National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan

The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, more commonly called the National Contingency Plan or NCP, is the United States federal government's blueprint for responding to oil spills and hazardous substance releases. It documents national response capability and is intended to promote overall coordination among the hierarchy of responders and contingency plans.

The first National Contingency Plan was developed and published in 1968 in response to a massive oil spill from the oil tanker Torrey Canyon off the coast of England that occurred a year earlier. More than 37 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the water and caused massive environmental damage. To avoid the problems faced by response officials involved in the incident, U.S. officials developed a coordinated approach to cope with potential spills in U.S. waters. The 1968 plan provided the first comprehensive system of accident reporting, spill containment, and cleanup. It also established a response headquarters, a national reaction team, and regional reaction teams (precursors to the current National Response Team and Regional Response Teams).

Congress has broadened the scope of the National Contingency Plan over the years. As required by the Clean Water Act of 1972, the NCP was revised the following year to include a framework for responding to hazardous substance spills as well as oil discharges. Following the passage of Superfund legislation in 1980, the NCP was broadened to cover releases at hazardous waste sites requiring emergency removal actions. Over the years, additional revisions have been made to the NCP to keep pace with the enactment of legislation. The latest revisions to the NCP were finalized in 1994 to reflect the oil spill provisions of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

Under the National Contingency Plan, federal agencies should: (1) Plan for emergencies and develop procedures for addressing oil discharges and releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants; (2) Coordinate their planning, preparedness, and response activities with one another; (3) Coordinate their planning, preparedness, and response activities with affected states, local governments, and private entities; and (4) Make available those facilities or resources that may be useful in a response situation, consistent with agency authorities and capabilities.

Once a response has been triggered, the USCG or USEPA "is authorized to initiate and, in the case of a discharge posing a substantial threat to public health or welfare of the United States is required to initiate and direct, appropriate response activities when the Administrator or Secretary determines that any oil or CWA hazardous substance is discharged or there is a substantial threat of such discharge from any vessel or offshore or onshore facility into or on the navigable waters of the United States, on the adjoining shorelines to the navigable waters, into or on the waters of the exclusive economic zone, or that may affect natural resources belonging to, appertaining to, or under exclusive management authority of the United States". The federal On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) "directs response efforts and coordinates all other efforts at the scene of a discharge or release"