Emergency Response Section

(CLICK HERE to go to the Emergency Response Section Home Page)

The Emergency Response Section’s staff of two, in the Hazardous Waste Division, coordinates with the private sector and other government agencies to contain and remove releases of oil and chemical contaminants.

In recent years, staff representatives of this section have been named to several environment-related boards and study groups, including:

• Arkansas Abandoned Pesticide Advisory Group
• Arkansas Counter-terrorism Study Group
• Arkansas HazMat Certification Board
• Certified Crop Advisory Board
• Homeland Security Advisory Committee
• Integrated Processing Team for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program at the Pine Bluff Arsenal
• Influenza Pandemic Planning
• TransCAER board, a transportation group including private transporters of hazardous materials.

Section coordinators also help administer a fund for cleanup and disposal of chemicals or oil that cannot be traced to a source and that threaten human health or the environment. The fund is activated by approval of the Director and is used about ten times a year.