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Tools to Manage a Response

Incident Command System

ICS is a standardized on-scene emergency management system specifically designed to allow its user(s) to adopt an integrated organizational structure equal to the complexity and demands of single or multiple incidents, without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries.

This approach:
  • integrates the party responsible for the spill, the state, and the Coast Guard in a unified command structure that expands according to need, and
  • establishes a pre-determined decision-making process and a common language that significantly reduces confusion and misunderstandings among personnel from different organizations.
This structure has been adapted by industry and government agencies to define and coordinate their roles and responsibilities in the event of a spill. The Incident Command System has been tested and practiced extensively in drills.

The National Incident Management System is the response management system (mandated by the federal government for all emergency responses) used by most plan holders and approved by the Northwest Area Committee.

Additional resources

​​​​​Geographic Response Plans are intended to help first responders avoid the initial confusion that generally accompanies any spill. They prioritize resources to be protected and allow for immediate and proper action. The GRPs are published separately, but are an integral part of the Northwest Area Contingency Plan.

The Northwest Geographic Response Plans are produced jointly by the Northwest Area Committee led by EPA Region Ten, USCG Marine Safety Office Portland, USCG Marine Safety Office Puget Sound, Idaho Bureau of Hazardous Materials, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and Washington Department of Ecology. Oregon DEQ maintains the master copy of the five Oregon coastal GRPs.

Explore all of Oregon's GRP Strategies in this interactive map.

Coastal (North, Central, and South Coast)

The comment period for the draft updated South Oregon Coast Geographic Response Plan is now open.

The 30-day comment period will be open Sept. 10 through Oct. 12, 2026. 

The Geographic Response Plan is also available as an interactive map. 

The draft Central and North Coast GRPs will be ready for review soon. Until then, we recommend using the updated strategies in the interactive map linked above. GIS data for all three coastal GRPs is also available for download on ArcGIS Online.  

For reference, the old plans are available here: 

Columbia River and Lower Willamette River  
Washington Department of Ecology leads the maintenance of these plans.

GIS data for all WA Ecology's GRPs is available here.

Clackamas River 
This plan was independently developed by Clackamas River Water Providers. DEQ has not validated it with natural resource agencies. As with all GRPs, this plan is in effect until superseded by an incident action plan approved by the Incident Commander or Unified Command.

McKenzie River 
This plan was independently developed by Clackamas River Water Providers. DEQ has not validated it with natural resource agencies. As with all GRPs, this plan is in effect until superseded by an incident action plan approved by the Incident Commander or Unified Command.

For More Information

Please contact Don Pettit, 503-229-5373, or toll free in Oregon: 1-800-452-4011 x5373

Contact

Kimberlee Van Patten
Senior Emergency Response Coordinator
Office: 503-229-5256
Cell: 971-563-8034