Hazardous Material Technician Certification Class offered through Ostego Bay
Volunteers that handle hazardous waste material, such as oil spills, must be trained annually. The next certification course is being held at the end of the month at the Ostego Bay Marine Science Center.
Ostego Bay Oil Spill Co-Op President Joanne Semmer said in 1991 the State of Florida began making it a requirement to have oil spill first response if pumping over state submerged lands. A commercial fishing fleet had asked Ostego Bay if they could help them form a co-op, and a year later the Ostego Bay Environmental Response Co-Op was created.
The mandatory O.S.H.A CFR1910/120 training at the Ostego Bay Marine Science Center will take place April 22, April 23, and April 25. Classroom instruction begins the program at the Marine Science Center, 718 Fisherman’s Wharf, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, April 22 and Tuesday, April 23. A water drill day and annual refresher will be held Thursday, April 25, at Salty Sam’s Marina, 2500 Main Street.
“This training is invaluable for both first responders and volunteers,” Semmer said.
The training typically includes 10 to 30 participants. She said the biggest class held 33 with eight boats on the water at the same time.
Registration is $300 per person for members of the Ostego Bay Oil Spill Co-Op and $350 for nonmembers. The re-certification, which is an 8-hour class on April 25, at Salty Sam’s Marina, is $100 for members and $150 for nonmembers. Those interested are asked to contact Semmer at (239) 470-4993 to register.
She said as a nonprofit, they try to make the class as affordable as possible, so as many people as possible can become certified.
“What we are trying to do is make it affordable, so more businesses can send their people to class,” Semmer said.
The class, she explained teaches the basic 24-hour oil spill response, which is the minimum if one responds to an active spill event, where fuel is coming out. Semmer said there is a less intense class one can take to do the clean up for after the spill is contained and stopped from flowing.
The classes are important, she said so they know what they are doing, which in turn keeps the responders safe.
“The class is recognized throughout the United States,” she said.
If boaters encounters an oil, or fuel spill, they should contact the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center at (800) 424-8802. The center is not a response agency, but serves as an emergency call center that fields initial reports.