Contact: Carol Singleton, Department of Fish and Game, 916-539-6124

DFG's Oil Spill Division Receives Emergency Services Award

The Department of Fish and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) will be awarded for contributions in oil spill emergency management. The California Emergency Services Association (CESA) has selected OSPR to receive the State CESA Gold Award at its annual conference in South Lake Tahoe on Oct. 7.

OSPR was nominated by CESA's Coastal Chapter for its work on the San Francisco Bay and Delta Area Contingency Plan (ACP), a comprehensive document used for managing oil spills. State and federal laws require that ACPs be developed and maintained in designated coastal areas in order to provide the best achievable protection to the public and environment in the event of an oil spill. Each year, the CESA state board reviews exceptional nominations from each of the member chapters and picks the most deserving to receive statewide recognition.

"This award acknowledges the continued hard work and partnership of OSPR and the entire emergency response community in the Bay Area," said Steve Edinger, OSPR Administrator.

OSPR meets quarterly with the U.S. Coast Guard and other stakeholders to update ACPs to ensure information is current and that best practices are being utilized. In the past two years, the San Francisco Bay and Delta ACP has undergone extensive scrutiny and revision to address such issues as the use of convergent volunteers in an oil spill, local government representation in the unified command and sensitive site protection strategies.