[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26507]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 26, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard
[CGD 94-064]

 

National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP)

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of PREP Area Exercise Schedule for 1995, 1996 and 1997.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 
the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), and the 
Minerals Management Service (MMS), in concert with the states, the oil 
industry and concerned citizens, held a workshop on May 19, 1994, to 
discuss the proposed Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) 
Area exercise schedule and the scheduling process. This notice 
publishes the final revision of the Area exercise schedule for 1995, 
1996, and 1997, and solicits industry members to lead Area exercises 
for 1995.

DATES: Industry members interested in leading the Industry-led Area 
Exercises should submit their requests directly to the USCG or EPA On-
Scene Coordinator (OSC) as soon as possible, but no later than 6 months 
prior to the proposed exercise date to ensure adequate planning time. 
Industry members should indicate the date and location of the exercise 
which they are interested in leading. Once the OSC has chosen an 
industry plan holder for an exercise, the OSC will contact the National 
Scheduling Coordinating Committee (NSCC) at the address listed below.

ADDRESSES: Commandant (G-MEP-4), Room 2100, U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, 2100 Second Street, SW; Washington, DC 20593-0001. ATTN: 
Ms. Karen Sahatjian.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ms. Karen Sahatjian, Office of Marine Safety, Security and 
Environmental Protection, Marine Environmental Protection Division, (G-
MEP-4), (202) 267-0746.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background Information

    The Coast Guard, EPA, RSPA, and MMS developed the National 
Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) to provide guidelines 
for compliance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 pollution response 
exercise requirements (33 U.S.C. 1321 (j)). One section of the PREP 
focuses on Area exercises, which are designed to evaluate the entire 
response mechanism in a given Area to ensure adequate pollution 
response preparedness. The goal of the PREP is to conduct 20 Area 
exercises per year, with the intent of exercising most Areas of the 
country over a three year period. In the March 25, 1994, edition of the 
Federal Register (59 FR 14254), the Coast Guard announced the May 19, 
1994, workshop to discuss the scheduling process, and proposed an 
exercise schedule for 1995, 1996, and 1997. This notice sets forth the 
scheduling process and the finalized exercise schedule for 1995, 1996, 
and 1997.

Scheduling Process

    The Area exercise scheduling process is as follows:
    1. The National Scheduling Coordinating Committee (NSCC), comprised 
of representatives of the Coast Guard, EPA, RSPA, and MMS, meets in 
January of each year to develop a proposed Area exercise schedule for 
the upcoming three year period. (For example, when the NSCC meets in 
1995, the three years considered will be 1996, 1997 and 1998.) The 
information in the proposed schedule includes: the exercise Area, the 
exercise quarter, whether the exercise is industry-led or government-
led, and the type of industry that will lead the exercise (vessel, 
marine transportation-related (mtr) facility, non-marine 
transportation-related facility, offshore facility or pipeline). Once 
developed, the proposed schedule is published in the Federal Register 
in February of each year.
    2. The NSCC solicits input on the proposed schedule for each three 
year period. The NSCC also requests industry plan holders to lead the 
Area exercise or participate in the government-led Area exercises.
    3. Once comments are received by the NSCC, they are considered and 
acted upon, as appropriate. Where there is conflict, every effort is 
made to resolve it while maintaining the integrity of the scheduling 
process.

Selection of Industry Participants for Area Exercises

    The selection process for industry participants for the Area 
exercises is as follows:
    1. Industry response plan holders interested in leading the Area 
exercises or supporting the government-led Area exercises should submit 
their requests directly to the USCG or EPA On-Scene Coordinator. These 
requests should be submitted as soon as possible after the proposed 
schedule is published, but no later than 6 months prior to the proposed 
exercise date. Once the OSC has chosen an industry plan holder for an 
exercise, the OSC will contact the NSCC in writing to the address 
listed under ADDRESSES above.
    2. In Areas where no plan holders have come forth and expressed an 
interest in leading or participating in the Area exercises, OSCs will 
recommend industry plan holders for exercise participation to the NSCC. 
Some issues that will be considered when selecting industry 
participants include the number of times a specific industry has 
conducted exercises in the past, the operating history of industries in 
the Area and the perceived need for a particular industry plan holder 
to be exercised. The OSCs will consult with the selected industry plan 
holders prior to submitting their names for exercise participation.
    3. In Areas scheduled for exercises involving pipelines or offshore 
facilities, the OSCs will coordinate with the respective regulatory 
agency (RSPA or MMS) to select plan holders to lead or participate in 
these exercises.

