Date and Time:	Monday, February 9, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Joe Davis, EPA Region 7
	Mark Howard, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Jeffrey Kimble, EPA Region 5
	Heath Smith, EPA Region 7
	Albert Venosa, EPA Office of Research and Development
	Greg Wilson, EPA Office of Emergency Management

Emerging Issues About Biofuels Under EPA’s Emergency Response Program, a four-hour course, provides an overview of some of the issues OSCs may face when planning responses for biofuels discharges, particularly biodiesel or fuel ethanol blends.

Congress recently passed legislation mandating increased usage of transportation-related biofuels.  These mandates coupled with recent fluctuations in petroleum prices have prompted a phenomenal growth in biofuel refining and distribution facilities.  Growth in the development of biofuels, particularly biodiesel and ethanol, is raising a number of questions about oil spill prevention, preparedness, and response.

The refining and distribution infrastructure used for renewable fuels may have both similarities and differences from those used for conventional petroleum fuels.  Consequently, expansion of the biofuel sector may require new or modified response capabilities.  While the attention has so far been focused primarily on some of the environmental benefits of expanding use of renewable fuels, there also needs to be greater clarity on how existing spill response capabilities apply to these fuels.

This course summarizes how recent energy legislation is driving biofuel production and distribution.  It also discusses the relationship between biofuels and conventional fuels, focusing specifically on those issues important to OSCs such as emergency response strategies for biofuel discharges.  Finally, the course discusses case studies on real world response situations involving biofuel releases.

Date and Time:	Monday, February 9, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Barbara Lee, EPA Region 9
	Sharon Nickels, EPA Region 10
	Catherine Young, EPA Region 1

Field Documentation for the RSC, a four-hour course, focuses on the documentation requirements for Response Support Corps (RSC) members when they respond to a regional or national emergency.  The training addresses the following topics:

• The role of the RSC to support OSCs:  Review the role of the OSC during a response and the OSC’s support teams and contractors that are already on scene when the RSC arrives
• Deployment within the command post:  Address documentation requirements during regional and national emergency responses.  The course teaches the documentation required of positions filled by RSCs, both within the field and within the Incident Command Post.  The training examines the flow of data within the Incident Command Structure and the importance of proper documentation in producing an accurate and useable Incident Action Plan
• Administrative documentation required of all field-deployed personnel
• Field documentation as part of the Operations Section:  Information needed in a field log book
• Technical and regulatory requirements:  Ensure compliance with relevant, response-related regulations

The training includes case studies to enhance the information presented.  The target audience for this course is RSC members who need information on the documentation requirements during regional and national emergency responses.

Date and Time:	Monday, February 9, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Claudia Armstrong, EPA Office of Acquisition Management
	Richard Messimer, EPA Region 3
	Sandra Rivera, EPA Office of Acquisition Management
	Raoul Scott, EPA Office of Acquisition Management
	Art Wing, EPA Region 1

Getting the Job Done:  A Workshop on Acquisition and Emergency Response Contract Management is a four-hour intermediate-level course that focuses on procurement issues relevant to OSCs and others working in the emergency response community.  By attending this course, participants learn the importance of contract management in emergency responses and removals.  Topics covered are from the OSC Tool Box, and the instructors incorporate examples and scenarios to illustrate uses of these techniques.

In addition, instructors engage participants in interactive discussion of new tools and resources used in EPA’s Regional offices.

Warranted OSCs will receive 4 hours of training toward the continuing contracting education requirements of the Clinger-Cohen Act (the Maloney Bill requirement).

Date and Time:	Monday, February 9, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Mark Durno, EPA Region 5
	Mark Johnson, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
	Steve Renninger, EPA Region 5
	David Williams, EPA Region 7

Mercury Response, a four-hour course, provides insight into addressing issues related to sites contaminated with mercury:  regulations, response, monitoring, health concerns, toxicology, and cleanup.  The course focuses primarily on complex residential contamination sites.  Participants receive a detailed guidebook and checklist that will assist them through all phases of a cleanup at a residential site contaminated with mercury, from initial notification through final restoration.  The course presents a number of case studies and multi-media demonstrations that document the complexities of issues associated with mercury cleanups, and difficulties OSCs have encountered and successes they have achieved.  Additionally, the course offers guidance and an example on how to craft a mercury outreach program to better educate responders, health professionals, and the public.

Date and Time:	Monday, February 9, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	David Charters, EPA ERT
	Brenda Nordenstam, State University of New York

Perception of Risk, a four-hour course, investigates how and why individuals and groups perceive risk in different ways.  Why is nuclear power ranked number one as a risk by the League of Women Voters and college students but ranked 20th by experts?  Perception of Risk discusses how different people perceive risk, taking into account whether the risks are controllable or uncontrollable, if they are voluntary or involuntary, if the effect is immediate or delayed, and many other scenarios.  By understanding the issues that individuals take into account when perceiving risks, EPA staff can better understand the perception of risk by the public, and reduce the frustration of communicating with various stakeholders.

Perception of Risk looks at different factors (such as perceptual, psychological, and social perspectives) that are important when understanding risk related to decisions, processes, and outcomes.  Participants are introduced to principles about the role of perception in risk-based decisions and the influence that interest groups, the media, and public opinion have in this domain.  This course examines individual, social, and cultural factors influencing the public’s perception and management of risks.  Instructors present case studies to demonstrate real-world examples of risk-related controversies.  Course participants achieve the following objectives:

• Become familiar with the field of risk perception and why it is of value and interest
• Understand some of the better known risk perception biases and rules of thumb
• Learn how people make judgments and decisions about risk and study effective responses

This course provides you with insight on the following topics:

• The importance of context in how people judge and respond to risk
• How risk perception influences attitudes
• How risk perception sways judgments and decisions
• How risk perception affects behavior
• How social processes such as risk amplification and attenuation influence risk perception
• How situational factors contribute to perceived risk and response

This course includes lecture, case studies, and group exercises.  The target audience for this course are OSCs at any experience level and anyone assessing risk or communicating risk to the public.

Date and Time:	Monday, February 9, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Thanne Cox, EPA Region 9
	Frank Gardner, EPA Region 1
	Jon Gulch, EPA Region 5
	Michelle Jaster, EPA Region 5
	Jack Kelly, EPA Region 3
	Michael Towle, EPA Region 3

PRP Response Workshop, a four-hour course, provides practical information and guidance for effectively overseeing potentially responsible party (PRP) removal actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA).  Using real-world case studies and OSC experiences, participants learn the following subjects:

• Establish a good foundation for the work to be performed
• Identify and review critical elements of PRP work plans
• Adapt to changing field conditions
• Identify and address technical and health and safety issues while considering and balancing site- and PRP-specific factors
• Tailor the level of on-site oversight to the PRP’s technical capability and financial viability
• Establish communications among the OSC, EPA’s oversight contractor, the PRP contractor, and the PRP representative
• Close out the removal action

After completing this course, participants can identify practical steps to take to plan more effectively for and oversee PRP-lead removal actions.

This workshop is intended for new and more experienced OSCs who have not had the opportunity to manage a PRP response.

Date and Time:	Monday, February 9, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Stephen Mason, EPA Region 6
	Jerri Town, Environmental Management Support, Inc.

Simple Ways to Better Presentations—It’s Not that Hard!, a four-hour course, teaches participants how to make better presentations to the public, their peers, or management.  This course is designed for OSCs, Response Support Corps (RSC) members, or others who speak on emergency responses, removal site updates, regulatory improvements, and other important topics, in front of varying audiences.

