Rusty Joins, WVDEP, Chief, Homeland Security and Emergency Response

Transcription

1 Rusty Joins, WVDEP, Chief, Homeland Security and Emergency Response Brief History of Emergency Management Eighth Century B.C., Ancient Rome used slaves to provide a free fire service Property insurance companies formed fire departments following the Great Fire of London in 1666 The Cincinnati Fire Department, formed in 1853 is the oldest paid fully professional fire department in the united states Incident Command System (ICS) was adapted in National Emergency Management System established The first ERG was issued by DOT in

2 January 9, 2014 Freedom Industries MCHM Spill 2

3 Freedom Industries Chemical Spill by the numbers 46,000 gallon above ground storage tank Tank # inch hole 2.500, 5,000, 7,500 or 10,000 gallons of MCHM spilled the estimate kept changing WVAWC Charleston, WV water treatment plant situated 1.5 miles downstream WVAWC Charleston, WV 50 million gallon per day capacity 100,000 WVAWC costumers 300,000 WVAWC users, 16% of the population of West Virginia 9 counties impacted Water outage lasted 8 days Approximately 2,500 samples finished water collected and analyzed FEMA provided 7,000,000 liters of water and 130,000 meals 3

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5 January 9, 2014 WVDEP Office of Air Quality investigated an odor complaint DEP-OAQ discovered a release DEP-OAQ contacted WVDEP Homeland Security and Emergency Response Unit DEP-HSER contacted West Virginia American Water Company and reported the release DEP-HSER personnel responded and observed a release from the vicinity of Tank # 396 The material was flowing in a north east direction toward a low area inside the containment An old storm drain pipe that carried surface water across the site, under the general vicinity of Tank# 396, and directly to the river. It was believed that the pipe was deteriorated and the flow line was rusted through allowing the material which had leaked from the tank to infiltrate the porous soil and enter the pipe which lead directly to the river January 9, 2014, continued The material was flowing through a section of the containment wall, over the embankment, into rubble fill and toward the Elk River. Facility representatives were directed to create an interceptor trench to prevent any further discharge to the river. WVAWC added additional carbon filter media to their system to hopefully prevent the material from entering the treatment plant and distribution system. It was discovered that by late afternoon the addition activated carbon was not effective at fully containing the spill. At around 5:00 pm WVAWC along with local and state officials discussed the issue and to prepare a public service announcement advising customers to do not use the water. Governor Tomblin issues a State of Emergency for 5 counties. Do not use tap water for drinking, cooking, washing or bathing 5

6 January 10, 2014 DEP Issues Order to Freedom Industries to begin removal of all material within 24 hours President Obama signs West Virginia Emergency Declaration. Under Title V of the Stafford Act to coordinate with State officials, provide support and protect property public health and safety. January 11, 2014 State of emergency expanded to include 4 additional counties January 17, 2014 Do not use for the last zone lifted January 24, 2014 DEP issues order to Freedom Industries to dismantle, remove and properly manage all tanks associated piping and machinery by 3/15/14 6

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11 Spill Contributing Factors Location Design Deteriorated infrastructure Unmaintained containment area Old deteriorated storage tank Recording keeping Factors Impacting The Response Weather, cold, snow, ice Physical hazards; slip, trip, fall Small facility a lot of continued activity Cant boom effectively where ice is involved Oh by the way, tank 396 also contained PPH 11

12 Results Introduction of legislation to regulate Above Ground Storage Tanks SB 373 which was amended by SB 423 Creation of the WV Public Water System Supply Study Commission West Virginia Testing Assessment Project (WVTAP) Partners during the Response State of West Virginia Office of the Governor West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources WV National Guard West Virginia State Police West Virginia OSHA WV Attorney General USEPA US Fish and Wildlife National Weather Service FBI US Coast Guard Chemical Safety Board ORSANCO OSHA 12

13 Planning and Partnership Train, plan and meet your partners Develop relationships Expand your contacts Everything you do before an incident will make the response easier 13

14 Current activities at Freedom Industries First bankrupt facility entered into the voluntary cleanup program in the State of WV $2.5 million budget Tanks have been removed Water is managed onsite, collected, filtered and trucked off site and discharged to a POTW Assessing the extent of contamination 14

15 Questions? 15

16 Rusty Joins, WVDEP, Chief, Homeland Security and Emergency Response 16