DEM briefing: city after‑action report praises volunteer integration and 311 during Costco Busan oil spill

Rob Dudgeon, Department of Emergency Management, presented the city—s after‑action executive summary for the Nov. 7, 2007 Costco Busan oil spill and said the review examined only the city—s actions. “The scope of this after action report was looking at the city and the city's actions alone,” he told the Disaster Council.

Dudgeon said city departments worked well together under unusual circumstances and that one of the notable operational successes was integrating volunteers into the beach cleanup. He described initial resistance from the pollution response community, which does not typically incorporate volunteers under the area contingency plan, and said persistent city leadership helped change practice across the Bay Area. “Moving forward, we're trying to get that built into some legislation to make it a requirement,” he said.

The report also credited 311 as an emergency information source during the response. Dudgeon said staff used 311 to funnel information back to DEM and that it proved valuable enough to employ again during a later winter storm response. He identified continuing challenges with interagency information sharing and said the oil‑spill annex and related plans will be revised based on lessons learned from the event.

A public commenter urged the city had not upgraded its local emergency declaration early enough as the magnitude of the spill became clear; the commenter noted that the report flags that coordination would have been easier with an upgraded response. The mayor and other members praised the work and regional cooperation, noting state and federal investigations would address issues outside the city—s after‑action scope.

The after‑action executive summary is posted on DEM's website; the full report is available there as a download.