|
The Exxon Valdez incident resulted in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. No one doubts the Deepwater Horizon spill will result in the Oil Pollution Act of 2010. The future forecast probably also calls for more, not fewer regulations, "Worst case discharge" will also without doubt get a new definition. Area Contingency Plans around the country will have to be updated. It's safe to say that no one, including the USCG, ever considered this type of scenario we find ourselves in. This spill has already significantly affected the off-shore oil industry and will continue sending significant ripples throughout other industries. Legislation is being considered in Congress to raise the $75 million cap on economic damages under the Oil Pollution Act to $10 billion.
Wednesday, June 30 Deepwater Horizon Response Statistics
RESPONSE VESSELS
Vessels of Opportunity: 3200
Barges: more than 670
Skimmers: more than 550
Other Vessels: more than 2,600
Total active response vessels: more than 7,020
Aircraft: 113
BOOM DATA
Boom deployed: more than 2.77 million feet
Boom available: more than 812,000 feet
Total boom: more than 3.58 million feet
OIL RECOVERED
Oily water recovered: nearly 28.18 million gallons
Amount estimated burned: nearly 9.99 million gallons
Oil captured (CAP) over last 48hrs: more than 969,000 gallons
DISPERSANTS
Surface dispersant used: more than 1.03 million gallons
Subsea dispersant used: more than 590,000 gallons
Total dispersant used: more than 1.62 million gallons
PERSONNEL INVOLVED
Overall personnel responding: more than 42,000 personnel responding
Prepare. Respond. Communicate. Recover
Perhaps you've noticed that O'Brien's has recently updated its website (www.obriensrm.com). Hopefully, you'll find this new website easier to navigate. One of the website's features is our new "organization" of what O'Brien's offers. We want you, our client, to be resilient. At O'Brien's we understand what it takes to build organization and community resilience, for the simple reason that no other team or company has the experience we have in responding to major crises and emergencies.
We Can Help You Prepare
Building organization and community resilience starts with preparation. Preparation starts with taking a clear-eyed view of the risks and vulnerabilities. Understanding the vulnerabilities makes it possible to develop realistic response plans. Plans are made effective through training, drills and exercises. Every element is essential:
- Assessments - to understand your vulnerabilities
- Response Plans - to thoughtfully develop procedures to mitigate the risks and consequences
- Training - to instruct your key personnel in the procedures and their duties
- Exercises - to evaluate the plans and training in order to further prepare
We can Help you Respond
When the worst happens, preparation is over and everything now depends on the response. Effective response is all about people, resources and process. The outcome rests on strong, well-trained leaders, adequate resources efficiently deployed, and a well-honed process for managing a fast-moving and very complex event. The O'Brien's team responds to nearly 1,500 events a year from major reputation crises to large man-made emergencies; from oil spills to natural disasters.
We Can Help You Communicate
The corporate and agency landscape is littered with the wreckage of once lofty and powerful names that fell victim to reputation disasters. In an era of ferocious media coverage, rumors and misinformation flowing at lightning speed through social media networks, and enterprising activists and activist-politicians, every response is a communication response. The one name that has emerged at the front lines of media, public and stakeholder communications in this era of instant news is PIER, the Public Information Emergency Response System. O'Brien's is integrating this innovative technology with our other response technologies and incorporating the team of respected communication professionals into our team of response and planning professionals. The result is something powerful and first-to-market—a comprehensive and seamless approach to crisis and emergency planning that breaks down the silos and delivers unprecedented results.
We Can Help You Recover
The event isn't over until the organization or community is restored to normal. Major events change us forever, so it may be a new normal. O'Brien's unique approach to recovery is based on our many years experience of managing events. We incorporate the process of transition in everything we do, starting with planning and all through the management of the response.
O'Brien's Participation In The Deepwater Horizon Response
O'Brien's is providing hundreds of response personnel to assist BP by filling a wide variety of positions within the incident command structure in various geographical locations. The Unified Command's Joint Information Center for the Gulf Spill is using the PIER System (an O'Brien's subsidiary) to manage public information and release news, photos, press releases, incident updates, and videos of oil spill clean-up efforts following the Deepwater Horizon explosion incident. The Unified Command website is located at deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
PIER is a comprehensive web-based communication management technology designed specifically for Joint Information Center (JIC) operations. A JIC is established to provide the focal point for all communications in a response operating under National Incident Management System (NIMS) rules. In a JIC, all government agencies responding come together to collaborate under the overall direction of Unified Command consisting of incident commanders from lead response agencies or jurisdictions. Unified Command has responsibility for all information coming from the response through the Joint Information Center. Under NIMS, if a company is designated as a "Responsible Party" then they also participate as a member of Unified Command.
