Area Contingency Plan Scorecard

ABSTRACT Area Contingency Plans (ACPs) are generally evaluated using basic checklists designed to ensure completeness rather than to evaluate content. This approach encourages an increase in plan size, not plan quality, since only a plan that omits something is likely to be rejected (Abordaif, 1997). If an AC? is in the required format and contains masses of miscellaneous information, the prevailing method of assessment deems the plan a success. However, based on a review of a number of ACPs, many plans do not prepare the response community to accomplish tasks that are critical to success during a complex spill. The poster presentation proposes that the planning process should be focused on what we call “Critical Success Factors.” Critical success factors are described as the “things that must be done for the response to be considered a success.”