About Us

 

RRT III is the federal component of the National Response System for the states of West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia.

RRT III is a planning, policy and coordinating body which does not respond directly to the scene of a spill or release. It provides assistance as requested by the On-Scene Coordinator during an incident. For a thorough description of both the National Response System and the responsibilities of Regional Response Teams, please visit the National Response Team's site.

In addition to the Executive Committee and the Inland Area Committee, RRT III currently has many active work groups. They are: the Spill Countermeasures Workgroup, the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) Workgroup, the Information Management Workgroup, the RRT Outreach Workgroup, the Regional Contingency Plan (RCP) Rewrite Workgroup, Wildlife Response Workgroup, the RRT Relationship with Area Committees (AC) and State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs) Workgroup, and the Training Workgroups. These workgroups are concentrating on specific areas of the RRT III Goals.

There are 13 Regional Response Teams (RRTs), one for each of ten federal regions, plus one for Alaska, one for the Caribbean, and one for the Pacific Basin. Each RRT maintains a Regional Contingency Plan (RCP) and has state, as well as federal government, representation. EPA and the Coast Guard co-chair the RRTs. Like the NRT, the standing RRTs are planning, policy and coordinating bodies and do not respond directly to the scene. The RRT provides assistance as requested by the On-Scene Coordinator during an incident.

To access a RRT Home Page, please select from the following map
by clicking within the appropriate region:

Regional Response Teams

There are thirteen Regional Response Teams (RRTs) in the U.S., each representing a particular geographic region (including the Caribbean and the Pacific Basin). RRTs are composed of representatives from field offices of the federal agencies that make up the National Response Team, as well as state representatives. The four major responsibilities of RRTs are: (1) response; (2) planning; (3) training; and (4) coordination.

Response

RRTs provide a forum for federal agency field offices and state agencies to exchange information about their abilities to respond to OSCs' requests for assistance. As with the NRT, RRT members do not respond directly to releases or spills, but may be called upon to provide technical advice, equipment, or manpower to assist with a response.

Planning

Each RRT develops a Regional Contingency Plan to ensure that the roles of federal and state agencies during an actual incident are clear. Following an incident, the RRT reviews the OSCs' reports to identify problems with the Region's response to the incident and improves the plan as necessary.

Training

Federal agencies that are members of the RRTs provide simulation exercises of Regional plans to test the abilities of federal, state, and local agencies to coordinate their emergency response activities. Any major problems identified as a result of these exercises may be addressed and changed in the Regional Contingency Plan so the same problems do not arise during an actual incident.

Coordination

The RRTs identify available resources from each federal agency and state within their regions. Such resources include equipment, guidance, training, and technical expertise for dealing with chemical releases or oil spills. When there are too few resources in a region, the RRT can request assistance from federal or state authorities to ensure that sufficient resources will be available during an incident. This coordination by the RRTs assures that resources are used as wisely as possible, and that no Region is lacking what it needs to protect human health and the environment from the effects of a chemical release or oil spill.

last update:  August 25, 2008