KEY PLAYERS IN THE CLEANUP

These are some of the people filling key roles in containing damage from Wednesday’s oil spill: Coast Guard Capt. James C. Card, 47, commanding officer of the marine safety office in Long Beach since 1988. Card directs search and rescue efforts off Southern California waters and is captain of the port of Long Beach/Los Angeles. Before coming to Long Beach, Card headed the merchant vessel inspection branch in Washington. Coast Guard officials say he has considerable experience in managing oil spills. “It’s his specialty,” one said. He is coordinating the federal response to the spill. Vic Leipzig, 41, executive director of the nonprofit Bolsa Chica Conservancy, a coalition formed to oversee the Bolsa Chica wetlands preserve. Leipzig, a Cypress College biology instructor, has a long record of environmental concern. The Huntington Beach resident is also a city Planning Commission member. He and other volunteers have been on the scene since Wednesday evening, working with state officials to care for threatened birds and wildlife. Raymond C. Picard, 64, chief of the Huntington Beach Fire Department since 1966. Picard is also the city’s civil defense director; he issued the state of emergency declaration Wednesday night that made the city eligible for state and federal funds. Picard, formerly a battalion chief with the city of Pasadena, directed emergency operations when Huntington Beach was devastated by flooding in 1983. He is handling communications with the City Council and state and local agencies. Sanford Schmidt, 42, has been with American Trading Transportation Co. since 1981 and president since June. Previously, he was a vice president and controller of the company. A business law attorney, Schmidt has an MBA from George Washington University. The company has sent an oil spill team to Huntington Beach. Peter F. Bontadelli, 41, director of the California Department of Fish and Game since 1987. He has headed task forces on several state environmental crises, including those dealing with threatened and endangered species. He is coordinating the state’s response to the spill. The department, under Bontadelli, prevented the Exxon Valdez --which caused a massive spill in Alaska--from entering state waters after it was found to be trailing an 18-mile oil slick. Capt. A.R. La Ware. His age and hometown were not immediately available. According to shipping company officials and British Petroleum, La Ware has worked for American Trading Transportation Co. 30 years and has been “sailing tankers all his life.” He is the company’s second most senior officer and rated a master mariner. La Ware reportedly graduated from the Maritime Academy at Ft. Schuyler, N.Y.