When oil is spilled, it triggers a series of ac-tions that are common to all spills and which have been categorized into the following operational phases.

1. Discovery and notification.

2. Evaluation and initiation of action.

3. Containment and countermeasures.

4. Recovery, mitigation, and disposal.

5. Cleaning and repositioning equipment.

6. Documentation and cost recovery.

Spill phases do not necessarily follow in sequence, but may and generally do, overlap. Figure 8-1 shows this overlap and summarizes some of the actions in each phase of an oil spill. Spill control operations can last anywhere from a few hours to several weeks and individual spills do not re-quire the same degree of implementation for all the operational phases.

Phase IDiscovery and Notification

Discovery of an oil spill usually results from one or more of the following: (1) casual observa-tion by personnel or the public, (2) result of monitoring and surveillance program, or (3) report made by the spiller. Whatever the mode of discovery, all Navy related spills must be reported.

Phase IIEvaluation And Initiation of Action

Upon notification and inspection of the spill, the Navy OSCDR must evaluate the following: (1) magnitude and severity of the spill, (2) poten-tial impacts of the spill including hazard to life or property, (3) available response time, and (4) capability of local resources to handle the spill. Based upon this evaluation, the OSCDR should initiate local containment action and notify the Navy OSC. The OSC may either alert Regional Response Teams (RRT) or request assistance for spills which are beyond the local Navy response unit capability. The OSC will also evaluate the effectiveness of measures applied to the spill and maintain a detailed log of spill related activities. Spill samples should be taken as soon as possible after the spill and analyzed in accord with accept-able procedure. Data should be recorded for possible future use.