Objectives for the course include:

• When to use PowerPoint or speak extemporaneously
• When to use humor, and how to use it appropriately
• How to limit your main points, but emphasize them again and again
• Ways to keep the audience involved and interested

During the course, participants will learn seven steps to better presentations, including:

1. Tell stories
2. Don't apologize
3. Show pictures
4. Start strong
5. End strong too
6. Stand
7. Pause

The course includes lecture, case studies, and group exercises.  After making over 500 presentations and sitting through a few hundred, it is clear that anyone expected to make a presentation can always use a few pointers on how to make their presentations better.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Lynn Beasley, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Miguel Bella, U.S. Coast Guard
	Richard Franklin, EPA Region 10
	Warren Zehner, EPA Region 6

Accessing and Using the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF), a 3.5-hour course, provides an OSC a soup-to-nuts instruction on how to access and use the OSLTF when responding to oil spills and conducting oil spill removal actions.  This course guides the OSC through a decision-making process by providing instruction on the practical aspects of accessing and using the OSLTF, understanding the broader funding aspects under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) within EPA and the relationship to the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC), by highlighting some of the legal and policy considerations that factor into the determination, and concludes with a discussion on meeting requirements identified by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Highlights of the course include:

• Organization and structure of the NPFC
• Accessing the fund and limitations for the OSC to consider
• NPFC Guidance and User Manual, and key provisions
• Response funding mechanisms such as Pollution Removal Funding Authorizations (PRFA) and Inter-agency Agreements (IAG) with other agencies
• The importance of meaningful documentation
• National and regional funding considerations—EPA headquarters budget, reimbursable authority, the EPA and NPFC IAG and regional needs
• EPA and NPFC Inter-Agency Work Group—key issues and the tools to resolve site specific issues
• What is an oil or navigable water in terms of NPFC funding
• Other responsibilities at a spill such as designating a responsible party for claims

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Jeff Catanzarita, EPA ERT
	Terrence Johnson, EPA ERT
	Mia Pasquerella, EPA Region 1
	Alex Sherrin, EPA Region 1

Characterization and Remediation of Chlorinated Solvent Sites, a 3.5-hour course, provides OSCs with an overview of the latest investigation and remediation tools from experienced OSCs who have successfully implemented them in the field.

Managing chlorinated solvent sites (contaminated by chlorinated volatile organic compounds [CVOCs]) presents specific challenges for investigators and remediation experts.  The physical properties and recalcitrant nature of these compounds often result in widespread contamination that can be difficult to find and remediate.  Pools of dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPL) in the subsurface can become long-term sources for plumes of dissolved contaminants at many contamination sites.

This course focuses on CVOCs in their three commonly found phases or media:  vadose soil; source areas in ground water (nonaqueous phase liquid [NAPL]); and in the dissolved phase in ground water.  The first part of the course will review site characterization methods, including innovative tools.  Geophysical methods—ones that go beyond commonly used soil, soil-gas, and ground water sampling, such as ground-penetrating radar, seismic refraction, and other innovative geophysical tools and methods—can play an essential role in locating low areas in bedrock where DNAPL pools may exist.

The second part of the course reviews recent advances in remediation technologies that provide more options for OSCs to manage sites.  Technologies such as excavation, soil vapor extraction, in situ chemical oxidation, bioremediation, and zero valence iron have all been used successfully at CVOC sites.

Practical use of these technologies are presented using case studies.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Scott Augustine, EPA Region 10
	Chris Burgess, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Harvey Simon, EPA Region 2

Deploying and Managing Geographic Information System (GIS) for Emergency Response, a four-hour course, teaches participants techniques for using GIS information effectively during a response.  This is not a hands-on course in how to use GIS; rather it is designed to prepare OSCs for their responsibilities to provide geospatial information and technology to any size response.  Specifically, the course outlines the roles and responsibilities for assembling the necessary GIS personnel, infrastructure, data, products, and processes during a response.  The course contains information on EPA geospatial resources and EPA geospatial tools and provides examples of geospatial data and products from previous EPA responses and drills.  It also provides guidelines and requirements for deploying geospatial resources.  Using real examples, the course compares and contrasts the use of GIS in different situations:  in the field, in a large incident command post, and in regional and Headquarters emergency operations centers.

As mapping and GIS become more mainstream, an OSC can take advantage of the power of GIS for an emergency response and site work with this customized course.  This course is team taught by GIS analysts and an EPA OSC.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Stephen Mason, EPA Region 6

Emergency Support Function (ESF)-10—From No Mission to Mission is a 3.5-hour course designed for OSCs who are not experienced in working under the Stafford Act process (and for those who still have questions about it). The Road to Mission Assignments is paved with good intentions, but you can’t spend what you don’t have.  Never has this statement been truer than when addressing disasters, Stafford Act funding, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) operations.

By taking the course, participants gain insights into the following:

• The Mission Assignment process
• A presidential declaration after a disaster occurs
• Activation of ESF-10
• Action Request Forms (ARF), Mission Assignments, task orders, and closeouts 

Through presentations and question and answer sessions, OSCs and other participants should gain additional knowledge to assist in their work during a disaster.

We learned that OSCs who responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were better prepared to do their jobs when they understood the basics of the funding process.  In addition, the ESF-10 lead at the Joint Field Office will appreciate that you are familiar with this process.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Jason Barbeau, U.S. Department of Justice
	Brian Barwick, EPA Region 5
	Jon Gulch, EPA Region 5
	Jeffrey Spector, U.S. Department of Justice
	Kevin Turner, EPA Region 5

From the Site to the Courtroom:  Preparing for Trial, a four-hour interactive course, challenges experienced OSCs and teaches newer OSCs to think about the long-term legal ramifications of decisions and issues that arise at emergency responses and removal sites.  It is probable that every OSC’s work will eventually be scrutinized in a legal setting.  Our team of experienced OSCs and EPA and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys helps prepare OSCs to successfully perform their multiple roles and responsibilities, while introducing them to the life-cycle and realities of the litigation process.  Topics include:

• Preparing to testify at deposition and trial
• Preserving privileges
• Assembling effective exhibits
• Documenting site work
• Understanding cost recovery
• Maintaining e-mail and other records
• Receiving the DOJ referral
• Negotiating settlements
• Meeting EPA Office of Regional Council (ORC) and DOJ expectations
• Going to trial

The course includes case studies, simulations, and lectures presented by OSCs and attorneys who have worked through the entire litigation process and can share their lessons learned to help OSCs prepare for their first—or next—case.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Barbara Lee, EPA Region 9
	Sharon Nickels, EPA Region 10
	Catherine Young, EPA Region 1

Resource Ordering and Tracking Process in an ICS Structure, a four-hour course, teaches new EPA processes and flowcharts that any Incident Management Team (IMT) member will use to order resources.  It also covers the tracking process.  By taking the course, participants achieve the following objectives:

• Distinguish when a 213RR is needed or not, depending on existing contract task orders and resources on hand
• Learn how to complete the newly designed 213RR form, and how to process it to ensure that they receive the resources needed, in the time frame that they are needed
• Understand the EPA ordering process as it moves from the requestor, to Logistics, Resources, Finances, and back to the requestor with the receipt of the ordered resource
• Master the newly developed EPA flowcharts for ordering and tracking resources, including understanding the differences involved in ordering tactical versus nontactical resources, and personnel versus equipment
• Demonstrate an understanding of the process through completion of a group exercise

The course includes lecture, case studies, and individual and group exercises.  The target audience for this course is OSCs and Response Support Corps (RSC) members who have been assigned to a regional IMT in any position.  It is applicable to those assigned to Logistics, Finance, and Resources.

Participants in this course who are warranted OSCs and contracting officer’s technical representatives (COTR) will receive 4 hours of training toward the contract training requirements of the Clinger-Cohen Act (Maloney Bill).

Incident Command Systems (ICS) 100, 200, and 300 are required prerequisites for this course.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Amber Davis, EPA Region 4
	John Johnston, EPA Region 4
	Larry Lamberth, EPA Region 4
	Bessie Lee, EPA Region 9
	Don Lininger, EPA Region 7
	Nate McMichael, EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air
	William Robberson, EPA Region 9
	Tony Selle, EPA Region 8
	Monica Wurtz, EPA Region 7

RSC Case Studies is a 3.5-hour course designed for Response Support Corps (RSC) members.  RSC members serve as course instructors and discuss their own regional and national emergency response and exercise event deployments in a case study type format.  The course engages the audience in discussions of the presented case studies.

Cosco Busan Oil Spill
Bill Robberson, EPA Region 9

The container ship at the Cosco Busan discharged 58,000 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay.  The U.S. Coast Guard lead the response and Region 9 Response Support Corps (RSC) members served as the Liaison Officers in the Incident Management Team.  Members of the Region 9 RSC will discuss their duties serving as Liaison Officers, including the organization and coordination of the massive community volunteer effort during the response.

