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February 4-7, 2008 | San Diego, California Hot SitesMonday, February 4, 2008 Cosco Busan Oil Spill PresentationSteve Calanog, EPA Region 9 On the morning of November 7, 2007, the container vessel Cosco Busan struck a pier of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, causing the release of over 40,000 gallons of fuel oil. Due to heavy fog at the time, the full extent of the oil’s impact was not realized until the following day. At least 18 beaches within the Bay and along the coastline were oiled. The U.S. Coast Guard and California Fish and Game requested EPA assistance to perform shoreline cleanup assessment and beach cleanup oversight. In addition, EPA also served as the Liaison Officer for the Unified Command. EPA provided approximately 50 EPA personnel and contractors to support the response, which was largely completed by December 31. Greensburg TornadoEric Nold, EPA Region 7  Severe storms with rain, hail, high winds, and tornadoes moved through eight counties in southeastern Kansas during the evening of May 4, 2007. Greensburg, in Kiowa County, Kansas, with approximately 1,500 residents, was directly hit by an F5 tornado, rated on a scale of damage from zero (light) to five (incredible damage). More than 90 percent of the town was completely destroyed. EPA dispatched on-scene coordinators (OSCs) Eric Nold and Joe Davis with the response truck and mobile command post to the scene Saturday, May 5. Initial EPA activities included addressing fuel releases, chlorine cylinders, anhydrous ammonia tanks, propane tanks, and other hazardous materials. OSCs also met with federal, state, and local officials, and conducted initial reconnaissance of the city and surrounding area. Several more OSCs were dispatched starting on Monday, May 7, to assist with EPA's expanding role in the response and recovery operations.  On May 9, EPA Region 7 was tasked by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to remove oil, hazardous materials, household hazardous waste, and white goods. EPA initiated curbside pickup of household hazardous waste items and white goods May 11. OSCs and EPA contractors also assisted Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) officials with identification and segregation of hazardous substances brought to the local landfill during major debris hauling operations. EPA and EPA contractors also assessed 265 damaged transformers and more than 70 transformer spill sites for potential PCB contamination. PCB transformer issues became so complex that the Region 7 Regional Administrator set national precedent by utilizing authority set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 761.120 Subpart G, paragraph C, by writing a regional policy on managing PCB remediation wastes in federally declared disaster areas. EPA collected and reviewed aerial photos of areas outside the city to locate and respond to orphaned containers displaced by the tornado. EPA, at KDHE's request, took the lead on air quality monitoring and sampling, ambient air asbestos sampling, and assisted the state with bulk asbestos sampling. In all, 37,000 household hazardous wastes, white goods, and transformers were collected. Over 70 suspected PCB spill locations were assessed and 265 transformers were assessed for removal and disposal options. Over 120 ambient air samples, mostly for asbestos, were collected and analyzed. Over 40 soil samples were collected for EPA and KDHE in all areas of activity before, during, and after operations. EPA completed its mission assignment, transferring all operations back to the state and county by June 9. Steel and Ranch Supply SiteMarc Callagahan, EPA Region 10 EPA became involved at the Steel and Ranch Supply Site at the request of the State of Idaho, after receiving indications that cleanup costs would exceed the state's financial capabilities. EPA's emergency response and removal activities conducted in 2004 and 2005 addressed dozens of deteriorated containers of hazardous and complex reactive chemicals. In the wake of this successful but complicated and dangerous response action, EPA's Criminal Investigation Division pursued prosecution. EPA's OSC and START contractors served as expert witnesses at the criminal trial. Lawyers for the defendant challenged the veracity of the science behind the emergency cleanup action and the authority and discretion of the EPA On-Scene Coordinator. The jury returned a guilty verdict against the defendant on all counts.
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