Disasters most commonly elicit the response of city, local, state, and federal aid agencies to meet the mitigation of destruction during various phases of an emergency event. Public health legal authority, during a hazardous substance discharge, may call for both public and private agency involvement. Thrusting personnel and materials in the area must operate under the auspices of inter-jurisdictional protocol and legal authority. The objectives in this written exercise are to alert the learner, in anticipation of future professional behavior, about gaining an understanding for legal protocols in public health/hazardous emergencies while maintaining the highest levels of public safety during a disastrous event – involving dangerous substance discharges. In an effort to explore questions pertaining to the assigned case study, this essay seeks to posit descriptions, and explanations for procedural legal authorities in an emergency response situation.