Scheduling Workshop

    A PREP scheduling workshop was conducted by the NSCC on May 19, 
1994. Similar workshops will continue to be held annually in May. The 
workshops will continue to focus primarily on the upcoming year's Area 
exercise schedule, but also will address issues relating to the 
following two years of the triennial schedule. National level industry 
representation is strongly encouraged at these workshops, as this is an 
opportunity for industry plan holders to comment on the schedule and 
address issues which may affect them and their operations. Input from 
the workshops will continue to be used for finalizing the upcoming 
year's schedule and proposing the schedule for the following two years.

Final Schedule

    The following is the final PREP Schedule for Calendar Years 1995, 
1996, and 1997. All of the comments received were incorporated, as 
appropriate. Where no industry plan holders have come forward to either 
participate or lead an exercise, the OSCs will solicit and recommend 
plan holders. Companies that wish to participate should contact the 
USCG or EPA OSC, who will then forward the name to the NSCC at the 
address listed under ADDRESSES. The Coast Guard will continue to 
publish a final schedule in the Federal Register annually in the fall.

              PREP Schedule--Government Led Area Exercises              
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Area                Agency        Date/Qtr*      Participant  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              1995 Schedule                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern Coastal NC      CG..............      2/16-17                  
 Area (MSO Wilmington).                                                 
San Francisco Bay &      CG..............      4/13-14                  
 Delta Region Area (MSO                                                 
 San Francisco OSC).                                                    
Portland, OR Area (MSO   CG..............        6/8-9                  
 Portland, OR OSC).                                                     
EPA Region V Area (EPA   EPA.............        8/3-4                  
 OSC).                                                                  
Tampa, FL Area (MSO      CG..............      9/28-29                  
 Tampa OSC).                                                            
South Texas Coastal      CG..............       12/7-8                  
 Zone Area (MSO Corpus                                                  
 Christi OSC).                                                          
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              1996 Schedule                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charleston, SC Area      CG..............      3/26-28                  
 (MSO Charleston OSC).                                                  
Puget Sound Area (MSO    CG..............            1                  
 Puget Sound OSC).                                                      
EPA Region VIII Area     EPA.............            2                  
 (EPA OSC).                                                             
South Florida Area (MSO  CG..............        5/1-3                  
 Miami OSC).                                                            
Philadelphia Coastal     CG..............            3  Christiana.     
 Area (MSO Philadelphia                                                 
 OSC).                                                                  
Sault Ste. Marie, MI     CG..............            4                  
 Area (COTP Sault Ste.                                                  
 Marie OSC).                                                            
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              1997 Schedule                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Providence, RI Area      CG..............            1                  
 (MSO Providence OSC).                                                  
Jacksonville Area (MSO   CG..............            1                  
 Jacksonville OSC).                                                     
Southeast Alaska Area    CG..............            2                  
 (MSO Juneau OSC).                                                      
Detroit Area (MSO        CG W/RSPA.......            3                  
 Detroit OSC).                                                          
EPA Oceania Region (EPA  EPA.............            3                  
 OSC).                                                                  
New Orleans Area (MSO    CG W/MMS........            4  Kirby Corp.     
 New Orleans OSC).                                                      
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*QUARTERS: 1 (January-March); 2 (April-June); 3 (July-September); 4     
  (October-December).                                                   


