Hull’s Environmental Services (Hull’s) recently executed a five-year agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to provide emergency response cleanup services for the Northwest, Northeast and Central Regions of the FDEP. According to the contract, “Hull’s will respond to any situation determined by the Department to represent a threat to the public or the environment of the State of Florida on an ‘as needed’ basis, twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, fifty-two (52) weeks a year.”
Pursuant to sections 403.1655, 376.09, and 376.305, Florida Statute (F.S.), and Chapter 62-107, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), FDEP is authorized to contract with private independent vendors to aid in responding to emergency events which pose an environmental or public health threat when the responsible party is unknown or fails to act in a timely or appropriate manner.
Within FDEP is the Office of Emergency Response (OER), which responds to environmental pollution threats in every form, such as incidents involving petroleum spills caused by vehicle accidents, chemical plant explosions, and coastal oil spills. OER provides technical and on-site assistance to ensure threats to the environment and human safety are quickly and effectively addressed. In addition, OER works with local public safety officials and emergency response contractors to minimize threats to the environment.
The reportable incident criteria defined by the FDEP provides very clear descriptions as to what types of incidents and scenarios might produce an emergency response: weather events like tornadoes, lightning strikes or flooding; transportation events like commercial vehicle/vessels accidents, train derailments or aircraft incidents; forest, structure or other fires with substantial amounts of chemical or petroleum products; radiological events such as nuclear reactor incidents or suspected radioactive materials, and other general conditions that can occur such as public water contamination, sinkholes or national security concerns.
Hull’s Executive Vice President, Tony Payne, commented on the recent award, “It’s really an exciting announcement for us. With four locations in Florida, it’s our backyard and we certainly take great pride in knowing the State of Florida has entrusted Hull’s Environmental Services for the next five years as an emergency response cleanup contractor for incidents that pose a risk to the environment or general public. We are fully prepared to provide the labor, supervision, equipment, materials, and expertise required to fulfill our obligations.”
