NRT Mission: To provide technical assistance, resources and coordination on preparedness, planning, and response activities for emergencies involving hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants, hazmat, oil, weapons of mass destruction in natural and technological disasters and other environmental nationally significant incidents.

• Member agencies have duties that may apply to federal response actions for a discharge or release. Some of these agencies also have duties relating to the restoration of injured or lost natural resources.  
• They may be called upon by an On-Scene Coordinator during response planning and implementation to provide assistance in their respective areas of expertise, consistent with the agencies' capabilities and authorities. In addition to their general responsibilities, federal agencies should:
• Make necessary information available to the Secretaries of the NRT member agencies, RRTs, Area Committees, and On-Scene Coordinator.
• Provide representatives to the NRT and RRTs and otherwise assist RRTs and On-Scene Coordinators, as necessary, in formulating RCPs and ACPs.
• Inform the NRT, RRTs, and Area Committees, consistent with national security considerations, of changes in the availability of resources that would affect the operations implemented under the NCP.
• The NRT meets regularly and has a robust organization of chartered committees and subcommittees preparing response guidance and other resources for the field and reviewing oil and hazardous substance responses to determine how to improve future responses.
• NRT members are the subject matter experts on national response policy and should be a key resource that Senior Executives in the agency rely on and coordinate with when an oil/hazardous substance incident is significant enough to warrant participation by senior leadership. During significant oil/hazardous substance incidents, regional or on-scene components may request the NRT convene to coordinate interagency actions at the Washington DC/HQ level, necessitating a linkage between NRT members and senior leadership within each agency.