The National Response Team (NRT) is composed of 16 Federal agencies, each with responsibilities and expertise in various aspects of emergency response to pollution incidents. With nationwide responsibilities for interagency planning, policy, and coordination, the NRT ensures that all of the relevant agencies are prepared to respond to pollution incidents of all sizes and kinds. Regional Response Teams (RRTs) ensure that appropriate Federal and State assistance will reach the scene of an incident quickly and efficiently. There are 13 RRTs, one for each of the Federal regions, plus one for Alaska, one for the Caribbean, and one for Oceania. Federal On-Scene Coordinators (FOSCs) direct response resources and efforts during a pollution incident. The FOSC oversees area planning, provides access to the expertise of the 16 NRT member agencies, and acts as a valuable source of support and information to the local response community. The National Response Center (NRC) is the communications core of the NRS. It is staffed 24 hours a day and receives more than 30,000 incident notifications each year. From these notifications, NRC watch-standers generate reports and relay them to the appropriate FOSCs and to the State emergency response centers. One of the critical features of the NRS is that no presidential declaration is necessary to obtain Federal support. A single phone call to the FOSC through the NRC allows immediate activation of the NRS. This report also discusses the nature of disaster declarations by the President and describes the responsibilities of each of the 16 member agencies of the NRT in responding to pollution incidents, both foreign and domestic.