The Deepwater Horizon incident, also known as the BP Oil Spill or Gulf Spill, is the largest environmental emergency in US history, and quite likely the largest coordinated crisis communication event ever. The incident website is the focal point for communication about the event. The website has received over 109 million hits. The system facilitates the development of public information releases, including the complex approval process.
One of the most remarkable features of this response is the dedication of the Joint Information Center to respond personally to the thousands of inquiries and comments submitted to the Joint Information Center. PIER facilitates inquiry management by directing inquires automatically to appropriate responders based on categories. Because PIER is entirely web-based, a communication team located anywhere and operating 24 hours can participate in the process including responding to inquiries. PIER also provides the capability to quickly generate data-driven forms that can be used to capture information from those interacting with the response. PIER forms are being used to submit claims in addition to claim submission through a call center. Nearly 4000 claims have been submitted through use of the on-line forms. Forms are also used to facilitate the more than 10,000 suggestions that have been submitted by individuals. The forms are directed automatically to a team of experts assigned the responsibility of reviewing all suggestions and forwarding the promising ones to the response leaders.
MediaTools is an important component of the PIER System and includes the ability to instantly create media lists from an up-to-date database. One of the most important functions of MediaTools is the media search and clipping service. Each day communication and response leaders can be provided a detailed report on that day's media activities which include print stories, broadcast, online stories, blogs and social media. Tonality analysis can also be provided along with special reports highlighting the major broadcast coverage of the day. PIER is provided as a NIST-certified highly secure web application without any limit on users, nor restrictions on use by agency or employer.
For the Deepwater Horizon site, Unified Command fully controls access to the control center. There are representatives from many of the dozens of agencies responding to this incident. At any one time more than 40 users can be found working on the same control center performing different aspects of the response and located either in the Joint Information Center locations in the Gulf region or as far away as London or the West Coast. Social media is a very important element of this response and the various social media channels used by the response are all accessed via the main response website. PIER can also be used to feed content directly to social media sites.
PIER is also being used by responders in the field to submit reports of activities into a control center for a common operating picture. PIER's ability to send text messages is being used to distribute information updates to those requesting it by text. And the two-way text capability is enabling members of the public to submit reports and relevant information the response.
In addition to the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command website, BP has also launched four PIER-driven websites to communicate with the communities most affected by this event. These sites can be found at alabamagulfresponse.com, louisianagulfresponse.com, mississippigulfresponse.com and floridagulfresponse.com. These sites are part of BP's extensive community outreach effort which will be in place for a long time to closely coordinate long term recovery efforts with the affected states and communities. Thousands of people have already used these sites to interact with the BP community relations teams on the ground.
PIER Systems has worked closely with the US Coast Guard for over nine years. All Coast Guard public affairs operations use PIER for routine daily communication as well as for major events such as Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Spill. Similarly, PIER has also worked with BP for over 8 years providing multiple PIER sites for crisis and public communication purposes in many locations throughout the world. In addition to supplying the web-based communication management technology, PIER provides clients such as BP with crisis communication plans, training, response services and drills and exercises. PIER includes numerous federal agencies on its client list and most of the major oil companies, as well as wide variety of other clients in energy, education, healthcare, emergency response and others.
Updating Facility Response Plans In Light Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recently issued an important advisory to operators of hazardous liquid pipelines. In light of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which has resulted in the relocation of oil spill response resources to address the oil spill, PHMSA is reminding operators of their responsibilities to review and update their oil spill response plans and to comply with other emergency response requirements to ensure the necessary response to a worst case discharge from their pipeline facility. Operators of onshore pipelines that could reasonably be expected to cause significant or substantial harm to the environment by discharging oil into or on any navigable waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines must prepare and submit an oil spill response plan pursuant to 49 CFR part 194. Among other requirements, a response plan must include a proper calculation of a worst case discharge and identify the available resources to respond.
