access to the information, etc.
O’Brien said there is a 10-day exercise scheduled for Chicago in May of
2003. Participants will include top level
officials.
Bryan Butler
said security has increased on the Rock Island Arsenal, which has been helpful
to the water treatment plant. He noted
that protecting external distribution systems is a significant challenge for
suppliers. Dave Webb reported that the
Coast Guard’s primary mission has shifted to port security. The Coast Guard is conducting risk
assessments on various facilities to help make resource allocation
decisions. Webb said the possibility of
escorting critical cargo on the inland rivers is under discussion, but would
require legislative and regulatory changes.
He noted that Coast Guard crews will be armed beginning this summer.
Steve Faryan
reported that EPA has been conducting facility risk assessments in coordination
with FEMA and the states. In addition,
EPA has been responding to many anthrax scares. Region 5 has had only one positive anthrax test, at a postal
facility in Indianapolis. Faryan also
noted that EPA will soon be distributing risk assessment grants to large public
drinking water facilities.
Theresa Duvall
said the Corps has essentially closed all of its lock and dam facilities to the
public. However, the Lock and Dam 15
visitor center is open for pre-arranged visits. Reservoir recreation facilities remain open, as do the public
roadways that run across many of the dams at Corps reservoirs. Duvall said she is working to resolve any
access issues that might interfere with the response strategy site assessments
scheduled for next week in the Quad Cities.
She also noted that the Corps’ Navigation Information Center remains
available on-line, though the Corps is removing the addresses of its facilities
from the internet. In addition, it is
requiring that all FOIA requests be submitted in writing.
Dave Perry
reported Iowa DNR has been working on security issues with water suppliers in
the state, with some of the efforts pre-dating September 11, 2001. The DNR’s six field stations met last week
to discuss water supply security issues.
Perry said state buildings remain open.
Visitors must sign in to review records.
Scott Hayes said
most of EPA Region 7’s security work has been conducted by branches other than
the Response Branch. Region 7 has
removed some contingency plan information from the web. In addition, EPA has removed some Emergency
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) data from the web. Region 7 OSCs have been visiting facilities
with other agency staff to raise awareness of security issues, including site
access. Hayes said there are indications
that terrorists may be relying more on trade journals than government databases
as information sources.
Alan Reinkemeyer
said Missouri DNR’s efforts with water utilities have included training
sessions and technical bulletins.
Governor Holden has named Colonel Tim Daniels as the state’s homeland
security chief. The state is using
several newly established committees to address key issues, including first
response, transportation, utilities, and medical emergencies. Reinkemeyer said these diverse committees
have been quite helpful in identifying the state’s points of greatest vulnerability. John Whitaker said he has accompanied EPA
staff on some facility security visits.
He noted that one water supplier has switched from receiving its
chlorine in rail cars to one ton tanks, but does not yet have appropriate
storage for the tanks. Whitaker also
expressed concern that this change has increased the chance of operator
error. Reinkemeyer and Whitaker said
the state has removed some sensitive information from the web, and tightened
access to other data. The state issued
IDs to its workers.
Harvey Dexter
reported that the Coast Guard has been very active on port security issues at
the national level, and locally as described earlier by Webb. The Coast Guard recently issued a NAVIC
guidance document governing security for passenger vessels and terminals. Another NAVIC is pending that will establish
guidelines for port security committees.
Webb observed that one challenge for Captains of the Port on the inland
rivers will be determining how many port security plans to establish. The pending NAVIC will provide guidance for
making this determination, but the COTP will ultimately decide based on local
circumstances and available resources.
Barb Naramore
reported that she had implemented distribution and web posting of the UMR Spill
Plan as agreed at the Spills Group’s October 2001 meeting. Specifically, she distributed copies of the
updates and the full plan to each agency’s primary point of contact. That person is then responsible for
distributing the updates to all plan holders within their state or federal
agency. The UMRBA continues to
distribute the document to people outside of the member states and federal
agencies upon request. However, distribution
of the full document is now restricted to spills planners, responders, and
others with a demonstrated need for the complete document. Others requesting the plan receive only the
text portion, without the resource appendices.
Similarly, the UMRBA has posted only the text portion of the plan on its
web site. With the exception of one
marina owner, Naramore said she had not received negative feedback regarding
these restrictions. Members of the
Spills Group affirmed their desire to continue with this distribution strategy. Perry noted that he has distributed the plan
to hazmat teams on the UMR as well as to key state personnel.
Dexter reported
that the Coast Guard has a spill of national significance (SONS) exercise
scheduled for New Orleans April 23-26.
While the exercise has been scaled back somewhat, it is still designed
to test the ability of Louisiana and Texas to response to, and mitigate the
effects of, a series of SONS incidents.
Dexter distributed background information on the SONS exercise and
encouraged Spills Group members to attend as observers. He also reported that plans are still on to
deploy the vessel of opportunity skimming system (VOSS) in Paducah sometime in
August or September. This VOSS
deployment will build on the Illinois River exercise last May, with the objectives
of testing the VOSS in fast water, training Coast Guard vessel crews in VOSS
deployment, familiarizing Paducah-based responders with the system, and testing
a flow diverter device. Dexter
explained that the diverter’s manufacturer claims it is effective in directing
flows at current speeds up to 5 knots.
Agency Updates/Reports on Recent
Incidents
John Whitaker
reported that a train derailed on a bridge crossing the Mississippi River. While the tracks were destroyed, the cars
did not go in the river and nothing was spilled. The train was removed from the bridge with barge-mounted
derricks. Whitaker also reported that
Williams Pipeline has discovered contaminated soil at a pipeline segment
approximately 50 miles north of St. Louis.