2007 California Wildfires
Bessie Lee, EPA Region 9

A Response Support Corps member in EPA Region 9 served as a Resources Unit Leader during the EPA after-response activities for the 2007 wildfires in southern California.  This being her first time participating in an incident that was not a training session provided her with 10 days of instructive and insightful experiences.

2008 Democratic National Convention
Tony Selle, EPA Region 8

The authors served on the 2008 Democratic National Convention (DNC) Incident Management team and will share their experience and observations from that event. Marty McComb, EPA Region 8, was the Environmental Unit Leader and Tony Selle, EPA Region 8, was the co-Situation Unit Leader.  Most of the ICS positions outside of Operations were filled by EPA Region 8 Response Support Corps members.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Debris Management Team/Landfill Monitoring Team
Larry Lamberth, EPA Region 4
John Johnston, EPA Region 4

The Landfill Monitoring Team was formed to assist the state in the oversight of debris landfill management following Hurricane Katrina.  The team operating under the Planning Section Chief performed daily monitoring at debris storage and landfills to ensure that the landfills were operated in a manner protective of human health and the environment.  The oversight continued for approximately 10 months.  The team worked closely with the local municipalities and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.   The Landfill Monitoring Team now has a Standard Operating Procedure for future events.

Water Emergency Response Group Deployment to Iowa Floods
Monica Wurtz, EPA Region 7

The presentation will highlight the EPA Region 7 Water Emergency Response Group (WERG) involvement in the 2008 Iowa Flood Response.  The WERG worked in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and local utilities to perform assessments of drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities impacted by flood waters.

Graniteville Train Derailment and the Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC)
Amber Davis, EPA Region 4

On January 6, 2005, a train carrying hazardous materials tank cars collided with a parked train.  Four hazardous materials tank cars derailed (three chlorine, one sodium hydroxide).  One chlorine car was breached, releasing approximately forty tons of chlorine; fifty tons remained in tank car.  There were nine fatalities in the immediate area and hundreds of victims reported respiratory affects.  In cooperation with EPA Region 4 Emergency Response staff, the Response Support Corps (RSC) provided federal oversight of home air monitoring conducted by response contractors.

Another role that EPA Region 4 RSC members performed is the Emergency Support Function (ESF) 10 lead for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) in Atlanta, Georgia.  This year RSC staffed the RRCC during Hurricanes Ike and Gustav in 2008.  The regional ESF 10 lead supports Federal On-Scene Coordinators and coordinates their activities.  The regional lead also ensures that ESF 10 activities are integrated and coordinated with other federal, state, tribal, and local response activities to make the best use of response resources and to avoid gaps or overlaps in response actions.

Response Support Corps Members in Headquarters Emergency Operations Center
Nate McMichael, EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air

This presentation will discuss experiences in the Headquarters Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during the 2008 Hurricane season.  It will highlight the activities that Headquarter Response Support Corps perform during a response and explain how the Headquarter EOC supports EPA's response.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Pamela Avery, Turner Strategies
	Dominic Frederico, Turner Strategies
	Kevin Matheis, EPA Region 2

Be Prepared:  Know What to Say and How to Say It, an eight-hour course, is a media and spokesperson training workshop for EPA OSCs.  What you say and how you say it are critical to getting information out to the news media, community groups, the public, and other organizations.  The course is designed to give participants the confidence they need to explain their work and talk about tough issues.  Participants learn the following:

• How news media entities operate
• How to prepare for interviews or public speaking engagements
• How to craft organizational messages
• How to deliver those messages effectively—even during a crisis

This highly interactive course features customized scenarios relevant to each participant’s programs or projects; one-on-one videotaped sessions with professional interviewers; a group training exercise; and case studies that demonstrate how to succeed during interviews.  Each participant receives a media and spokesperson training manual at the conclusion of the course.

Each course is limited to 12 participants who must commit to attend the workshop at the 2009 OSC Readiness Training; therefore, EPA OSCs receive priority during the registration process.  Participants will need to forward information about their jobs and projects to the trainer three weeks before of the workshop.  (A reminder e-mail will be sent to each participant).

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Cris Aguirre, HazMatIQ
	Joe Gorman, HazMatIQ

HazMat IQ, an eight-hour training course, teaches participants how to use the HazMat IQ system.  The HazMat IQ system was developed by a group of firefighting professionals with more than 50 years of experience in hazardous materials management.  The instructors are the developers of the HazMat IQ system, and their presentation style is extremely engaging and lively.  This course is recommended for response OSCs of all levels of experience—especially those who desire a unique field chemistry refresher and an in-depth review of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guide.

HazMat IQ is a response tool that incorporates a series of easy-to-understand job aids called “Smart Charts.”  These charts enable responders to quickly assess risk and decide how best to mitigate an incident, based primarily on chemical names and associated chemical properties.  This system coaches responders through the process that virtually eliminates information overload.

HazMat IQ has the session on using the Four Step System.  The system incorporates the following:

• Step 1:  Revolutionary Above the Line/Below the Line Chemical Size Up
  Using only the chemical name
• Step 2:  Streamlined chemical research process
  With only seven chemical and physical properties
• Step 3:  Choose the appropriate meters
  Combustible gas indicator (CGI), photoionization detector (PID), flame ionization detector (FID), pH paper, thermal imaging camera (TIC), potassium iodide (KI) paper
• Step 4:  Make the correct decision on personal protective equipment (PPE)
  Level A, Level B, or Turnout gear

Course participants review the HazMat IQ system in conjunction with the periodic table and the NIOSH guide.  Participants receive laminated copies of the “Smart Charts” for field use.

Course size is limited; therefore, EPA OSCs receive priority during the registration process.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Chuck Eger, EPA Region 4
	Althea Foster, EPA Region 6
	Leo Francendese, EPA Region 4
	Perry Gaughan, EPA Region 4
	Mike Gobla, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
	Joe Harrington, Alexco Resource U.S. Corp.
	Katy Miley, EPA Region 7
	Donn Zuroski, EPA Region 9

Case Studies describe sites where OSCs have worked. Presentations are fast-paced and incorporate audience interaction. This course is of great value to new OSCs as well as those with substantial experience. For 2009, this session features the following case studies:

Magellan Mid-Stream Partners Tank Fire, Kansas City, Kansas
Katy Miley, OSC, EPA Region 7

At approximately 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3, 2008, lightning struck on or near a petroleum tank at the Magellan Midstream Partners distribution terminal in Kansas City, Kansas.  The tank, containing approximately 1.2 million gallons of unleaded gasoline, caught fire and burned for over 48 hours, sending a large plume of smoke across portions of the greater Kansas City metro area.  One EPA OSC was deployed to the incident and joined in Unified Command with the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department, Magellan Midstream Partners, and the Fairfax Drainage District.  Additional OSCs were deployed to the field to conduct air monitoring with START Team Members.  The initial air monitoring activities were conducted by EPA and Magellan on June 3.  On June 4 and 5, air sampling and monitoring activities were conducted by a response contractor hired by Magellan.  All data generated during the fire response was submitted to the EPA for review.  This fire and the resulting smoke plume generated intense public and media interest.  Several live-feed television media press conferences were held during the course of the response, with EPA OSCs providing current monitoring information. Over the course of the response, monitoring and sampling activities were conducted at approximately 60 sites along or near the plume to assess the concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and particulate matter. 

This case study presentation illustrates the integration of EPA personnel with local responders and the coordination of sampling activities with EPA and Magellan contractors, as well as discusses the importance of accurate and timely public information during monitoring activities.

U.S. Forgecraft Site, Ft. Smith, Arkansas
Althea Foster, Mike McAteer, and Jon Rinehart, OSCs, EPA Region 6

The U.S. Forgecraft (USFC) is an inactive site and includes four tracts of property interspersed with two sets of railroad tracks. The site began operations as a Foundry in 1886.  Over the course of its active life the facility was used as a foundry, in the manufacture of scissors, and most recently as an electroplating plating facility.  USFC ceased normal operations in February 2002 and filed for bankruptcy in June 2002.