O'Brien's is standing by to help your operation stay in compliance with this regulation. For more information on your requirements as described in this advisory and what we can do to help, please contact Don Kluth at (281) 320-9796 or email Don at donald.kluth@obriensrm.com
USCG Issues New Rules On Response Times
The Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have, through temporary interim rulemaking, suspended oil spill response time requirements, and certain identification and location requirements, for facilities and vessel whose response resources are relocated in support of the Deepwater Horizon Spill of National Significance (SONS) response. This provides oil spill removal organizations (OSROs), and facilities and vessels with their own response resources, the temporary opportunity to relocate response resources from current locations to the Gulf of Mexico to assist in the urgently needed immediate relocation of nationwide oil spill response resources to the Gulf of Mexico to aid in the response.
The Coast Guard and EPA are encouraging facilities and vessels to release OSROs under such contractual obligations to provide response resources within specified response times above the Average Most Probable Discharge (AMPD) level and/or the Small Discharge level when those OSROs’ response resources are deployed in response to the Deepwater Horizon response.
The rule temporarily suspends the response time requirements for ‘‘maximum extent practicable’’ to exclude response time requirements for MMPD and USCG-regulated facilities and vessels WCD (33 CFR 154 and 155) and Medium Discharges and EPA-regulated facilities WCD (40 CFR 112) from June 30, 2010 through December 31, 2010.
The Coast Guard and EPA will allow greater use of cascade plans, which, in combination, will protect ports and coastlines to the MMPD and USCG-regulated facilities and vessels WCD levels and to Medium Discharge and EPA-regulated facilities WCD levels. If planned-for response resources have relocated to the Gulf of Mexico, cascade plans can be used to help minimize the risk of delayed response times.
For more information on your requirements as described above and what we can do to help, please contact Don Kluth at (281) 320-9796 or email Don at donald.kluth@obriensrm.com
New Transportation Security Plan Requirements
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) recently modified current security plan requirements applicable to the commercial transportation of hazardous materials by air, rail, vessel, and highway. It reduces the number of materials subject to the regulations; becomes effective October 1 of this year; and clarifies matters regarding planning, training, and documentation. New requirements include:
An increase in the number of people needing security training and the topics training covers;
Employees will need training whenever the plan changes;
The security assessment must contain site-specific risks;
Identification of the person responsible for developing and maintaining the plan;
Listing of each person's security duties;
The plan must be reviewed annually; and
The plan must be available for review by both Department of Transportation and the Department of Homeland Security personnel.
For assistance with security assessments, audits, drills, exercises, grants, plans, and/or training; please contact Steve Falkner at +1 (281) 320-9796 or steve.falkner@obriensrm.com.
Business Continuity And Continuity of Operations Plans
O'Brien's Consulting Services can assist your organization in developing and creating resilient and scalable Business Continuity Plans (BCP) and/or a Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan.
A BCP is a plan for how to recover and restore interrupted critical/essential functions within a predetermined time-frame, using predefined resources. A BCP answers the questions of "who, what, when, and where" within a department or division of a company.
A COOP is an overarching plan for companies or government agencies that not only identifies the components in a business continuity plan (the "who, what, when and where") but also includes the following: (1) order of succession, (2) delegation of authority, (3) devolution of direction and control, (4) established employee communications mediums, (5) media announcements (PIO), (6) established interoperable communications within the alternate/continuity facilities, and (7) demobilization back to normal business operations.
O'Brien's consultant's have years of response and planning experience in the disaster and emergency management field. Our continuity programs (planning, training, and testing) are based on industry standards and government guidelines.
For business continuity planning, we utilize the applicable standards recommended by the Department of Homeland Security as part of their new Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep). Those standards include:
- National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600:2007 Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs
- British Standard (BS) 25999-2:2007 Business Continuity Management
- American Society for Information Science (ASIS) SPC.1-2009 Organizational Resilience: Security Preparedness, and Continuity Management Systems
Likewise, our COOP planning is based on the following FEMA guidelines and Presidential Directives, thus ensuring FEMA-compliant COOP Plans:
- Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20
- National Security Presidential Directive 51
- Federal Continuity Directives 1 and 2
- Continuity Guidance Circular 1
We recommend a formal Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to ensure the most thorough continuity planning. BCP and/or COOP program development begins with an assessment of your organizations needs, threats and risks. O'Brien'sRM Consultant's are available to assist your organization throughout the assessment, planning, development, implementation, training and testing in order to establish a phased programmatic approach to continuity management.
Please call our COOP expert, Sue Alexander, at +1 281 320 9796 or email her at sue.alexander@obriensrm.com for further assistance.
Hurricane Season Is Here. Are You Ready?