The company suspects the cause is a leaking valve, and is currently
assessing clean-up needs. Alan
Reinkemeyer said the Missouri Pipeline Association is conducting training for
fire departments and other first responders to explain pipeline operations,
contacts, etc. Whitaker reported that
Missouri has established a state program to dispose of methamphetamine lab
wastes. He noted that the number of
meth labs in the state continues to increase.
Twenty-five hundred labs were shutdown in Missouri last year. Reinkemeyer said new state legislation is
expected that should aid enforcement in a number of ways, including placing
restrictions on various precursor materials.
Whitaker said the Herculaneum lead smelter is under order to improve its
materials handling. There is extensive
contamination of roads and creeks in the area from the smelter’s previous
operations. Changes will include
replacing the open trucks that have moved material through town with covered
rail cars. Whitaker also updated the
group on the abandoned Equilon pipeline in St. Charles County. As discussed at previous meetings, the
pipeline was determined to be the source of intermittent petroleum product
releases to the Missouri River and measures were taken to seal the line. Whitaker said no releases have been detected
in recent months.
Dave Perry
reported that Iowa DNR is tightening up on wastewater treatment plant bypasses
and has established a zero tolerance policy.
Perry also said there have been three small petroleum spills to the UMR
in recent months. In addition, foam
being used to fight an upland fire reached the Mississippi River via Beaver
Creek. Perry expressed dissatisfaction
with Equistar’s response to a recent sulfur dioxide release.
Steve Faryan
briefly reported on the Rouge River spill.
The Coast Guard led the federal response effort, with support from
EPA. Initially, the spill was thought
to be several hundred gallons of waste oil.
Current estimates are that up to 50,000 gallons of product may be
recovered. Faryan said the material
reached Lake Erie and may be the largest spill ever on the Great Lakes. Approximately 200 people are working on the
response. The responsible party is
thought to be an oil recycler that is known to have had problems in the
past. The waste oil reached the Rouge
River via a storm sewer. Faryan also
reported that EPA Region 5 did a removal operation at National Auto in the La
Crosse area. Region 5 expects to
station an OSC in the Twin Cities within the next year. Faryan offered to provide Spills Group
members with information about upcoming bioterrorism training in Madison. Faryan said the training will address
detection, response, and clean-up.
David Webb
briefly described three recent spills involving commercial vessels on the
UMR. A diesel spill from a vessel
near Buffalo was initially reported as 200 gallons, but was ultimately
determined to be closer to five gallons.
A hydraulic hose ruptured on a vessel near East Dubuque. Webb said this spill was addressed and
cleaned up quickly. A vessel near
St. Paul hit the bottom of the river, lost a rudder, and had a minor
spill.
O’Brien reported
that there have been no significant incidents on the UMR in Illinois since the
Spills Group’s last meeting. The state
is working to bring all local hazmat teams up to a consistent level of training
and capability. Illinois has also
developed three special interagency teams, each of which includes approximately
30 law enforcement officers and 10 to 15 technical people. With this combination of expertise, the
teams are able to operate in contaminated environments that may also be
hostile. Members go through more than
60 hours of basic training together, and then exercise as a team once every
other month. The state has used grant
money from the Department of Justice to establish and equip the teams.
John Grump
observed that counter terrorism funding seems to be flowing very slowly. Webb said the Coast Guard is administering
port security grants. The COPT reviews
applications, but funding decisions are made at the national level. Perry reported that counties in Iowa are
applying directly for counter terrorism funding of approximately $40,000 per
county. Perry expressed surprise with
the purposes for which some counties are using the money. For example, several have proposed
establishing hazmat teams. Perry
observed that $40,000 does not go very far toward training and equipping a
hazmat team.
Grump reported
that a tow lost approximately 50 gallons of diesel fuel near Genoa last Monday
and failed to report the incident. The
fuel fouled the nearby fish hatchery.
Wisconsin DNR wardens and Coast Guard personnel boarded the vessel and
the tow captain admitted to the incident.
Grump said he was quite pleased with the Coast Guard’s response to the
incident. Grump also reported that meth
lab seizures are up dramatically in Wisconsin.
He noted that the state does not get involved in clean-up of the
labs. Instead, the Drug Enforcement
Agency has contracted with a private entity to handle the sites. Reinkemeyer explained that Missouri initially
relied on the DEA for clean-ups, but found that it was taking too long. Reinkemeyer said part of the problem was
that the DEA was disposing of everything on site as hazmat, while much of the
material can be treated as solid waste.
Grump said La
Crosse has established a Level A hazmat team.
This team will handle a large portion of the UMR in Wisconsin. Grump also noted that Wisconsin has a
contract with Waste Research and Reclamation for remediation work in western
Wisconsin. The firm will be developing
the capacity to respond to weapons of mass destruction and bioterrorism.
Scott Hayes said
EPA Region 7 initiated an expedited enforcement program a couple of years
ago. Hayes said decreasing fines has
been quite effective in increasing Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures
(SPCC) compliance. Region 7 will be
taking the same approach with oil spills.
By decreasing fines and expediting the enforcement process, EPA staff
are able to pursue more cases. Hayes
said other regions have had good success with this approach. Grump noted that Wisconsin’s wardens are
authorized to write littering citations.
The $300 fine is rather small, but Grump said the prompt enforcement it
affords can be quite effective.
Kristina Hynes said Coast Guard personnel have a similar ticketing
program under which they can assess $250 fines. If the person cited does not pay the ticket, the fine escalates
to a civil penalty.
Other Business
The UMR Spills
Group’s next meeting was scheduled for October 16-17, 2002 in the Quad Cities.
With no further
business, the meeting adjourned at 10:03 a.m.