EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Operations in NJ continued with field activities in Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties as a result of Hurricane Irene.  Much focus was placed on the collection of HHW from municipality operated staging areas and transport to the Dover HHW processing area.  Management of booming strategies throughout Mahwah and South Hackensack continued.  Reconnaissance of Passaic and Morris Counties continued in efforts to locate an additional HHW and orphan container processing area.  In Riverdale, EPA continued to host a bulk liquids and contaminated solids drop location for field crews. 

Following a suspension of activities yesterday due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, operations in New York re-commenced.  Curb-side collection of HHW occurred in towns located in Schoharie County, one of the worst hit areas of New York State.  EPA continued to work with local authorities on manning numerous HHW staging sites in Delaware, Greene, and Schoharie Counties.  

As a result of former Tropical Storm Lee, many rivers throughout New Jersey and New York are swollen with rising waters that have yet to crest.  Lands situated along the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers in NY and along the Delaware and Passaic Rivers in NJ were the hardest hit.  Assessments and reconnaissance missions in these areas have been requested by State partners, however field actions are limited due to accessibility and safety concerns.  Mission Assignments through FEMA for operations in New York are expected to be received within the next few operational periods, as an Emergency Declaration has been announced.  EPA coordinated with the National Pollution Funds Center to issue a Federal Pollution Number which will provide funding for responding to TS Lee issues in New Jersey.

With the tenth anniversary of the September 11^th attacks in New York, EPA is remaining vigilant on activities throughout the area.  The REOC maintains contact with federal and local partners for receiving and disseminating situational awareness information.  Contingency Plans for dealing with any type of terrorist activity or area disturbances have been generated by the REOC.  Communication with the Headquarters EOC in Washington, DC will continue over the next following days. 

Tropical Storm Maria is expected to impact parts of the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico throughout the weekend.   The center of the storm is currently modeled to travel between St. Croix and St. John on Saturday evening and move along the northeast coast of Puerto Rico.  Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued for the USVI and Tropical Storm Watches have been issued for Puerto Rico.  The REOC has developed a Contingency Plan for dealing with any aftermath of the storm.  Three OSCs with limited capabilities are scheduled to be in the USVI during the storm.  Two OSCs are scheduled to be in Puerto Rico during the storm.  

OPERATIONS

Emergency Response Task Force

·         The Task Force was not activated.

NEW JERSEY RESPONSE ACTIONS

Most rivers impacted by the remnants of TS Lee, including the Delaware River, have started to recede.  The exception is the Passaic River, which has yet to crest in Little Falls and Pine Brook.

Passaic County

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

• EPA continued to manage sorbent boom and pads near the Presidential Boulevard area of West Paterson. 

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         EPA continues reconnaissance for a HHW staging area in Passaic County.

·         Clifton –The municipality is operating a HHW staging area.  EPA is transporting materials from the township to the Dover HHW staging and processing facility.

·         Pompton Lakes – The municipality is operating a HHW collection point from curbside pickup.  EPA is transporting materials to the Dover HW facility.   

Bergen County

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         EPA continued to manage booming strategies in Mahwah, near Jersey Avenue.

·         EPA continued to manage booming strategies in South Hackensack along the Saddle River.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         No HHW staging areas have been established by EPA in Bergen County.

Morris County

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         Response and recovery activities were not requested in Morris County. 

 Household Hazardous Waste / Bulk Liquid Collection and Disposal

·         Dover - The HHW staging and processing facility continued to receive materials from the tri-county area.  Preparations continued for personnel to characterize the hazardous materials being brought in.  Bulking of materials commenced.

·         Riverdale - The bulk storage collection area continued to receive materials. 

·         Whippany – The liquid bulk collection area is no longer receiving materials and is awaiting removal.

·         Lake Hiawatha – The municipality is collecting and staging HHW.  EPA collected materials and transported them to the Dover HHW staging area.

·         Denville - The municipality is collecting and staging HHW.  EPA collected materials and transported them to the Dover HHW staging area.

Below is a summary table for NJ Incident Reports as of 1420 on 9/9/2011.  The table includes their status and materials involved.

NEW YORK RESPONSE ACTIONS

Emergency Response Task Force

·         NRC Report # 988943 was received regarding a 1500 pound propane tank released in the Hudson River.  A crew is expected to assess the tank on September 10, 2011.  The tank has rested in Catskills, NY.    

