The South-Central Nebraska Subarea is a collaborative effort of federal and state agencies, emergency managers, local responders, and industry within the geographic area surrounding the Platte and Republican Rivers. Planning and outreach activities were initiated by EPA Region 7 and partner agencies to facilitate a timely, effective, and cooperative response to a discharge of oil or release of hazardous substances that may pose a threat to public health and sensitive environments within the Subarea.

To guide these efforts, the South-Central Nebraska Subarea Contingency Plan was developed to coordinate the response to a substantial discharge or threat of a discharge through integrating the actions of the unique combination of private industry and local, state and federal entities that have jurisdiction within the Subarea. The Plan provides critical information for first responders facing the unique physical conditions and blend of governmental jurisdictions along the Platte and Republican Rivers. Counties along the Platte River include Lincoln, Dawson, Gosper, Phelps, Buffalo, Kearney, Hall, Hamilton, and Adams. Red Willow, Furnas, Harlan, Franklin, Webster, and Nuckolls Counties are major drainage areas to the south on the Republican River. In addition to these counties, Frontier and Clay Counties are part of Nebraska’s South-Central Planning, Exercise, and Training (PET) Region. PET regions were established to coordinate planning, emergency resources, and interoperable communications, and are therefore included in the South-Central Nebraska Subarea.