affected. Therefore, if some effort is directed towards individual contact 

 with the people who live in the area that is affected by the spill, fewer 

 problems will result. 



The second way of maintaining a localized contact is through governmental 

 officials. One of the first things we do when we arrive on the scene, after 

 we establish emergency telephone service (which takes about 12 hours), and 

 get the telephone numbers out to the media, is to call all the local govern- 

 ment representatives. This includes: the fire chief, the police chief, the 

 mayor, local Congressmen and their offices, and the Washington offices of the 

 Senators. We indicate that the U.S. Coast Guard, the EPA, Fish and Wildlife 

 Service (FWS) are all on the scene and there is State representation from the 

 Water Quality Board. We give these government officials the basic informa- 

 tion and our local telephone number. We indicate that if they have any 

 problems they should call us and we will try to answer their questions. Or, 

 we offer to give them a tour if they want to come down to the scene. By 

 doing this, people get the idea that you are concerned and are incorporating 

 them into the response effort. Perhaps they feel like they are a little more 

 important. 



When we talk with the local officials such as the sheriff, we indicate 

 that the Federal Government is calling him, advising him of what is happening 

 on a daily basis. He then is able to answer the questions that he gets on 

 his normal route during the day. If you try to communicate in this manner, 

 the entire mood of a small community is more cooperative. If you can change 

 this mood from the negative to the positive, you have done a lot. The OSC 

 is going to have a much easier time, fewer phone calls from the public, and 

 you will receive much more good press. 



I would like to talk briefly about contingency plans. Any contingency 

 plan should include public information. This is the system that we follow 

 when we arrive on the scene. First, make contact with the telephone company 

 to have telephone lines installed. Then, give the telephone number to AP and 

 UPI in an initial press release. Subsequently, contact the media and the 

 local governmental officials in the area. We try to establish the Federal 

 presence and set up one point of contact for information. Try to avoid having 

 five or six different people talk about one incident. If all the information 

 can flow through one information channel so that the OSC and his Public 

 Information Officer know what is being said, they can correct anything that 

 is said which is inappropriate or not accurate. Try to limit the talking on 

 the scene to the Public Information Officer or the OSC. This does not mean 

 that the U.S. Coast Guard or EPA should not be talking about fish and wildlife 

 problems, not at all. But if the media has a question about fish and wildlife 

 then the Public Information Officer will introduce the FWS representative to 

 the media. The Public Information Officer will listen to what is being said, 

 so if the questions are asked again he can answer them similarly as the FWS 

 representative. That way the same information is going out to everybody and 

 there are no contradictory reports. 



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