|
 Printer-Friendly Version
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8151
A plan that improves responses to oil spills and hazardous
chemical releases is receiving special recognition from the Clinton
Administration.
Vice President Gore's prestigious Hammer Award is being
presented to representatives of the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) and other federal and state agencies and private
organizations on Monday, Nov. 18, in ceremonies at 1:30 p.m. in the Dow
Chemical Co. facility in Freeport, Texas. Mary Mozingo, a representative of the
National Performance Review, which supervises reinvention efforts for the Vice
President, will present the award for development of the Integrated Contingency
Plan.
The plan is a guide for reacting to spills and releases
under existing federal laws and regulations. It was developed under the
auspices of the National Response Team (NRT), a federal inter-agency group with
responsibility for establishing national policies and procedures to prepare and
respond to emergencies involving oil and hazardous chemicals. The integrated
plan is designed to consolidate various agency response requirements, improve
coordination, avoid duplication, and simplify response planning.
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health Joseph A. Dear, said, "The new plan makes it easier for businesses and
government agencies to do what is necessary to deal with emergencies involving
oil spills and the release of hazardous chemicals. Implementation of this plan
will save lives. It is another example of how federal reinvention efforts
benefit the public."
The Hammer Award recognizes excellence in reinventing
government. Vice President Gore established the award as part of the National
Performance Review -- the national program to make government work better and
cost less. This is the eighth Hammer Award OSHA has received for its
reinvention programs since June, 1994.
In addition to OSHA personnel, staff members from the
Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of
Interior, the Department of Transportation, General Services Administration,
the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Department of
Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Association, the Department of
Health and Human Services, and the State of Texas will receive Hammer Awards
for their participation in developing the plan.
Hammer Awards also will be presented to representatives of
Dow Chemical, Phillips Petroleum Co., International Bird Rescue, Phillip
Cartner Co., Inc., the Inner City Fund, and Ecology and Environment, the
private sector organizations that assisted in the plan.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
| |
|
