Section 173-182-540 - Planning standards for wildlife responsePlan holders must plan to respond to and care for wildlife injured or endangered by oil spills. Wildlife response actions shall be conducted in accordance with applicable federal and state regulations and the Northwest Area Contingency Plan.
(1) The plan must include contact information for any PRC or WRSP, available under contract or other approvable means, and that maintain the required equipment, personnel, permits, materials, and supplies, for conducting wildlife response operations in accordance with the capabilities detailed below.(2) The plan shall describe the equipment, personnel, and resources for wildlife response, including: (a) Equipment and personnel that may be used to support an initial impact assessment and wildlife reconnaissance via air, land, or water in the spill area.(b) Equipment and personnel for whale reconnaissance, if these animals may be present in the areas the plan holder operates or transits, including: (i) Contact information for providers of aircraft capable of supporting aerial reconnaissance, and deterrence, beyond the immediate spill area to locate whales, which may include southern resident killer whales.(ii) Contact information for persons or organizations that can identify whales, which may include southern resident killer whales, from aerial observation and support field reconnaissance activities.(c) Equipment and personnel that may be used to deter the types of wildlife likely to be found within the areas where the plan holder operates or transits, including the types and staging locations of the deterrent equipment. This equipment must have the capability to arrive on-scene within twelve hours of spill notification.(d) Based on the areas the plan holder operates or transits, equipment and personnel to conduct monitoring and deterrence operations to prevent whales, which may include southern resident killer whales, from encountering spilled oil. The plan shall include contact information for a list of vessels, which may be whale watching vessels, which have been vetted, trained, and equipped to support killer whale deterrent operations. The accuracy of the contact information will be verified in tabletop drills. The deployment capability will be tested in multiple plan holder deployment drills.(e) Equipment and supplies for mobile field stabilization activities, such as, conducting the initial health assessment and treatment of impacted wildlife prior to transport to an oiled wildlife rehabilitation facility. The mobile field stabilization asset must be enclosed, a minimum of one hundred eighty square feet, lighted and heated, and capable of arriving on-scene within twelve hours of spill notification.(f) Wildlife rehabilitation facilities, space, and equipment suitable to conduct wildlife rehabilitation activities. Wildlife rehabilitation facilities shall meet the WDFW rehabilitation requirements detailed in WAC 220-450-100. The plan holder must have access under contract or other approvable means to wildlife rehabilitation spaces and necessary supporting supplies and equipment as described below. The facility spaces and equipment must have the capability to be strategically placed to support the response within twenty-four hours of spill notification. The facility space must meet the following minimum requirements: (i) A minimum of two thousand four hundred square feet of space to house and treat wildlife. This space shall have the ability to be configured to support intake, prewash stabilization, wash/rinse, drying, and isolation/intensive care activities as needed. A minimum of four wash and rinse stations will have the ability to be located within this space.(ii) A minimum of one thousand square feet of space to support rehabilitation activities. This space shall have the ability to be configured to support animal food preparation, medical lab, dry storage, morgue and necropsy areas.(iii) Pools with a minimum of one thousand two hundred square feet of surface area are required. Pool dimensions will be such that no point in a pool will be greater than eight feet from a side. Pools will have the ability to be filled with freshwater to a minimum depth of three feet.(iv) Access to laundry and cold/freezer storage capacity to support wildlife response. These spaces may be located offsite.(v) Include a diagram of how the equipment could be configured and provide details about at least one strategic staging location for the rehabilitation facility.(3) The plan holder shall have contracted access to wildlife response service provider personnel that are appropriately trained to staff and manage the wildlife response within an incident command structure. At a minimum, one person that could have arrived in state within the first twelve hours of spill notification to coordinate with state, federal, tribal, and other response partners to initiate wildlife impact assessment, reconnaissance, deterrence, capture, stabilization, and rehabilitation operations as needed.(4) The plan holder shall have contracted access to wildlife response service provider personnel to conduct and manage the various field aspects of a wildlife response including impact assessment, reconnaissance, deterrence, capture, stabilization, and rehabilitation. At a minimum, two personnel that could have arrived within the first twelve hours of spill notification to support these activities. An additional seven personnel, for a total of nine that could have arrived within twenty-four hours of spill notification to support these activities.Wash. Admin. Code § 173-182-540
Amended by WSR 20-01-165, Filed 12/18/2019, effective 1/18/2020Statutory Authority: Chapters 88.46, 90.48, 90.56 RCW, and 2011 c 122 . 13-01-054 (Order 11-06), § 173-182-540, filed 12/14/12, effective 1/14/13. Statutory Authority: Chapters 88.46, 90.56, and 90.48 RCW. 06-20-035 (Order 00-03), § 173-182-540, filed 9/25/06, effective 10/26/06.