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Regional Offices - Anchorage
General Information
Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance Staff
Principal Program AreasPrincipal program areas of the Regional Office include: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) The Office assures compliance with NEPA through review of environmental documents and by providing environmental compliance consultation with bureaus in Alaska. Federal Project Reviews The Office manages the Department's technical and policy reviews of the environmental and natural resource aspects of non-Interior projects and proposals through NEPA, FERC, and other environmental reviews in Alaska. Emergency Response The Office coordinates, provides leadership for, and promotes consistency in the Department's responses to incidents affecting natural and cultural resources and historic properties, lands and facilities under the Department's jurisdiction during and following oil discharges, hazardous substance releases, and natural disasters. This includes removals at hazardous materials sites under Superfund in Alaska and representation of the Department on the Alaska Regional Response Team. Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration The Office assists in the management of the Department's responsibilities as a natural resources trustee under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, Superfund) and various oil spill liability statutes as needed to support bureau responsibilities in Alaska. [Link: NRDAR Program Office ] Hazardous Materials Management The Office may assist headquarters office to coordinate and oversee all remedial, corrective, and management actions of the Department involving hazardous material responsibilities under a variety of Federal and State statutes. Staff Support to Secretary The Office, through the headquarters office, advises the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget, and other top Departmental officials about policies, programs, and individual actions affecting natural resources and environmental quality in Alaska. Canada/United States Trans-Boundary Contingency Planning The Office co-chairs with Environment Canada, Wildlife Response and Resource Agency working groups, which prepare and maintain guidelines to address joint resource-agency response activities in Dixon Entrance for oil discharges or hazardous substance releases. [Link:http://www.akrrt.org/CANUS_DixonEntrance ] Wildlife Protection Guidelines The Office chairs the Alaska Regional Response Team Wildlife Protection Working Group, which prepares and maintains statewide guidelines for addressing wildlife response during an oil discharge or hazardous substance release. [Link:http://www.akrrt.org/plans.shtml#OtherPs ] Historic Properties Protection The Office chairs the Alaska Regional Response Team Cultural Resources Working Group, which prepares and maintains the statewide guidelines for addressing historic properties following an oil discharge or hazardous substance release [Link: http://www.akrrt.org/plans.shtml#OtherPs ] Sensitive Areas The Office chairs the statewide Sensitive Areas Work Group, which prepares the sensitive areas section of the Alaska federal/state subarea contingency plans for responding to an oil discharge or hazardous substance release. [Link: http://www.akrrt.org/plans.shtml] Geographic Response Strategies The Office plays a key leadership role in the development of geographic response strategies (site-specific response plans to protect priority sensitive areas), which are part of the federal/state subarea contingency plans for responding to an oil discharge or hazardous substance release. [Link: http://www.asgdc.state.ak.us/maps/cplans/subareas.html] Disaster Preparedness The Office leads a DOI disaster preparedness and response program that focuses on saving lives and property of the approximately 3,000 DOI employees located in 30 communities throughout Alaska, and then on providing appropriate assistance to other entities in accordance with the National Response Framework. |
