・ Remote Sensing capability
・ In-Situ Burning
・ Dispersants
・ Oil/Water Separation Systems
・ Counter Measures Effectiveness
・ Bioremediation
・ Evaluation of Spill Effects
Spill Management
MSRC's Spill Management capability that was offered to its customers included the following areas of expertise:
・ Command & Control
・ Operations
・ Health & Safety
・ Planning
・ Logistics
・ Finance & Administration
・ Communications
・ Public Affairs
・ Government Affairs
・ Scientific & Technical Support
Structure/Budget
MSRC operated out of 5 geographic Regional Response Centers, 2 on the West coast, 2 on the East coast and one in the Gulf and from 21 pre-positioned equipment sites around the country. MSRC was designed to respond only to large oil spills that were beyond the capability of the local response infrastructure. MSRC did not provide plan citation or response capability to its customers for “Shoreline Cleanup.” At the end of the 5-year period, the total cost of MSRC had reached over US $900 million.
Catalyst for Change
As MSRC was being developed, other activities were occurring in the regulatory community and in industry tochange the U.S. approach to what was considered a necessary response capability in the U.S. In the regulatoryenvironment, the U.S. Coast Guard's rulemaking process proved to provide less rigorous standards than hadorigninally been anticipated after the enactment of OPA-90.
At the same time, some members of the oil industry who were the predominant funding companies for MSRC and MPA no longer felt a strict obligation under the law to maintain this kind of dedicated resource. This led tomany changes in the structure and composition of MSRC.
MSRC (1996 Onward)
MSRC realized that the changing regulatory and industry environments necessitated change within the organization.
Restructuring/New Budget
Most importantly, MSRC maintained its commitment to retaining the dedicated oil spill response capability that MSRC had established. During all the changes that have occurred at MSRC since the beginning of 1996, there has been no reduction in response equipment. To reduce costs and focus our services on those most desired for our customers. MSRC also eliminated offering Spill Management services. At the time, many of MSRC's customers had the capability to provide Spill Management through own in-house resources or had contracted with various organizations in the U.S. who provide these services. The loss of this service eliminated a redundancy that existed for many of our customers. Additionally, at the end of its 5-year program, MSRC eliminated its Research & Development program.
In January 1996 a new Senior Management Team took over the company and began to focus on continued customer awareness. By conducting customer surveys, holding customer meetings, and becoming more aware of
