Dan Kildee: “The National Response Center is a joint operation between the U.S. Coast Guard, the EPA, and other agencies. It is the…”

“The National Response Center is a joint operation between the U.S. Coast Guard, the EPA, and other agencies. It is the sole Federal point of contact for reporting hazardous substance releases and oil spills. Essentially, it is our Nation's 911 for dangerous spills, staffed by the Coast Guard 24 hours a day, passing on reports to relevant national response teams. Those teams then go to the site of a spill, assess the situation, determine the best way to mitigate exposure, and quickly clean up the spill. Often it is the Coast Guard being called upon to clean up a spill when it involves surface water. Back in March I visited a Coast Guard station in my district to learn more about their operations. While I was there, we talked quite a bit about a serious deficiency in their capabilities, a deficiency that came to light during one of the greatest environmental disasters that our State has faced, and the chairman is quite aware of this. In 2010, there was a large spill on the Kalamazoo River. It was the largest inland oil spill in the history of the U.S., in fact. The Coast Guard was called upon to help with those cleanup efforts.…”