The company abandoned the site in early 2003. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) made various attempts to require USFC to secure the site.  In May 2004, ADEQ conducted an emergency action to remove free liquids from vats and tanks in various locations throughout the facility.  These wastes were placed in drums and are stored temporarily on-site.  On October 15, 2004, the ADEQ referred the site to the EPA for assessment and possible action under its removal response authorities.

Based on the removal assessment, the following potential environmental concerns were present on the site.  Several hazardous substances were stored at the site in drums, barrels, and tanks that may pose a threat if released or encountered.  These substances include acids, bases, oxidizers, cyanides, and flammables.  Additionally, the removal assessment identified approximately:  4,757.41 cubic yards of soils impacted with metals; 8,852.52 cubic yards of soils impacted with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); 890 square feet of solidified slag material along the bank of the Poteau River; 12,880 square feet of asbestos containing material; and a 1,200-gallon underground storage tank (UST) with unknown contents.

The property is bordered by the Arkansas River, the Ft. Smith National Historical Site, and a Civil War era cemetery.  The National Parks Service (NPS) manages the Ft. Smith National Historic Site and has expressed interest in acquiring the property once the cleanup is completed.  The site team learned from NPS that the USFC site had originally been part of the old Ft. Smith and the Cemetery and the team might encounter historical artifacts and pre-Civil War era remains. Additionally, the site was a stop on the “Trail of Tears” the forced westward migration of Native Americans.  The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to take into account the impacts of their undertakings on historic properties.  Using a multidisciplinary staff the USFC team developed a strategy to navigate the NHPA and specifically the Section 106 requirements.

An archeological and architectural evaluation was conducted and included a ground penetrating radar survey (GPR).  This survey was conducted in order to determine if cemeteries were located on the property before industrial activity on the site.

Oliver Springs, Tennessee Oil Well Fire
Perry Gaughan, OSC, EPA Region 4

On March 19, 2008, EPA Region 4 Emergency Response and Removal Branch (ERRB) responded to an oil well fire in Oliver Springs, Tennessee. The Responsible Party (RP), Walden Resources, hired Wild Well Services from Houston, Texas to extinguish the well fire and cap the well. After moving necessary personnel and equipment, the fire was extinguished and the well was successfully capped on Tuesday, March 25. EPA and the Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) contractors conducted air monitoring throughout the response effort and conducted daily public meetings to keep the local residents apprised of the response effort. During the effort on March 25, however, the RP was found to be dumping oil contaminated water from the retention ponds onto a pasture approximately 3/4 of a mile from the well site. On Wednesday, March 26, the OSC informed the RP that EPA would be taking over the clean up under a Federal Assumption Notice.

This response was unique from the standpoint of an oil well fire becoming a federal assumption/Oil Pollution Act (OPA) clean up and the potential for EPA to be responsible for putting the well into production because of high residual pressures on the well head (exceeding 1100 psi). Four families lived within 300 yards of the oil well and over 40 homes were affected by the oil well fire over several days. START (and Remedial Action Contract [RAC]) was used through out the emergency phase of the response. Nightly public meetings were held to keep the public informed of daily operations and air toxicity levels. Later in the response an oil and gas expert was subcontracted to ensure that the RP would place the well into production using the safest engineering standards possible under an Administrative Order.

Low Cost Treatment of a Highly Contaminated Pit Lake Using Innovative Technology
Barite Hill Mine McCormick, South Carolina
Mike Gobla, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Leo Francendese, OSC, EPA Region 4
Chuck Eger, OSC, EPA Region 4
Ed Bates, OSC, EPA Region 4
Joe Harrington, Alexco Resource US Corp

Traditional environmental treatment and/or restoration actions for extremely acidic heavy metal laden pit lakes (mineral acidity >> 1 gpl) have been limited to alleviating strategies.  These strategies attempt to reduce off-site impacts through acid water collection and ex-situ lime-based treatment or through complete dewatering and backfilling to eliminate the lake.  The project team demonstrated (January – current 2008) that in-situ remediation of the abandoned Barite Hill Mine pit lake was technically feasible and that ecologically bio-competent water could be created and passively sustained in the pit lake.  The Barite Hill pit lake contained conductivity of more than 8.5 mS with highly elevated constituents (Al 300, As 1.0, Cd 5, Cu 300, Fe 1100, Sulfate 8000, Zn 40; all in mg/L).

Alexco’s patented technologies were utilized incorporating direct and simultaneous addition of carbide lime slurry with soluble and solid carbon sources.  The results include formation of a very compact sludge 30 times more compact than would be formed by lime addition alone combined with the achievement of very stringent standards for heavy metals concentrations in the lake water.  Additionally, the seepage emanating from the pit lake into the adjacent creek has shown more than 99.5% reductions in the concentrations of copper, cadmium and zinc.  All of these benefits were achieved at a total cost of 80% less than conventional technologies.

We conclude that it is technically practicable to treat the most acidic pit lakes known, and that it is feasible to restore these pit lakes as well as adjacent seeps and adjoining creeks using the patented in-situ technology employed at the Barite Hill Mine pit lake.

Biowatch Full Scale Exercise
Donn Zuroski, OSC, EPA Region 9

EPA Region 9 conducted a first-ever Biowatch Phase 2 Full Scale Exercise (FSE) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE was conducted in real time. The scenario was based on a terrorist (outdoor) release of anthrax in Las Vegas.

The FSE focused on the transition from uncertainty as to whether or not it is a real terrorism release of anthrax, to the determination of a real event and the early decisions and actions involved with addressing public health, forensic evidence collection, and environmental sampling (to determine the area of impact).

Participants included: OSCs and representatives from EPA regions 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10; EPA Special teams including Environmental Response Team, National Decontamination Team, and the National Counter-Terrorism Evidence Response Team; Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team and Response Engineering and Analytical Contract contractors; Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; local and state health agencies; Clark County law enforcement and response agencies, and; the Nevada and Arizona Civil Support Teams.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	William Albrecht, EPA ERT
	Sam Borries, EPA Region 5
	Cris D'Onofrio, EPA Region 2
	Debra Flagg, EPA Office of Administration and Resource Management
	Chris Hartnett, Eastern Research Group, Inc.
	Arlene Levin, Eastern Research Group, Inc.
	Thomas Spargo, Tetra Tech NUS, Inc.

Emergency Responder Health and Safety Manual, a four-hour course, addresses the need for a national health and safety program at EPA.  As underscored by the responses to 9/11, the anthrax attacks, and the Columbia Shuttle incident, there is a need for a national EPA approach to critical emergency response operations.  The course introduces a still relatively-new tool designed to ensure that EPA’s regional offices have nationally consistent and effective health and safety programs and that OSCs have the information, contacts, and support infrastructure they need to produce and implement comprehensive, effective, and legally compliant safety plans for incidents of any type and size in any EPA region.

The course reviews all chapters of the manual that have been completed to date, along with a problem-solving demonstration of the searchable Web-based version of the manual.  Students can “test drive” the manual’s design features, which allow it to be used effectively to answer small questions quickly or to link to source documents for comprehensive research.  (Whether you have 2 minutes, 2 hours, or 2 days, this manual is particularly useful.)

The course includes lecture and interactive group discussion with demonstrations and exercises interspersed throughout, including opportunities to use a working version of the online manual to solve practical problems.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Harry L. Allen, III, EPA ERT
	Kristen Allison, U.S. Bureau of Land Management
	Phil Campagna, EPA ERT
	Leigh DeHaven, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Carl Lautenberger, EPA Region 10
	Valmichael Leos, EPA Region 6
	Amy Merten, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
	Ann Whelan, EPA Region 5

Inland In-Situ Burning of Oil Spills is a four-hour advanced course that introduces the scientific approach to inland in-situ burning (ISB) of oil spills.  As an alternative countermeasure for oil spill response, ISB is not the answer for all inland oil spills.  The course provides OSCs with valuable resources that highlight educated decision-making for in-situ burning.

