Countywide : County to Form Oil Spill Response Team

Ventura County supervisors, reacting to the oil tanker mishap that blackened Orange County beaches, Tuesday ordered the creation of a team of specialists to respond immediately to any spill.

The supervisors directed the county’s Office of Emergency Services to form an oil-spill response team with representatives from private industry and public agencies.

Primary responsibility for cleanup in the event of a shipping accident at sea would fall on federal and state agencies. But it takes time for state and federal agencies to arrive at the scene of the accident and begin the work, County Supervisor Madge Schaefer said.

“There may be state and federal agencies in charge, but the first response comes from the locals,” she said. “It would be foolish for us not to have a plan.”

A local oil-spill contingency plan would enable Ventura County to help make decisions on the cleanup, said Karen Guidi, assistant director of the Office of Emergency Services.

“When they start making decisions that affect us, like when the oil starts to come ashore, we want to be sure we have input,” Guidi said. “We want the state and federal teams to know we are available as a community liaison.”

Members of the oil-spill response group include the Office of Emergency Services, which will coordinate the team, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy units at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme, the California Department of Fish and Game, Exxon Co. USA, the coastal cities, Ventura and Oxnard harbor districts, county fire and planning departments and Clean Seas, an oil industry-supported cleanup team of three ships.

The oil-spill plan will become part of the county’s Multihazard Emergency Plan, which includes response procedures for disasters such as earthquakes, dam failures and fires.