Report 2008-102 Recommendation 15 Responses
Report 2008-102: Office of Spill Prevention and Response: It Has Met Many of Its Oversight and Response Duties, but Interaction With Local Government, the Media, and Volunteers Needs Improvement (Release Date: August 2008)
Recommendation #15 To: Fish and Wildlife, Department of
To ensure that the spill office has necessary resources available to it, and to reduce friction regarding the use of staff, the spill office and other Fish and Game units should discuss their respective authorities and better define the role of each in the management of spill prevention staff consistent with the administrator?s statutory responsibilities and the other needs of Fish and Game. Such discussions could clarify the spill office?s role in hiring and firing employees, spell out specific training needs, and identify how staff will be funded.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From January 2010
In an effort to improve departmental organization and operations and deliver mission-critical programs at the highest level the Department refined its organization structure and clearly defined roles and responsibilities. To provide a solid framework for those affected by direct reporting relationships the OSPR has taken the following steps: a) The department's Law Enforcement Division has agreed to collaborate with OSPR when filling vacancies and provide notification when purchases of over $5,000 are incurred b) Minimal operational changes have been experienced by our Legal Branch with the exception that all civil and criminal cases referred to the Attorney Generals Office will be directed to the Departments Office of General Counsel Deputy Director for initial review c) All Information and Technology (IT) functions have remained at OSPR. Weekly coordination with the department's Assistant Deputy Director of IT is carried out to discuss ongoing projects and future needs of the program d) To improve communication, education and outreach efforts, OSPR's Public Information and External Affairs positions have been physically relocated back to the division's headquarters. We?ve hired a manager with an extensive communications background to manage and direct staff and coordinate with the department's Deputy Director of Office of Communications and agency personnel.
All hiring and purchasing functions for the Legal, Communication and IT programs remain at the OSPR. To ensure adequate resources are available during a spill event, personnel department?wide have been cross trained to perform response and communication activities. (See 2009-041 p. 133)
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented
All Recommendations in 2008-102
Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.