Topics in the course include the following:

• Oil burning characteristics
• Favorable and unfavorable conditions to conduct ISB
• Air quality and air monitoring issues
• Area planning and ISB
• Relationships of Regional Response Teams and ISB
• Incident Command System (ICS) and ISB
• Relationships with local fire chiefs, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fire Service
• Communication chain, public relations, and public education

Featured case studies include:  (1) a post-Hurricane Katrina in-situ burn in an intermediate marsh in Empire, Louisiana and (2) an in-situ burn in Cohasset, Minnesota.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Thanne Cox, EPA Region 9
	Earl Liverman, EPA Region 10
	Paul Peronard, EPA Region 8

Knowing and Using the National Contingency Plan, a four-hour course, is designed to help OSCs understand their authorities under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) during removal actions, and especially during emergency response actions.  This course also informs OSCs how to conduct themselves within state and local incident command structures.  The course focuses on legal duties and responsibilities of OSCs through presentations and interactive exercises.  Topics include the National Response System (NRS), operational implementation of the NCP, and legal questions related to directions provided by OSCs during a response action.  This year’s course includes a discussion of the Palermo Wellfield case, focusing on the judicial ruling on the administrative record for the site and the associated lessons learned.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	John Irizarry, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Don Lininger, EPA Region 7

Operations for the Non-Ops, a four-hour course, developed specifically for Response Support Corps (RSC) members whose primary function during a response is in Incident Command positions other than the Operations Section.  By taking the course, participants achieve the following objectives:

• Learn about arriving at your assigned location and what you need to do first
• Hear about how the various sections of Incident Command System (ICS) interact and how the functions of the Operations Section are dependent on the other sections.  This is demonstrated through examples of  typical activities during a response and real-life specifics
• Experience hands-on exercises which allow you to gain experience using ICS tools
• Be among the first nationwide to experience RSC Wheel of Fortune and RSC Jeopardy
• Discuss with experienced OSCs and RSC members how knowledge of the Operations Section can help them and help you

This course includes lecture, case studies, group activities, and demonstrations.  The target audience for this course is RSC members.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Patricia Gioffre, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Mark Howard, EPA Office of Emergency Management

Tailored and Streamlined … the 2008 SPCC Rule Amendments is a four-hour course geared to personnel involved in Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule inspections or who provide outreach related to the SPCC rule.  The SPCC rule (Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] part 112) has been a controversial regulation, the focus of significant public comment, and the subject of several revisions and compliance date extensions.  It was recently revised in December 2006, and now has been amended again in fall 2008 to increase clarity, to tailor requirements to particular industry sectors, and to streamline certain requirements.  These changes dramatically alter both the type and content of SPCC Plans developed in accordance with 40 CFR part 112 and what OSCs will see in the field during SPCC inspections.  By taking this course, participants achieve the following objectives:

• Obtain a brief introduction to the SPCC rule
• Learn what provisions were modified or added to the SPCC rule in the 2008 final rule amendments, and why
• Understand how these changes may affect the regulated community
• Understand the implications of compliance date extensions on enforcement
• Learn what outreach materials are being made available for the regulated community

The course is taught by technical staff from EPA’s Office of Emergency Management who drafted the final rule action.  The instructional methodology for this course includes lecture and case scenarios for group analysis.  The target audience for this course is OSCs, SPCC inspectors, and other staff who need to understand the 2008 SPCC rule amendments and how they relate to implementation.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	David Mickunas, EPA ERT
	Gary Newhart, EPA ERT
	Greg Powell, EPA ERT
	Steve Renninger, EPA Region 5
	Kevin Turner, EPA Region 5
	Michelle Watters, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Vapor Intrusion Issues and Sites, a four-hour course, teaches techniques for addressing sites that have vapor intrusion issues originating from contaminated ground water or soils.  The migration and accumulation of chemical vapors in an indoor environment may pose a significant risk to human health.  The course will include the following topics:

• Vapor intrusion overview including current guidance from EPA, Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC), states, and API
• Sampling procedures:  Subslab, soil gas, indoor air, outdoor air, fixed laboratory, and mobile laboratory
• Ground water issues:  Permanent wells, temporary wells, nested wells, and sampling
• Chlorinated site:  Behr Site Case Study
• Petroleum site:  Hartford Site Case Study
• Health issues and screening levels

The course includes lectures, case studies, and question and answer sessions.

Date and Time:	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Gregory DeAngelis, EPA Region 2
	Rickey Roberts, EPA Region 7

10-Hour OSHA Construction Standard Class, an eight-hour in-classroom course and two-hour Internet Seminar, that focuses on safety and health hazards that may exist during a response.  The course covers the most common hazards that exist at a construction site. Participants learn the following:

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) act, general recordkeeping requirements, key trenching and excavation requirements, and fall protection (Internet Seminar portion of the course; 2 hours)
• Materials handling and rigging:  Basic requirements for rigging, hoisting, and crane use
• Demolition:  Requirements for building demolition
• Electrical hazards:  Basic electrical principles; potential hazards and corrective hazards at the job site; and corrective actions that may be taken
• Heavy equipment operations:  OSHA’s requirements for heavy equipment operations and hazards
• Fall Protection:  When fall protection is required, its proper use, and the types of fall protection and restraint devices
• Welding and Cutting:  Participants learn the requirements for cutting and welding on site
• Walking and Working Surfaces:  Participants learn the requirements for walking and working surfaces on sites
• Trenching and Excavations:  Participants learn the basic requirements for trenching and excavations including soil classifications, trench protective systems, and benching and sloping options

OSC participants receive an OSHA 10-hour class card after successfully completing the Internet Seminar and all classroom modules.

Course Prerequisite:  Participants must take the two-hour Internet Seminar before the class at Readiness Training.

Date and Time:	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Doug Ferguson, EPA Region 7
	Randy Schademann, EPA Region 7

Advanced Hazard Identification and Categorization, an eight-hour advanced course, focuses on specific techniques that OSCs can use when they respond to incidents that involve abandoned containers or other materials of unknown composition.  Course participants achieve the following objectives:

• Develop an understanding of major chemical families, their properties, and the techniques used to identify them.
• Apply a step-by-step approach to categorize the major hazards of wastes typically encountered at EPA responses.  This process helps participants decide whether and what type of further analysis of the material may be needed and evaluate whether it is to bulk the wastes.
• Use wet chemical and electronic instrumentation to identify many materials of unknown composition and categorize materials into general chemical families (such as alcohol, ketone, acid, base, and hydrocarbon).
• Explore case studies to learn practical applications for advanced field identification of chemicals and discuss potential cost savings of reducing analytical services and decreasing time spent on tasks.

The instructional methodology for this course includes lecture, case studies, and group exercises.

Course Prerequisite:  Participants are expected to be proficient at field chemical identification techniques before they enroll in this course.

Participation is not recommended for individuals with chemical sensitivities because numerous materials are tested in this course.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Pamela Avery, Turner Strategies
	Dominic Frederico, Turner Strategies
	Kevin Matheis, EPA Region 2

Be Prepared:  Know What to Say and How to Say It, an eight-hour course, is a media and spokesperson training workshop for EPA OSCs.  What you say and how you say it are critical to getting information out to the news media, community groups, the public, and other organizations.  The course is designed to give participants the confidence they need to explain their work and talk about tough issues.  Participants learn the following:

• How news media entities operate
• How to prepare for interviews or public speaking engagements
• How to craft organizational messages
• How to deliver those messages effectively—even during a crisis

This highly interactive course features customized scenarios relevant to each participant’s programs or projects; one-on-one videotaped sessions with professional interviewers; a group training exercise; and case studies that demonstrate how to succeed during interviews.  Each participant receives a media and spokesperson training manual at the conclusion of the course.

Each course is limited to 12 participants who must commit to attend the workshop at the 2009 OSC Readiness Training; therefore, EPA OSCs receive priority during the registration process.  Participants will need to forward information about their jobs and projects to the trainer three weeks before of the workshop.  (A reminder e-mail will be sent to each participant).

Date and Time:	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Scott Augustine, EPA Region 10
	Mark Gallo, EPA Region 2
	John Gilbert, EPA ERT
	Constance Haaser, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Jeanelle Martinez, EPA NDT
	Joe Schaefer, EPA ERT
	Colin Willits, Tetra Tech EM Inc.