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 EPA continues to coordinate with other counties in this DEC Region.

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         Conducted curbside pickup of HHW in Schoharie, Middleburgh, Central Bridge, Livingstonville, and Preston Hollow (all located in Schoharie County).  Materials were transported to the Howes Cave HHW facility.

·         Orphan containers and HHW continued to be recovered from Prattsville.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         Greene County

·         Hunter, NY – Facility was operational.

·          Windham, NY – Facility was operational. 

·         Catskill, NY – Facility was operational. 

·         Prattsville, NY – Facility was operational.

·         Delaware County

·         Fleishmanns – Facility was operational.

·         Arkville – Facility was operational.

·         Schoharie County

·         Howes Cave - HHW staging area is operational and receiving materials from ERRS crews.

·         Schoharie Debris Pile – Crews continued to segregate and containerize HHW received into the yard and located throughout the pile.  Materials were then transported to the Howes Cave HHW.

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 Region 5.

Oil / Hazardous Materials Response and Recovery Actions

·         EPA continues to collect orphan containers and HHW in towns throughout Essex County.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Disposal

·         Au Sable Forks, NY – The facility was operational.

·         Elizabethtown, NY – The facility continues to be established and is not yet operational.

NYSDEC Region 7 Area

EPA is awaiting receipt of Mission Assignments for response to the aftermath of the remnants of TS Lee.  This information will be conveyed in Situation Reports/Pollution Reports relating to such.

Below is a summary table for NY Incident Reports as of 1420 on 9/9/2011.  The table includes their status and materials involved.

CUMULATIVE HAZARDOUS WASTE SUMMERY TABLE

Below is a summery table indicating the amount of containers collected through HHW and orphan container recovery efforts.  This data was collected at 1200 on 09/09/2011 and does not reflect containers collected 09/09/2011 (see footnote).

EPA continued to staff the Region 2 Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC).  An Incident Management Team (IMT) continues to work with ERRS Managers, ERRS Field Cost Accountants, and RST support.  All coordination at the regional level, including drinking water, wastewater, RCRA, TSDs, and other issues, are facilitated through the REOC.  All cost tracking is being conducted at the REOC.  The REOC will staff the incident through December 2011 to ensure the coverage of operational activities and maintain appropriate rest periods for all responding personnel.

The daily safety message is posted on the regional incident website: http://www.epaosc.org/R2HurricaneIreneResponse.   The site specific HASP for the Passaic County operations is being prepared and will be under review by the close of business today and finalized by tomorrow.  Site specific HASPs will continue to be developed as new locations and/or operations are identified.  Coordination is ongoing with the different power companies to develop procedures to pull meters on an emergency basis if required.    

A Liaison Officer has not yet been assigned however coordination activities are being done at several locations and with multiple Federal and State Agencies.

Pat Seppi is the Public Information Officer and can be reached at 646-369-0068.  David Kluesner (908-420-7261) was acting.  No CICs were deployed into the field during the reporting period.  The PIO worked on the following:

·         Larisa Romanowski 515-703-0101, CIC for NYSDEC Region 4 has been delayed until 09/13/2011

Unified Command is currently not activated at this level.

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

WEBSITE:  http://www.epaosc.org/R2HurricaneIreneResponse

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) for NY, James Daloia             908-420-4505
Regional Incident Commander (RIC) for NJ, Christopher Jimenez   908-420-4484

FEMA IMAT (Albany), Dwayne Harrington, OSC                         908-420-4492

Situation Reports are planned for release at 1630 on a daily basis.

News reports are indicating threats in New York due to the 10^th anniversary of the September 11^th attacks.  Region 2 REOC has generated Contingency Plans for responding to hazards associated with any type of incidents.

Tropical Storm Maria is in the Leeward Islands and expected to impact Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Saturday September 10, 2011.  EPA Region 2 REOC has developed Contingency Plans for dealing with environmental impacts associated with TS Maria.  The airport in St. Croix is expected to close on Saturday September 10, 2011 at 1100 hours.  The Governor has issued a curfew for Saturday night into Sunday morning.

General Weather:

·         Rain is not predicted in the general work areas of New York and New Jersey.  Temperatures will vary from the high 50s in NY to the low 80s in NJ.