Thousands of incidents occur each year in which oil or chemicals are released into the environment as a result of accidents or natural disasters. Spills into our coastal waters, whether accidental or intentional, can harm people and the environment and cause substantial disruption of marine transportation with potential widespread economic impacts.

NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) Emergency Response Division (ERD) (formerly Hazardous Materials Response Division, or HAZMAT) provides scientific expertise to support an incident response and helps the OR&R Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) initiate a natural resource damage assessment. This integrated approach provides for an efficient and effective response, minimizing the harm to people, reducing the negative impacts to the economy, and enhancing environmental recovery.

Under the National Contingency Plan, NOAA has responsibility for providing scientific support to the Federal On-Scene Commander (FOSC) for oil and hazardous material spills. NOAA may also be activated under the National Response Plan Emergency Support Function 10 to support the coordinated federal response to incidents of national significance involving release of dangerous contaminants. To support these mandates, ERD provides 24-hour, seven-day-a-week response to spill events. NOAA Scientific Support Coordinators (SSCs) coordinate scientific information and provide critical information to the FOSC. A multidisciplinary team of ERD scientists, including oceanographers, modelers, biologists, chemists, and geologists, are based in Seattle and support the SSCs during spill events, as well as in drills, exercises, and contingency planning. ERD SSCs are strategically located around the country, often within U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) offices, providing local services to a range of users in public and private sectors.

Emergency Response Division services include:

• Supporting emergency response and restoration activities
  
• Assisting in the development of contingency plans
  
• Improving response policies and enhancing readiness by representing the Department of Commerce on the National Response Team and Regional Response Teams
  
• Developing tools for local decision makers
  
• Training local responders

ERD facilitates spill prevention, preparedness, response, and restoration at national and local levels. By working at both national and local levels on planning activities, ERD provides expertise on such issues as dispersant use, alternate response technologies, response countermeasures, assessment of natural resource injury, and emergency restoration actions. ERD's scope encompasses the entire U.S. coastline, including the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii. In the last 25 years, ERD has responded to virtually every major marine spill in the U.S. In addition, ERD's expertise is frequently sought internationally. While oil and chemical spills are the major focus, ERD also provides scientific and trajectory support for incidents ranging from downed aircraft to coastal storms.