Data Management:  Field to Central Storage, an eight-hour course for all levels, focuses on managing site data, including storing and sharing data centrally while managing data locally.  This course presents tools recommended by the OSC Task Force’s Information Technology (IT) Forum in support of the National Approach to Response (NAR) priority for Incident and Data Management.  By taking the course, participants accomplish the following objectives:

• Use Scribe to collect and analyze sampling, monitoring, hazardous inventory, and facility data
• Post data to Scribe.net and the Emergency Management Portal (EMP)
• Use Electronic Data Deliverables and Automated Data Review and other data standards
• Use the EMP as an information sharing tool
• Develop future tools and enhance current tools

The course includes lecture and group exercises.  The target audience is OSCs at all levels of experience since much of this software is new and improved.

Date and Time:	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Phyllis Flaherty, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
	Nancy Jones, EPA Region 6
	Earl Liverman, EPA Region 10
	Kevin Misenheimer, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Allen Morse, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
	Eric Nold, EPA Region 7

Debris Management Issues During a Natural Disaster, an eight-hour course discusses the debris-related roles of Emergency Support Function-3 (ESF-3) and ESF-10:  the division of responsibilities and coordination between the two ESFs during natural disaster and contaminated debris responses.  The course includes case studies from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on their World Trade Center (WTC) response and the Region 7 Iowa Flood response.  Discussion on the applicability of the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations to debris management activities is a part of the course.

Date and Time:	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	David Polish, EPA Region 3
	Eduardo Rovira, EPA Region 3
	Pat Seppi, EPA Region 2

Effective Community Involvement During Removals and Emergency Responses, an eight-hour course, engages participants using simulated removal scenarios to design approaches and solutions to a variety of community involvement challenges.

. . . EPA tests for dangerous vapor inside homes. . . . Mercury spill contaminates school and kids. . . . EPA tests buried drums near local playground. . . . Excavation begins in residential yard. . . . .

Any of these headlines sound familiar?  Whether you're a seasoned OSC or just learning the ropes, one of the most important aspects of your job is communicating your work to the public.  In this dynamic and interactive workshop, you study the following topics:

• Appling general principles of risk communication
• Appling tools and techniques to handle community involvement issues effectively
• Anticipating and planning for community involvement at high-visibility sites
• Understanding the statutory requirements for community involvement at removal and emergency response sites

During role-playing scenarios, participants may be asked to handle a difficult person, or prepare for a TV interview, or manage a public meeting, then present their experience to the class.  This course helps you prepare for the real-life version that all OSCs encounter during their careers.

Time allowing, there is also an "advice session" during the workshop to share ideas and offer solutions to real life community involvement challenges.

Date and Time:	Tuesday, February 10, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Cris Aguirre, HazMatIQ
	Joe Gorman, HazMatIQ

HazMat IQ, an eight-hour training course, teaches participants how to use the HazMat IQ system.  The HazMat IQ system was developed by a group of firefighting professionals with more than 50 years of experience in hazardous materials management.  The instructors are the developers of the HazMat IQ system, and their presentation style is extremely engaging and lively.  This course is recommended for response OSCs of all levels of experience—especially those who desire a unique field chemistry refresher and an in-depth review of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guide.

HazMat IQ is a response tool that incorporates a series of easy-to-understand job aids called “Smart Charts.”  These charts enable responders to quickly assess risk and decide how best to mitigate an incident, based primarily on chemical names and associated chemical properties.  This system coaches responders through the process that virtually eliminates information overload.

HazMat IQ has the session on using the Four Step System.  The system incorporates the following:

• Step 1:  Revolutionary Above the Line/Below the Line Chemical Size Up
  Using only the chemical name
• Step 2:  Streamlined chemical research process
  With only seven chemical and physical properties
• Step 3:  Choose the appropriate meters
  Combustible gas indicator (CGI), photoionization detector (PID), flame ionization detector (FID), pH paper, thermal imaging camera (TIC), potassium iodide (KI) paper
• Step 4:  Make the correct decision on personal protective equipment (PPE)
  Level A, Level B, or Turnout gear

Course participants review the HazMat IQ system in conjunction with the periodic table and the NIOSH guide.  Participants receive laminated copies of the “Smart Charts” for field use.

Course size is limited; therefore, EPA OSCs receive priority during the registration process.

Date and Time:	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Ron Davison, Abt Associates, Inc.
	Kim Fletcher, Abt Associates, Inc.

Leadership:  Attitude, Function, and Style (Leadership Development for OSCs), an eight-hour course, had been offered at Readiness in the past, helps participants see how personal preferences influence their leadership style and provides them with tools to effectively motivate others and use their strengths to their advantage.  The course combines fast-paced interactive discussions, small group activities, practical application exercises, and self-assessment tools to clarify participants' strengths and indicate areas for further professional development.  A final exercise allows participants to consolidate their insights from the course by applying them to a case study based on a real emergency response situation.

While participating in the class, attendees accomplish the following:

• Identify personal preferences for gathering information, making decisions and managing people and learn how to incorporate these preferences into a balanced leadership style. Participants also assess their strengths as leaders and identify areas for further growth.
• Apply basic theories that affect leadership skills by exploring insights from three perspectives on human behavior:  situational leadership, personality theory, and temperament.
• Understand the ways that attitude, function, and style can improve effectiveness as a leader and increase the contributions of others to the work of the Superfund program.  Learn to apply leadership skills to improve job performance in emergency response and removals.

Course Prerequisite:  In order to effectively take this class, participants will need to complete two questionnaires approximately three weeks before the class.  They will be objectively and confidentially scored.  At the conclusion of the course, the scores will be provided to you with explanatory materials.  Important note:  scores are kept confidential by the lead instructor.  

The course is limited to 25 participants and EPA OSCs will be given priority during the registration process.

Date and Time:	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Fred Leafgren, Personality Resources International
	Lee Wagman, Personality Resources International

People, Relationships, and Interaction within Incident Management is an eight-hour interactive, participant-centered course that enables OSCs and Response Support Corps (RSC) members to succeed during responses by practicing effective communication, teamwork, interpersonal skills, and leadership.  Course participants learn how to communicate more effectively with team members with different personality types.  They develop the skills to lead so that others will follow, and learn to manage people and conflicts with greater competence during demanding and stressful situations.  The course is taught by a team of instructors using group activities, lectures, and exercises.  The audience for this course is new and experienced OSCs and RSC members.

Date and Time:	Wednesday, February 11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Stephen Mason, EPA Region 6

You Mean There is More than Superfund…?  Basics of Environmental Statutes, an eight-hour course, provides a basic history and describes the major provisions of EPA statutes, such as the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  Students learn how statutes and regulations are developed.  The course provides an overview of U.S. environmental regulations that have been created to control, manage, or modify our activities and the effects of these regulations on the health of human beings and the natural environment.

Additionally, the course covers the history of environmental laws, the origins of EPA, and the history of the removal program.  This course is of great value to all OSCs who need to understand how environmental statutes, regulations, and policies are formulated and implemented.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Brian Brass, EPA ERT
	Jack Kelly, EPA Region 3
	Eugene Lee, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Mark Maddaloni, EPA Region 2
	Sonia Vega, EPA Region 5
	David Williams, EPA Region 7

Asbestos Site Assessment Training, a 3.5-hour introductory course, introduces a framework for assessing asbestos at Superfund sites and provides an overview of the technical and regulatory issues that OSCs must know when assessing exposure at asbestos sites.  By taking the course, participants achieve the following objectives:

• Understand current approaches to assessing asbestos exposure.  The course discusses application of the asbestos site assessment framework, why soil concentrations cannot be used to estimate airborne exposure and risk, and how this fits in with other asbestos regulations.
• Learn how to apply the asbestos site assessment framework to a site.  Participants review case studies to learn how to use the asbestos framework at a variety of sites ranging from site assessments to removal actions.

The instructional methodology for this course includes lecture and case studies.  The anticipated break out is:  2.5 hours for the asbestos framework PowerPoint presentation, which includes case studies; 30 to 60 minutes for overview of sampling equipment (such as pumps, filters, and stationary monitors).  A notebook of training materials is provided.

