Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Mitigation activities are designed to reduce the probability of an event and/or
the risk posed by a hazard, in this case, an oil spill. Preparedness is defined as
actions taken in advance of an event that improve the effectiveness of the response in
the event of an emergency. A response to an emergency involves actions taken
immediately before, during and/or directly after an event occurs to minimize the
impact of the event. Actions taken in the recovery phase are designed to return
conditions to 'normal' as quickly as possible. Each emergency management phase
does not exist independently of the others as they often overlap. Cova (
1999
)notes
that in the context of a GIS, it may be appropriate to consider preparedness and
recovery as its own combined phase since geospatial tools developed in the prepar-
edness phase are frequently used in the response to an emergency.
Contingency planning for oil spills follows the same four phases and in fact,
done well, integrates into emergency response planning for other hazards, both
natural and man-made. Depending on the location of the spill, local fire, police
and EMS response personnel are normally the first on scene. Oil Spill Response
Organizations, (aka OSROs), utility personnel, NGOs such as the Red Cross and
other organizations involved in emergency response support are contacted as
deemed necessary. In the event an incident is beyond the capacity of local response
organizations, additional response resources from state and federal sources can
be called in. This process is documented in the area plan.
Conversations with persons responsible for emergency management or pre-
paredness activities at the county and regional level indicated that speaking gener-
ally, emergency managers and emergency management agency staff are aware of
the benefits that come from using geospatial technologies for incident planning
and response. However, whether from institutional inertia, a lack of understanding
of the potential benefits of using geospatial technology, or a “that's not the way
we do it around here” attitude, geospatial technologies are often relegated to the
task of producing paper maps for reference rather than being used as a tool that
can assist an emergency manager in the effective management and analysis of a
dynamic situation. Gunes and Ertug (
2000
), p. 137) notes that “GIS technology
brings to the user the ability to integrate, store, process and output geographic
information.” Martin et al. (
2004
, p. 239) observed that “certain relationships and
operational trends are more easily conveyed in a geographic context than in a
traditional tabular format.” Both make convincing cases for using geospatial tech-
nology as an effective tool in all phases of the emergency management process.
At present there is standard but limited data and few graphic representations
of booming strategies for protection strategies in the western Lake Erie plan.
Ultimately, an important goal of this project is to improve the clarity and usability
of the containment/protection strategy maps detailed in the Western Lake Erie Area
Plan (Dean
2009
). Following a presentation of the protection strategy mapping
approach from various locations to the Western Lake Erie Area Committee, input
was solicited from responders and managers regarding what data they felt are
required in response map layouts and which of the protection strategy maps
reviewed best met the needs and goals of the committee. The consensus was that
a combination of elements from maps produced by the Northwest Area Committee
