Each year, more than 20,000 emergencies involving the release, or threatened release, of oil and hazardous substances are reported in the United States, potentially affecting both large and small communities and the surrounding natural environment. Reports in the local news often portray the swift and effective response of local firefighters and other emergency officials. Behind the scenes, however, a vast National Response System involving federal, state, and local officials is at work supporting the men and women on the front lines.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plays a leadership role in this national system, co-chairing the National Response Team and directing its own Emergency Response Program, that has as its goal the protection of the public and the environment from immediate threats posed by emergencies involving hazardous substances and oil. The program's primary objectives are to take reasonable steps to prevent such emergencies; to prepare emergency response personnel at the federal, state, and local levels for such emergencies; and to respond quickly and decisively to such emergencies wherever and whenever they occur within our national borders.

The Emergency Response Program is a coordinated effort among four key EPA organizations and its 10 Regional offices. The four headquarters offices are:

• The Office of Emergency and Remedial Response which oversees two major components of the program, the Superfund Removal Program and the Oil Spill Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Program;
• The Chemical Emergency Prevention and Preparedness Office, which has primary responsibility for preparing and planning for chemical emergencies through a network of state and local emergency planning organizations;
• The Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances which has primary responsibility for community involvement and community right-to-know; and
• The Office of Underground Storage Tanks which is responsible for preventing petroleum releases from underground storage tanks.

Each of these organizations derives its authority from legislation passed by Congress to specifically address the country's ability to reduce or eliminate the threats to human life and the environment posed by the handling, storage, and use of hazardous substances and oil. While each office plays a different role in EPA's Emergency Response Program, all offices share the common mission of preventing, preparing for, and responding to emergencies involving hazardous substances and oil.

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