The target audience for this course is any OSC who may be called on to evaluate asbestos sites.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Harvey Clark, U.S. Department of Energy
	Eric Daly, EPA Region 2
	Sara DeCair, EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air

EPA Protective Action Guides for Radiation, What OSCs Need to Know, a four-hour course, provides a basic primer on how the Protective Action Guides (PAG) Manual is used and how incident-specific numeric values can be found in the Manual or calculated independently. The PAG Manual is a key radiological incident planning and response tool for emergency management officials at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels.

Although the EPA’s Manual of Protective Action Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear Incidents (PAG) are used primarily by state radiation programs, many of our emergency response colleagues assume that when they see an EPA person, they are looking at a PAGs expert! This course is taught by two true experts.

The course also provides in-depth information on the draft revision of the PAG Manual, which provides several key updates and additions to the existing guidance including:

• Clarify the use of the existing 1992 PAGs for incidents other than nuclear power plant accidents
• Lower the projected thyroid dose for administration of stable iodine (KI) based on the new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance
• Provide new guidance concerning consumption of drinking water during or after a radiological emergency
• Update the dosimetry basis for all tables of derived levels
• Address long-term site restoration following a major radiological release, based on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidance on implementing PAGs after a radiological dispersal device (RDD) or improvised nuclear device (IND). The DHS guidance was developed by a multi-agency working group that included EPA. The guidance acknowledges that, for the broad range of potential impacts from radiation incidents, no single numeric cleanup level can be recommended. Instead, it provides a framework (‘optimization’) to follow to ensure key stakeholders are involved in a cleanup, decision-making process that carefully weighs all relevant factors.

This workshop is designed for EPA OSCs and radiation support people. Be conversant in the EPA PAGs terminology, limitations, and key actions to protect the public because you never know when a radiation incident will happen.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Lynn Beasley, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Jim Belke, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Sicy Jacob, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Kim Jennings, EPA Office of Emergency Management

Introduction to CERCLA 103, EPCRA, and CAA 112(r) is a 3.5-hour basic course focusing on regulatory and legislative requirements related to emergency notification for hazardous chemical releases, community emergency planning, and chemical accident prevention.  The course provides an overview in the requirements of section 103 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabilities Act (CERCLA), the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), and section 112(r) (the EPA Risk Management Program and Clean Air Act General Duty Clause) of the Clean Air Act (CAA).  By taking the course, participants achieve the following objectives:

• Learn which types of facilities are subject to CERCLA section 103, EPCRA, and CAA section 112(r) requirements.  Understand chemical lists and threshold quantities triggering applicability of requirements, and common exemptions from the requirements.
• Learn the actions that chemical facilities must take to comply with CERCLA section 103, EPCRA, and CAA section 112(r) requirements, including providing chemical hazard information, reporting releases of hazardous substances to federal, state, and local authorities and implementing accident prevention and emergency response programs.
• Understand how other agencies’ (for example, U.S. Department of Transportation [DOT], Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA], and U.S. Department of Homeland Security [DHS]) hazardous chemical regulations may relate to or affect a facility’s obligations under EPA’s regulations.

This course includes lecture and a class exercise.  The target audiences for this course are OSCs who participate in enforcement of CERCLA section 103, EPCRA, or CAA section 112(r), and OSCs who may become involved in federal, regional, state, or local chemical emergency prevention, planning, or response activities.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Mike Beringer, EPA Region 7
	David Williams, EPA Region 7

Number Crunching for OSCs, a four-hour introductory course, is targeted at OSCs who would like to apply practical math or statistical-based analysis into site decision-making.  The course demystifies and simplifies some useful analytical tools and thought-processes using hands-on individual problem-solving.  The course is intended to be thought-provoking and challenge some old assumptions.  Areas covered include:

• Approaches to optimizing contaminant mass removal
• Cost estimating
• Risk assessment verses risk management

The course employs individual participant exercises, lecture, and discussion.  Exercises are drawn from real-life examples and case studies.  The target audience for this course is OSCs with less than five years experience.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Arlene Anderson, EPA Region 2
	Mia Pasquerella, EPA Region 1
	Troy Swackhammer, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Ted Walden, EPA Region 4

Oil Spill Response Drills and Exercises under the Facility Response Plan (FRP) Regulation:  The FRP regulation (40 CFR Part 112, Subpart D) applies to facilities that have the potential to cause substantial harm to the environment by discharging oil to navigable waters or adjoining shorelines; facilities are required to prepare plans to respond to a worst-case discharge of oil.  There are currently about 4,280 FRP plan holders nationwide, representing a wide range of facility types, including petroleum storage terminals, refineries, electric utility plants, manufacturing plants, and oil production facilities.  FRP planholders must ensure that resources are available, either by contract or other means, to respond to a small, medium, and worst-case discharge of oil.  They also must implement a program of facility response training and a drill and exercise program following the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) guidelines or an equivalent program.  EPA verifies preparedness through government-initiated unannounced exercises (GIUE).

This 3.5-hour course covers:

• Drill and exercise requirements under 40 CFR §112.21 and PREP guidelines
• Purpose of the GIUE
• Relationship of GIUE to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), Area Contingency Plans, other preparedness activities conducted by industry, EPA, U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Department of Transportation
• Steps for planning and carrying out a GIUE
• GIUE evaluation criteria and implications
• Common problems observed and recommendations for improvement of plans and response strategies

This course is targeted to OSCs who may lead GIUEs at FRP facilities or, more generally, are interested in evaluating and improving facility oil spill planning and preparedness.

Although FRP rule requirements are briefly summarized, participants should be familiar with the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation at 40 CFR Part 112 before they enroll in this course.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Don Lininger, EPA Region 7
	Richard Messimer, EPA Region 3
	Art Wing, EPA Region 1

Response Contracts Basics Workshop is a 3.5-hour course intended for members of the Response Support Corps (RSC) and new OSCs that may be mobilized to support the response to a major incident but have not yet received other contracts training.  The objective of the course is to provide participants with basic information about various response contracts.

The course covers the following topics:

• Capabilities and scopes of work for the response contracts
• How contractor costs are documented
• Type of direction EPA can give the contractors
• Responsibilities for providing direction to contractors

After participants have completed this course, they can interact more effectively with EPA’s response contractors when mobilized to a major incident.

This course is recommended for RSC staff.  OSCs with more than 1 year of experience or with less than 1 year of experience and who have taken other contracts training, such as the CERCLA Education Center’s OSC Warrant Authority, should not take this course.

Participants in this course who are warranted OSCs and contracting officer’s technical representatives (COTR) will receive 4 hours of training toward the contract training requirements of the Clinger-Cohen Act (Maloney Bill).

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Gregory Fife, EPA Region 6
	Robert Turkington, Industrial Emergency Council

Systematic Method for Identifying Gases, a 3.5-hour course, teaches a methodology for identifying unknown gases.

The course teaches common equipment used on a hazardous materials response, including photoionization detectors (PID), flame ionization detectors (FID), oxygen (O₂) meters, and colormetric tubes.  Using the right equipment and a logical decision tree, responders should be able to determine the gas or the category of gas.

EPA often receives reports about a smell at a mall or office building that is making people sick.  Other situations might involve abandoned cylinders on the side of a road.  It is all too common for a Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) contractor or EPA OSC to use Draeger tubes without a systematic approach and never identify the gas.  A better, systematic method begins broadly and eliminates categories of gases, then attempts to define the class and eventually the gas itself.  Participants using the approach taught in this course can reduce time, eliminate unneeded tests, and improve their chances of identifying the gas.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Gregg Dempsey, EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air
	Colleen Petullo, EPA ERT
	Colby Stanton, EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air
	Ed Tupin, EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air

Air Monitoring at Radiological Emergency Responses is a four-hour advanced radiation course.  Course participants learn about the following topics:

• Appropriate use of National Buy radiological equipment
• Placement of air sampling equipment
• Air Plume model output products

Course instructors review EPA’s "national buy" radiation survey and air monitoring equipment and discuss potential limitations of the equipment.  Instructors present uses of the equipment, including situations in which the equipment should and should not be used.  The instructors also review the differences between the radiological equipment and typical chemical air monitoring or sampling equipment.