According to Colorado State University's Tropical Meteorology Project, "The 2010 hurricane season is predicted to be more active than the average for the 1950-2000 seasons. The December 2009 report estimates approximately 11-16 named storms, 6-8 hurricanes and 3-5 major hurricanes occurring during the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, which is more typical of years in an active era, such as the 1995 season."
Hurricane prediction certainly seems to be more art than science. Nevertheless, for the millions of Americans who live along the Gulf and East Coasts of the USA and the other millions in the Caribbean basin, planning trumps prediction. We may not know how many hurricanes may form and come ashore, but that shouldn't stop us from planning for their arrival.
Does your business have a hurricane plan? How about a business continuity plan? What's the relationship between the two?
Generally speaking, a hurricane plan concerns itself with office/business closure processes and procedures pre and post hurricane landfall. Consider it like a count-down at Cape Canaveral: "10, 9, 8, 7, 6…" As the hurricane comes into the Gulf of Mexico and comes closer, hurricane plans activate specific actions based upon how many days/hours to landfall.
Business continuity plans on the other hand, may be activated by the approach of a major storm, usually deal with the broader issues of access to data/buildings and starting business activities after a disruption. For most companies, a hurricane plan should at least cover a robust communications process. Before sending people home to await landfall, consider the following points:
Supervisors should know where their people are going—staying in the region or evacuating?
What is the post-landfall process for checking in? Have supervisors established a simple phone tree for checking in? Perhaps a website? Using the polling functions of PIER provides for a very quick and efficient method for large numbers of people to check in and make any needs known. PIER's SMS functions also allows communications via mobile phone networks.
People should be reminded before they leave the office they need to bring their laptops. The assumption when leaving the office prior to the arrival of the storm should be that they won't see their office again for three weeks. Plan accordingly.
We're ready to talk with you about your hurricane planning needs. Don't bet against a major storm making landfall where you live and conduct business. Please call us at +1 (281) 320 9796 and ask for Lisa Saint or email her at lisa.saint@obriensrm.com.
Mobile Command Posts Available
O'Brien's is now fielding two state-of-the-art mobile command posts.
Mobile Command Post 3 (MCP3) is built on the chassis of a Freightliner truck and is used by O'Brien'sRM to serve as an on-scene command center for all-hazard responses, oil spills or for use in remote areas or in locations that have suffered infrastructure damage. The MCP is also available for use by clients to meet the needs of their incident teams or to provide company emergency planners and HSE personnel with a safe and self-contained facility.
MCP 3 Exterior
The MCP3 accommodates an array of technical needs necessary for swift and effective responses. 3G internet connectivity for both wired and wireless users is provided as is internet TV for news and weather information. MCP3 provides fast wireless color laser printing and its large video displays allow briefings utilizing maps and video as well as video and any other input, such as the current situation status from CommandPro®, or displays from the PIER System or ePlanPro®. MCP3 also supports Voice over IP phone communications, video conferencing, and Wi-Fi phone connectivity. MCP3's core technical components are safely secured inside a cooled enclosure that can easily be activated with flip of a switch. The entire system can be online within minutes.
MCP 3 Interior
SPECIFICATIONS:
-
Work stations: 8
-
Internet access via cellular phone 3G connection
-
Power available from on board generators: 20kW
-
A/C, heating
-
2 Refrigerators
-
2 plasma flat screen displays
-
Wireless printer/fax/scanner
-
Length: 47'
-
Width: 7'8"
-
Height: 11'6"
-
External power 220V
Mobile Command Post 4 is a converted motor coach.
MCP 4 Exterior
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Class A / RV chassis
- 38’ feet in Length
- 22,000 GVWR
- Ford – Super Duty w/ Triton V-10 and 4 speed automatic transmission
- Front and Rear AC units
- 3 slide outs
- Heavy duty flooring throughout
- On board generator
- 4 data entry stations – convert to a full sized conference table
- Large Flat screen monitor in conference area
- VGA cables for laptop presentations
- 3G Wireless capabilities
- Interior and exterior Cat 5 High Speed data network
- 4 full bunk beds with individual DVD Players and headphones in each
- 4 upright lockers for assigned personnel
- Separate Project Managers office in rear
- On-board washer and dryer
- Full size stove, microwave and refrigerator with Ice maker
- Exterior storage compartments
- Pass Through equipment storage with full width truck compartment
Please call us at +1 (281) 320 9796 for more information if you are intested in securing these vehicles for your use.
|
