HOGANSBURG — The St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council environment division is taking part in a national initiative to create a coordinated spill response plan and is looking for community members with river access to help it out.

Matthew Thompson of the environment division said the council is seeking property owners in Akwesasne with boat launches who would allow the tribe to use their access to get boats and equipment into the water in case of a spill of any size on the St. Lawrence River.

The river access will be compiled in new a resource inventory/spill response plan called a geographic response plan, or GRP.

“We’re really hoping to get the community’s help on this,” Mr. Thompson said. “We don’t want to intrude on private property. With someone’s help, we could prevent a lot of bad oil chemicals from reaching the shoreline.”

Mr. Thompson said deploying close to a spill can be key to containing it to the smallest possible area. He said in addition to watercraft and personnel, responders would have to get other materials to a potential spill site, such as booms and absorbents.

“If you’re on the river and you have a boat launch, dock or access to the water, or if there’s something in your area you want protected, such as an endangered species, we want to know about it,” Mr. Thompson said.

He said landowners will not be asked to store anything on their property, but the tribe will consider it if someone offers.

The GRP will be designed by the environment division and coordinated with larger entities, such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the St. Lawrence Seaway, according to Mr. Thompson. He said the plans are being written locally and coordinated nationally so people who know an area best are coming up with a GRP that addresses its needs. For example, someone who has lived and worked in Akwesasne his whole life might be aware of a particular 100-foot stretch of shoreline that is an endangered turtle habitat when others might not have that knowledge.

Mr. Thompson said the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 raised national awareness of the need for coordinated response plans.

Anyone willing to allow the environment division to use his or her boat launch can call 1 (518) 358-5937.

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