INCIDENT CATEGORY

EPA Region 2 is currently responding to threats and actual spills/releases of oil and hazardous substances caused by the impacts of Hurricane Irene which moved through the NJ and NY area on Sunday, August 28, 2011.  EPA Region 2 was also activated as part of the Stafford Act Response and is coordinating Emergency Support Function 10 (ESF-10).  EPA is responding under its authorities provided by CERCLA and OPA as well as authorized Mission Assignments under the Stafford Act.

INCIDENT LOCATIONS

With the passing of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, high winds and significant rainfalls have caused widespread infrastructure damage throughout the NJ and NY areas.  EPA is currently coordinating and collecting data on the hardest hit impact areas with respect to environmental threats.  Tropical storm force winds extended outward up to 320 miles from the storm center and record rainfalls have and are expected to cause significant flooding throughout the Region 2 area.

DESCRIPTION OF THREAT

OPERATIONS

Emergency Response Task Force

·         Mission is to respond to significant reports of spills or incidents not currently being managed by another Response Division in NY and NJ.

·         Task Force resources completed oil clean-up work in the Burlington County area.  Sites addressed include an oil impacted marsh area.  EPA ERRS crew was deployed to recover any remaining oil sorbent materials.

NEW JERSEY RESPONSE ACTIONS

Passaic County

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

• EPA ERRS, along with NJDEP contractor, continued joint operations for collection of oil from the Peckman River along the McBride Avenue Bridge.

• EPA ERRS continues to scrape up oil sludge along Presidential Boulevard. Material is being placed in 55 gallon drums and will be transported to HHW staging area in Dover.

• NJDEP returned to McBride Avenue and Browertown Road and removed absorbents, finishing this site.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         HHW collection areas have not yet been set up in Passaic Co however assessments of the area indicate that this is likely to be a requested operation.  EPA continues to monitor and plan for the potential establishment of HHW collection sites in Passaic County.  EPA has been working this issue in the NJ EOC and with Local OEM Officials.

Bergen County

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         EPA completed oil recovery operations in the impacted area of Mahwah, collecting oil and debris from the waters surface of a pond in.

·         EPA completed oil recovery operations in the impacted area of South Hackensack, collecting oil and debris along the Saddle River. Crew instructed to line a pick-up bed and transfer oiled materials to roll-off starting on 09/06/2011.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         HHW collection areas have not yet been set up in Bergen Co and current assessments indicate HHW support may not be required.   EPA has not received any requests for HHW in Bergen County.

Morris County

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         The Lake Hiawatha response action was completed.  NJDEP and EPA Vac crews demobed on 9/4/2011. EPA pumped approximately 3800 gallons of home heating oil from residential tanks damaged by flooding of the Rockaway River in the Lake Hiawatha impacted area between 9/1 and 9/4. Many of these tanks were leaking prior to pumping.  EPA also participated in assessing over 50 properties impacted by leaking tanks and cleaned up bulk pooled and puddled product on many of these properties. Significant soil staining and oil saturation remains in many areas.

·         EPA is coordinating with National Guard and NJ DOT to utilize a bulk storage collection area in the town of Riverdale, NJ.  This site is pending but anticipated.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         EPA is working in Morris County with State, County and Local officials to establish and manage HHW collection and staging areas in the following locations;

o   Dover, NJ - EPA Coordinated with Local OEM Officials and identified a second HHW site in Dover, NJ.  The location of this site will be an old recycling facility at 22 Rich Boynton Road in Dover, NJ.

o   Lake Hiawatha, NJ  - HHW staging area has been established at River Rd. and Lake Shore.  Collected waste from this site are being transported / consolidated at the Dover, NJ HHW Collection Area.

Below is a summary table for NJ Incident Reports as of 1800 on 9/5/2011.  The table includes their status and materials involved

NEW YORK RESPONSE ACTIONS

Emergency Response Task Force

·         No emergency response actions were conducted outside of existing hurricane response areas in New York.

