One
in every five Americans lives within 3 miles of a site where
EPA |
If you are interested in the national infrastructure for
responding to
hazardous substance
releases and oil spills,
you have come to the right place. The U.S. EPA's Emergency
Response Program
coordinates and implements a wide range of activities to ensure
that adequate
and timely response measures are taken in communities affected by
hazardous
substances and oil releases.
We are pleased to provide this World Wide Web site and hope that it will be a valuable resource for professionals and others interested in how the nation prevents, prepares for, and responds to emergencies involving hazardous substances and oil.
The main areas of the site are described below. To get to a specific topic, check out the CONTENTS page or use our search feature. And don't forget to bookmark the pages most useful to you.
BULLETINS provides periodic updates about the emergency response program, including new regulatory initiatives and where the latest spills and releases have occurred. You can also come here to find out what new information has been added to the site.
ABOUT ER offers an inside look at EPA's Emergency Response programs and activities, and how they all fit together. The deeper you dig, the more detail you will find.
REIMBURSEMENT outlines how state and local governments can take advantage of federal programs set up specifically to help pay for the costs of local responses to emergencies involving hazardous substances and oil.
REPORTING TRIGGERS provides information for professionals who need to know when to report a hazardous substances release or an oil spill.
TRAINING covers several federal programs offered to emergency response professionals. Information here includes a list of programs, courses, schedules, and registration information.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT offers an overview of key elements in EPA's efforts to keep the public and local officials informed about the presence of hazardous substances and local activities to clean them up. Links to databases of information on local spills and emergency response actions are also included.
LAWS & REGULATIONS includes overviews and summaries of key provisions, as well as links to actual text, for all the statutes and regulations governing EPA's role in the the federal system for responding to hazardous substances and oil emergencies.
RESOURCES includes links to software and databases available online; a library of available publications and videos; a directory of EPA contact and organizational information; a gallery of photographs; a calendar of important regulatory dates and professional events; and links to other online resources.
As with any Web site, we intend to continue adding material and updating any and all areas to enable swift access to the information you want. Please explore what is already available on the site (and there's quite a bit) and, of course, send us your comments and suggestions.