EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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 activated as part of the Stafford Act Response and is coordinating Emergency Support Function 10 (ESF-10).   EPA is working under mission assignments that include assessment work, container recovery, and household hazardous waste (HHW) collection, segregation, and disposal.

EPA received one notification from a private citizen related to odor complaints in the impacted area of Lake Hiawatha, NJ.  EPA deployed a response team to the location for assessment and possible recovery actions.

Current EPA operations continued today in the northern New Jersey counties of Passaic, Bergen, and Morris.  Oil spill response actions continued in the Paterson area of Passaic County as well as the recovery of orphan containers.  This has been a joint operation between EPA and NJDEP.  EPA continues to reach-out and coordinate with county and local OEM officials on the issues of HHW collection, segregation, and disposal.  As of this report, two primary collection points have been established in Morris County at Dover and Lake Hiawatha.  The Lake Hiawatha HHW facility has been closed and collected wastes are to be consolidated/shipped to the Dover HHW facility. EPA anticipates additional needs in Paterson and is working officials in that area to establish a collection area.

New York operations continued in the DEC Regions 4 and 5 with primary resources focused on orphan container recovery and HHW in the Greene County area.  The Prattsville area recovery operation remains one of the more resource intensive operations addressing orphan container recovery and HHW.  Collections areas for HHW have been established in other areas of Greene County and DEC Region 4 but due to a decrease in activity in some of those areas, EPA is looking to consolidated wastes from those locations and close out those facilities.  Facilities being considered for closure include the HHW site in Catskill and Windham NY.

Activities in the EPA REOC worked on establishing SOPs and decision documents for field actions.  The REOC issued a safety message and notification stating that no subsurface/confined space areas (basement, cellar, etc.) will be pumped or accessed until the electrical meter has been pulled from property and monitoring conducted for explosive gas levels.

OPERATIONS

Emergency Response Task Force

·         The Task Force assessed a residential property at 62 Carlson Place in Lake Hiawatha, NJ.  The caller stated that there were strong odors and oil in the river behind the property.  A preliminary assessment indicates the potential of orphan containers in the Rockaway River.

NEW JERSEY RESPONSE ACTIONS

Passaic County

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

• EPA, along with NJDEP contractor, continued joint operations for collection of oil from the Peckman River along the McBride Avenue Bridge.  Operations include the use of sorbent materials and vacuum trucks to contain and recover product.

• EPA completed the scraping of oil sludge along Presidential Boulevard.   Eight drums were moved to the Dover, NJ HHW staging area.
• EPA continued to collect orphan containers in West Paterson along McBride Avenue.  Containers have been transported to the Dover staging area.

• EPA continued to manage sorbent boom and pads near the Presidential Boulevard area of West Paterson.  A series of auto shops are located in the immediate vicinity.
•  Orphan container identification and collection continues in the West Paterson area.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         HHW collection areas have not yet been set up in Passaic County 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.

·         The Borough of Pompton Lakes conducted curbside household hazardous waste collection throughout residential areas.  Materials were collected by local officials and coordinated with local OEM.  The DPW setup a container in the DPW yard and have contracted services for its removal.

Bergen County

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         EPA continued to monitor oil recovery operations in the impacted area of Mahwah, along Jersey Avenue.  Maintenance activities include setting sorbent materials in the surface water to collect and corral oil.  It was determined that due to heavy rains, sorbents should remain in the water. 

·         EPA continues to conduct oil recovery operations in the impacted area of South Hackensack, collecting oil and debris along the Saddle River.  Debris was collected in the back of a lined pick-up and transported to the Dover collection area.  Sorbent materials are being managed to allow collection and corralling of oil in the Saddle River as heavy rains impact the area.  

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         EPA has not received any requests for HHW in Bergen County.

Morris County

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         Response and recovery operations in Lake Hiawatha have been completed.  Additional requests may be forthcoming as reports indicate the area is flooding again due to recent rains. 

 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;

·         Dover, NJ - EPA has identified a HHW site in Dover, NJ.  The location of this site will be an old recycling facility at 22 Richboynton Road in Dover, NJ.  OSCs performed reconnaissance at the facility to determine setup parameters and address any potential safety issues.

·         Lake Hiawatha, NJ - The HHW staging area located at the intersections of River Road and Lake Shore has been closed.  All materials located at the facility have been moved to the Dover, NJ HHW station.  The Lake Hiawatha HHW staging area became inundated with water as heavy rains fell in the area.  The HHW staging area will be re-evaluated following the passing of storms.

·         Riverdale, NJ  - EPA has identified a bulk storage collection area at 107 Newark Pompton Turnpike.  This area is currently being developed to accept large volumes of containers, debris, and oil/water mixtures.

Below is a summary table for NJ Incident Reports as of 1500 on 9/6/2011.  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

·         No requests or response actions have been received for the area. 

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         No requests for HHW support in the Division 3 area has been received at this time. 

 Wastewater Treatment

• WWTP Team was not in operation during the reporting period.  The Team has completed assessments of Wastewater Treatment facilities that were previously identified.  Four facilities were inspected and one remains to be determined;  

·         Goshen WWTP – It is currently unknown if the team needs to inspect this facility.

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

·         Continued with recovery of orphan containers in Prattsville, Oak Hill, and Ashland, NY.

·         Met with the Arkville, NY fire chief to discuss orphan containers, mostly fuel oil.

·         Coordinated with Schoharie County ICP on assistance following environmental assessment reports.  EPA may conduct orphan container recovery once water levels recede.

·         A Community Involvement Coordinator has been dispatched to the area.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

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

·         Greene County

·         Hunter, NY – HHW staging area is operational.

·         Windham, NY – HHW staging area may close due to low volumes of material received.

·         Catskill, NY – HHW staging area may close due to low volumes of material received.

·         Prattsville, NY - HHW staging areas is operational.

·         Delaware County

·         Fleishmanns, NY – HHW staging area is currently operational and estimated to close of 9/12/2011 pending needs.

·         Arkville, NY – HHW staging area is currently operational and estimated to close of 9/12/2011 pending needs.

·         Schoharie County

·         Howes Cavern, NY - HHW staging area is operational.  EPA is working with FEMA, ACE, and County Solid Waste on segregation of materials. Due to this facilities proximity to primary transportation routes, it has been designated as the primary consolidation point for all HHW prior to shipping for disposal.  Collected HHW from other sites will be consolidated to the Howes Cavern Site.

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 continues to meet with OEM and conduct assessments in Essex County.  A list of affected homes is currently being obtained.

·         EPA OSC continues to meet with OEM and conduct assessments in Clinton County.  A list of affected homes is currently being obtained.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         Au Sable Forks, NY – HHW staging area has been identified.  The facility is located on Route 9 North in the Grand Union parking lot.  The facility will take material from Essex and Clinton Counties. 

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.

·         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 and RST crews have been deployed to priority field operations.  The REOC continues to plan and order contracting 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 within the near future.

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;

·         Coordinate with Community Involvement Coordinators deployed

·         Pompton Lakes / Paterson : David Kluesner 908-420-7261

·         NYSDEC Region 4 : Larisa Romanowski 515-703-0101

·         Public Service Announcement continues to be aired on WRIP 97.9

·         Provided outreach information to OSCs in Greene and Delaware Counties

·         Generated talking points to address concerns for recreational areas and EPAs position on working in the flood areas.

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