Background

USDA is the steward of 193 million acres of National Forests and Grasslands. Over 300,000 miles of roadways and rail systems criss-cross these public lands. Many National Forests feature "checker-board" type ownership where Federal land intermingles with private lands. Additionally, the National Forests serve multiple interests including resource extraction for minerals, oil, and gas. Consequently, USDA must be prepared for incidents where, releases of hazardous substances or oil spills occur on USDA managed lands. USDA also plays a critical role in responding to emergencies by providing technical and logistics assistance to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard.

Responsibilities Include:

• Represent USDA on the National Response Team.
• Participate on the Regional Response Teams and assist the Forest Service in representing USDA.
• Represent USDA on the Department of Homeland Security National Response Plan Emergency Support Function #10 (Oil and Hazardous Substances) and assist USDA on ESF #11 Agriculture and Natural Resources.
• Provide information and training to emergency support personnel as needed and maintain current contact information.
• Provide personnel availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergency response activation for the National Response Plan, the National Response Team and the Intra-Departmental emergency efforts of the USDA Office of Homeland Security and the USDA Operations Center.