Participants learn strategy and terminology of air monitoring, including how to convert from typical equipment outputs (for example, converting counts per minute [cpm] or disintegrations per minute [dpm]) to the quantities and units of interest in assessing potential health impacts (such as Total Effective Dose Equivalent [TEDE], Committed Effective Dose Equivalent [CEDE], and Effective Dose [ED] all in units of rem [R] or sieverts [Sv]).  This section of the course primarily focuses on air monitoring plans and implementation, and the use of plume modeling outputs (for example, Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center [IMAAC]) to develop an effective response strategy and monitoring plan.  Instructors also review air monitoring “jargon,” such as annual limits on intake (ALI) and derived air concentrations (DAC), to enable OSCs to communicate more effectively with radiological experts and contractors and manage radiation emergency responses and removal sites.  Most importantly, the instructors review the results OSCs can expect and how long it will take to receive data, depending on the type of incident.

Finally, the course includes an exercise using preliminary data (provided by the instructors) and air modeling output to develop an air monitoring plan for a fictional site using the "national buy" equipment and other available tools.

The course is team taught by representatives of the three EPA Special Teams—the Environmental Response Team (ERT), the National Decontamination Team (NDT), and the Radiological Emergency Response Team (RERT).

Course Prerequisite:  EPA’s ERT basic course on the national buy radiological equipment and EPA’s basic radiation safety training.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Matthew Monsees, EPA Region 4
	Carlos Pachon, EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation
	Sean Sheldrake, EPA Region 10
	Joseph Vescio, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Art Wing, EPA Region 1

Greening Response Actions, a four-hour course, introduces OSCs to the key technical, policy, and application aspects of incorporating sustainable strategies into a response action.  Sustainable cleanups consider the environmental effects of a response strategy early in the process and incorporate options to maximize the net environmental benefit of the cleanup action.  Sustainable cleanup practices place a greater emphasis on considering a project’s energy requirements, air emissions, water consumption, impacts on land and ecosystems, material consumption and waste generation, and impacts on the long-term stewardship of a site.  By taking the course, participants achieve the following objectives:

• Understand what is meant by sustainable cleanup practices including the implications for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabilities Act (CERCLA) process and policy.
• Learn ways to adapt and adopt state-of-the art practices and products to reduce the environmental footprints at cleanup projects.  The course examines the current status of sustainable cleanup practices and the tools and technologies available to OSCs.
• Explore contracting options available to OSCs to leverage the use of sustainable cleanup best practices on their sites.
• Understand some of the challenges OSCs may encounter when using sustainable cleanup practices and how to address them to increase the net environmental benefit of response actions.

This course includes lecture and case studies that show real-world examples of OSCs using sustainable cleanup practices.  The target audience for this course is all OSCs who would like to learn how to integrate green technologies and best management approaches into response actions.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Claudia Armstrong, EPA Office of Acquisition Management
	Gregory Fife, EPA Region 6
	Stephen Mason, EPA Region 6
	Chris Petersen, EPA Region 6
	Raoul Scott, EPA Office of Acquisition Management

How to Be Nice and Play Well with Others in the Contracts Environment, a four-hour course, is an analogical, role-playing course focused on contract and site management.  During the course, participants play various roles on teams to fulfill individual and team goals.  The roles correlate to those at a typical site, such as OSCs, the Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) members, the Emergency and Rapid Response Service (ERRS) response managers, and others.  Although some good-natured competition among the teams is likely, the objective of the exercise is to reach the goal within the time frame of the course.  The participants work through the process of gaining approval (the Action Memorandum), tasking the contractor, providing oversight and approving work, documenting costs, addressing applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARAR), and more—with all these steps assessed from the perspectives of different roles and goals.

Participants in this course who are warranted OSCs and contracting officer’s technical representatives (COTR) will receive 4 hours of training toward the contract training requirements of the Clinger-Cohen Act (Maloney Bill).

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	John Irizarry, EPA Office of Emergency Management
	Carl Lautenberger, EPA Region 10
	Don Lininger, EPA Region 7
	Mary Matthews, EPA Region 10

Knowing and Working Within the Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC), a four-hour course, focuses on how and when Response Support Corps (RSC) members provide support outside of the “hot zone.”  After taking this course, participants can:

• Describe what the REOC does during a response.  This topic focuses on REOCs and briefly reviews the EPA Headquarters Emergency Operations Center (EOC).  The course describes the typical REOC personnel positions and the standard operating procedures for REOCs.  The course also discusses the proposal for making standard the REOCs, while recognizing there are currently differences among the ten regions.
• Integrate common “dos and don’ts” and best practices into their work as RSC members.
• Recognize functional differences between REOC Area Command versus field incident management and how the differences affect you as an RSC member.  The course identifies a Joint Information Center (JIC) and discuss the roles the RSC members might play.
• Understand the various reports that are produced, including pollution reports (POLREP) and Situation Reports, and changes to reporting standards.
• Identify some of the tools used in REOCs for everyday operations and for large incidents, including webEOC, epaosc.net, and portals with regional and headquarters information.

This course includes lecture, exercises, and scenarios.  The target audience for this course is RSC members.  OSCs with more than one year experience are not well suited to this course.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Jeff Bechtel, EPA Region 2
	Richard Franklin, EPA Region 10
	Chris Ruhl, EPA Region 6
	Warren Zehner, EPA Region 6

Oilfield Removal Actions, a four-hour course, is geared to personnel of all levels of experience and emphasizes complex topics and issues relevant to senior OSCs.  Participants learn about federal removal response activities at abandoned oil production facilities, and by taking this course achieve the following objectives:

• Obtain an introduction to oilfield removal actions with a discussion of how current funding, policy, and guidance issues may affect oilfield removal response actions.
• Learn the technical operations and procedures related to oilfield removal actions, such as plugging wells, removing and/or mitigating the threats from tank batteries and pits, and conducting clean up.
• Learn about site safety concerns, such as naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), and their implications to oilfield removal actions.
• Observe implementation of successful oilfield removal actions through case study presentations.

The course is taught by senior OSCs with a great deal of experience in performing oilfield removal actions.  The instructional methodology for this course includes lecture and case studies.

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Mark Johnson, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
	Jack Kelly, EPA Region 3
	Karl Markiewicz, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
	Rich Nickle, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
	Kevin Turner, EPA Region 5

Toxicology for OSCs:  When You Want to Know More Than "Just Give Me the Number!"  Few, if any, courses offered at Readiness over the years have addressed health criteria, screening and action levels, and similar health-focused issues as stand-alone topics.  However, many OSC actions are guided by the expertise of toxicological support personnel who provide evaluations of the health threat factors found in Section 300.415 of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP).  This four-hour course is recommended for OSCs and others who want to learn how health evaluation results are derived and interpreted to make risk management decisions that protect human health.  Through case studies presented by an EPA OSC and additional materials presented by representatives from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and EPA toxicologists and health professionals, the course is instructed in a practical manner, with emphasis on real-life situations and interactions to support discussions on toxicological principles and health criteria development.

The course covers the following topics:

• Your role as an OSC in protecting public health, including both CERCLA and NCP authorities
• Brief overview of toxicological principles
• Methods used to develop health-based levels, including:
• differences between screening, action, and cleanup levels
• chemical specific exposure factors
• frequency and duration considerations
• Discussions of risk assessment versus risk management
• Comparing the ATSDR and EPA health/risk assessment approaches
• Moving from emergency response to removal action to remedial action
• Current versus potential health risks

An emergency response case study highlights EPA and ATSDR interactions and focuses on how health screening values were used to make health-protective decisions.  A second case study features a long-term removal action that emphasizes the value of frequent coordination among the EPA OSC, the ATSDR, and EPA toxicologists.  The second case study also emphasizes differences in focus among the players, potential areas of conflict and opportunities for collaboration, and how the OSC can best use information from ATSDR and EPA toxicological support personnel.

(Note:  Participants should be aware that there are regional differences in how ATSDR and EPA toxicologists work within the two removal programs.  This course focuses on approaches in EPA regions 3 and 5.)

Date and Time:	Thursday, February 12, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Instructors:	Steven Faryan, EPA Region 5
	Christine Wagner, EPA Region 3
	Carter Williamson, EPA Region 4