NYSDEC Region 3 Area

NYSDEC Region 3 area includes the following counties; Orange, Rockland, West Chester, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, and Sullivan counties.  EPA primary work areas have been in Orange County however EPA continues to assess and coordinate with state and local officials in that region.

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         EPA has not received any requests or reports of incidents requiring EPA response actions in the Division 3 area.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         EPA has not received any requests for HHW support in the Division 3 area.  EPA continues to coordinate, access, and plan should this need arise in the future.

Wastewater Treatment

• WWTP Team conducted assessments of 3 of 4 requested WWTPs in Orange County in the past 48 hours.  Those facilities include;  
  
  

o   Maybrook WWTP - Gate was locked. No operator was present. Effluent looked clear. Recommend future site visit for damage assessment. Plant appears to be operational.

o   Tuxedo WWTP – Partially Operational, some issues - Echo Lake Dam was breached upstream during the storm causing major flooding along the Ramapo River. The main pump station for the WWTP was flooded. Diesel fuel contamination of the pump station also occurred when SOS fuels was flooded upstream. The secondary tanks and chlorine contact tank were submerged during the storm. Raw sewage entered the Ramapo River for three days due to the damaged Hamlet Sewer District Pump Station. The plant is operational at this time but the pump station is under temporary repair. Damages at the WWTP include an aeration pump at the chlorine contact chamber. Damages at the pump station include fencing, a Generac generator, electrical panel, pump panel, computer, printer, monitor, and extensive fuel oil contamination. A sample was collected from the effluent for analysis of fecal coliform and total petroleum hydrocarbons.

o   Tappan Homes/Blooming Grove WWTP – Operational - Six feet of water entered the treatment building during the storm. Plant is fully operational. Damages include the control panel for the lift pumps (replaced), four butterfly valves, and a pump truck.

o   New Windsor WWTP – Partial Operation, some issues - Plant was operational but one of the final clarifiers was out of service. Severe flooding occurred during the storm. The operator was not present. Recommend future site visit for damage assessment.

NYSDEC Region 4 Area

NYSDEC Region 4 area includes the following counties; Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Albany, Schenectady, Otsego, Montgomery, Rensselaer, and Columbia Counties.  EPA’s primary work areas have been in the counties of Greene, Schoharie, and Delaware, however continues to coordinate with other counties in this DEC Region.

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

• Continue with Ops in Prattsville, and HHW set up at the Prattsville WWTP.

·         On 9/4/2011, EPA OSC Graham in Greene County fielded a request for assistance at the, the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School.  Follow up on 9/5/2011 indicated  NYSDEC no longer needed assistance and was able to recover and dispose of HHW materials from this location.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         EPA has established HHW collection areas in the following County / Towns;

·         Greene County – Hunter, Windham, Catskill, Prattsville

·         Delaware County – Fleishmanns and Arkville

·         Schoharie County – Howes Cave

·         EPA continues to coordinate with State, County, and Local Officials in the NYS DEC Region 3 area for any additional HHW collection needs.

NYSDEC Region 5 Area

NYSDEC Region 5 area includes the following counties; Essex, Clinton, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren, Saratoga, Washington, and Fulton.  EPA is conducting its initial assessment and coordinating with state and county officials in that Region.

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         EPA OSC met with OEM Director on 9/3/2011 at the command center in Lewis.  On 9/4/2011 OSC met with NYSDEC to conduct assessments within Essex County.  NYSDEC has been able to conduct house pump-outs/oil recovery and does not need assistance. 

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         Assistance will be needed for the collection, segregation, and disposal of HHW.  OSC Perera continues to work with county hazardous waste coordinators for setting up collection stations and HHW collection plans. 

·         REOC will deploy CIC assistance to OSC Perera as needed to publicize the collection program.

·         On 9/5/2011 a location has been identified along the border of Clinton and Essex Counties to establish a joint collection area.

EPA REGION 2 COORDINATION ACTIVITIES

EPA Region 2 is currently manning the following coordination centers;

·         FEMA R2 RRCC (NYC) – (1) OSC coordinating Mission Assignments and assisting with the Planning efforts in the overall Stafford Act Response.

