Oil spill responders need access to a lot of information, such as is there sufficient space at dock facilities, enough draft to accommodate response vessels, places to hold community meetings, hospitals, and where they are located. It's true that this information can be found in a number of references such as the local yellow pages or often in the State/Federal Unified or Subarea Plans. Unfortunately, the manner in which information is compiled and made available often hinders, rather than helps, an oil spill response and can frustrate incident management personnel.
