The Oceania Regional Response Team (ORRT) is an advisory board to the Federal On Scene Coordinator (FOSC).  The ORRT provides Federal, State and local government agencies with means to participate in the response and preparedness activities related to pollution incidents. Member agencies meet two to three times annually and communicate regularly in-between sessions.

The ORRT is one of 13 geographically defined Regional Response Teams established by the National Contingency Plan (NCP) as part of the National Response System (NRS). It  is led by  the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. EPA and is composed of representatives from field offices of the federal agencies that make up the National Response Team, as well as state and territorial representatives. The ORRT jurisdiction includes the State of Hawai'I, Territories of American Samoa and Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, and the pacific island possessions. 

The mission of the ORRT is to protect public health and safety and the environment by supporting FOSCs in their response efforts and by providing pre-planning products, tools, and activities to help ensure coordinated, efficient, and effective support of federal, state and local responses to oil and hazardous substance incidents within the Oceania Region .  These activities are defined and  mandated by the NCP and are performed in concert with the National Response Plan.  The regular business of the ORRT is met by the Standing  RRT. Incident Specific RRTs are occasionally convened to address unique, response-specific issues. The four major responsibilities of RRTs are: (1) response; (2) planning; (3) training; and (4) coordination.

Response

RRTs provide a forum for federal agency field offices and state agencies to exchange information about their abilities to respond to on-scene coordinators' (OSCs') requests for assistance. As with the NRT, RRT members do not respond directly to releases or spills, but may be called upon to provide technical advice, equipment, or manpower to assist with a response.

Planning

Each RRT develops a Regional Contingency Plan to ensure that the roles of federal and state agencies during an actual incident are clear. Following an incident, the RRT reviews the OSC's reports to identify problems with the Region's response to the incident and improves the plan as necessary.

Training

Federal agencies that are members of the RRTs provide simulation exercises of Regional plans to test the abilities of federal, state, and local agencies to coordinate their emergency response activities. Any major problems identified as a result of these exercises may be addressed and changed in the Regional Contingency Plan so the same problems do not arise during an actual incident.

Coordination

The RRTs identify available resources from each federal agency and state within their regions. Such resources include equipment, guidance, training, and technical expertise for dealing with chemical releases or oil spills. When there are too few resources in a region, the RRT can request assistance from federal or state authorities to ensure that sufficient resources will be available during an incident. This coordination by the RRTs assures that resources are used as wisely as possible, and that no Region is lacking what it needs to protect human health and the environment from the effects of a hazardous substance release or oil spill.