·         NY State EOC (Albany, NY) – (1) OSC coordinating and assisting with State “Requests for Assistance” (RFAs) and updating State elements on EPA Planning and Response Actions.

·         NJ State EOC (Trenton, NJ) – (1) OSC coordinating and assisting with State “Requests for Assistance” (RFAs) and updating State elements on EPA Planning and Response Actions.

·         EPA Region 2 REOC (Edison, NJ)

o   Coordinating efforts related to operations, planning, resources, and logistics from the REOC.  The REOC is staging and coordinating the deployment of operational resources including EPA ERRS and RST contractor support.

o   The REOC is manning the Regional Hotline phone and addressing follow-up and response actions to incidents both related and unrelated to the impacts of Hurricane Irene.

The REOC is tracking situational information related to RFAs and changing conditions on the ground.

·         EPA has a staffed REOC to include EPA Incident Management Team (IMT) members, ERRS Response Managers, and ERRS Field Cost Accountants to support the field operations..

·         REOC is coordinating / contacting additional Region 2 Programs for support related assessment of other program facilities (drinking water, waste water, RCRA TSDs, etc.)

·         REOC implementing cost tracking measures for incident response actions.

Major impacts to property and infrastructure throughout the region may cause impacts to response actions and or response personnel availability. 

EPA ERRS crews have been deployed to priority field operations.  The REOC continues to plan and order ERRS resources as the funding is available and the need arises.

The REOC in Edison, NJ is fully operational and at this point in time, no forward command posts have been established. 

FEMA has identified (2) locations for Joint Field Offices.  The NJ JFO is to be located in Neptune, NJ and the NY JFO is to be located Albany, NY.  JFO’s are not yet operational but are anticipated to come online in the next day or two.

An Incident Safety Officer has been assigned and is currently working ERRS field safety officers and OSCs.  An initial Health and Safety Plan has been developed and reviewed and approved.  A copy of the HASP will be posted to the regional incident website; http://www.epaosc.org/R2HurricaneIreneResponse.  A safety message is distributed daily and can also be found the Incident website.

Response operations and planning information are being provided to the EPA Public Affairs Division.  Patricia (Pat) Seppi has been identified as the Incident Information Officer.  Pat Seppi can be reached at 646-369-0068.  The Information Officer has been working on the following items and issues;

·         Responded to congressional call regarding what EPA is doing in Pompton Lakes

·         Confirmed the PSA related to HHW collection in Greene County received air time

·         Visited Mahwah site - met with local residents and distributed flyers

·         Confirmed visit of CIC to upstate NY - scheduled for tomorrow

·         Updated NPL data base with info received related to hurricane impacts at remedial and removal sites

EPA is currently coordinating with FEMA, NYS DEC, NYS DOH, NJ DEP, NYSEMO, NJOEM.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR EPAOSC.NET:

If you do not have a password or have never used the EPAOSC.net website before, you will need to click the login button on the top right of the web page. Once on the login page, you will need to click on REGISTER HERE, provide the information requested and submit. This submits your request to ERT, and they will generate a user ID and password for you to enter the private side of the Website. In less than 10 minutes after registering, you should receive an e-mail from ERT SUPPORT providing the information (login and password). At this point you can then enter the website: www.epaosc.net, click on log in, then enter your information. Once logged in, click on websites, then click on Region 2. The Hurricane Irene website should be one of the first ten websites that pop up, if not, you can scroll down to the find the site. Click on R2 Hurricane Irene. Once on the site, you can navigate to the documents that will be stored there.

If you find that you are having trouble viewing the website, please contact the EPA duty officer at (732) 906-6850

EPA Edison REOC:                                                                           732-906-6850

Afterhours Notifications, National Response Center (NRC):               800-424-8802
Regional Incident Commander (RIC), James Daloia                            908-420-4505
FEMA IMAT (Albany), Dwayne Harrington, OSC                            908-420-4492

NJ EOC (Trenton), Ellen Banner, OSC                                              908- 420-4462
FEMA District 1 RRCC (NYC), Steve Touw, OSC                          908-420-4458