                Prep Schedule Industry Led Area Exercises               
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Area               Industry        Date/QTR         Lead      
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              1995 Schedule                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guam Area (MSO Guam      v...............            1  ................
 OCS).                                                                  
Cleveland, OH Area (MSO  f (mtr).........            1  ................
 Cleveland OSC).                                                        
Maryland Coastal Area    v...............            1  ................
 (MSO Baltimore OSC).                                                   
Savannah Area (MSO       v...............      2/15-17  PDV Marina.     
 Savannah OSC).                                                         
EPA Region III Area      p...............            2  ................
 (EPA OSC).                                                             
Long Island Sound, NY    v...............            2  Tosco Corp.     
 Area (COTP Long Island                                                 
 Sound OSC).                                                            
EPA Region I Area (EPA   f (non-mtr).....            2  ................
 OSC).                                                                  
EPA Region II Area (EPA  f (non-mtr).....            2  ................
 OSC).                                                                  
San Diego, CA Area (MSO  f (mtr).........            3  Navy.           
 San Diego OSC).                                                        
SW Louisiana/SE Texas    v...............            3  Mobil.          
 Area (MSO Port Arthur                                                  
 OSC).                                                                  
EPA Region X Area (EPA   f (non-mtr).....            4  ................
 OSC).                                                                  
EPA Region VII Area      p...............            4  ................
 (MSO Los Angeles OSC).                                                 
Los Angeles/Long Beach   v...............            4  ................
 Area (MSO Los Angeles                                                  
 OSC).                                                                  
Morgan City Area (MSO    v...............            4  Shell.          
 Morgan City OSC).                                                      
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              1996 Schedule                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prince William Sound     f (mtr).........            1  ................
 Area (MSO Valdez OSC).                                                 
Virginia Coastal Area    v...............            1  ................
 (MSO Hampton Roads                                                     
 OSC).                                                                  
Grand Haven, MI Area     v...............            2  ................
 (COTP Grand Haven OSC).                                                
North Coast Area (MSO    v...............            2  ................
 San Francisco OSC).                                                    
Buffalo, NY Area (MSO    f (mtr).........            2  ................
 Buffalo OSC).                                                          
Western Lake Erie Area   f (mtr).........            2  ................
 (MSO Toledo OSC).                                                      
EPA Region VI Area (EPA  p...............            2  ................
 OSC).                                                                  
Western Alaska Area      p...............            3  ................
 (MSO Anchorage OSC).                                                   
EPA Region IX Area (EPA  f (non-mtr).....            3  ................
 OSC).                                                                  
Maine & New Hampshire    v...............            3  ................
 Area (MSO Portland                                                     
 OSC).                                                                  
Boston Area (MSO Boston  v...............            3  ................
 OSC).                                                                  
Santa Barbara/Ventura    v...............            4  ................
 Area (MSO Los Angeles/                                                 
 Long Beach OSC).                                                       
Palau Area (MSO Guam     v...............            4  ................
 OSC).                                                                  
EPA Region II Area       f (non-mtr).....            4  ................
 (Caribbean) (EPA (SC).                                                 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             1997 Schedule                              
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast North          v...............            1  ................
 Carolina Coastal Area                                                  
 (MSO Hampton Roads                                                     
 OSC).                                                                  
Comonwealth of N.        v...............            1  Mobil Corp.     
 Marianaas Islands Area                                                 
 (MSO Guam OSC).                                                        
Caribbean Area (MSO San  f (mtr).........      5/12-16  ................
 Juan OSC.                                                              
Florida Panhandle Area   v...............            2  Kirby Corp.     
 (MSO Mobile OSC).                                                      
Eastern Wisconsin Area   f (mtr).........            2  ................
 (MSO Milwaukee OSC).                                                   
Chicago Area (MSO        f (mtr).........            2  ................
 Chicago OSC).                                                          
Central Coast Area (MSO  v...............            2  ................
 San Francisco OSC).                                                    
EPA Alaska Region (EPA   f (non-mtr).....            3  ................
 OSC).                                                                  
Houston/Galveston Area   v...............            3  Aramco Services 
 (MSO Houston OSC).                                      Co.            
New York, NY Area (COTP  v...............            3  OMI Corp.       
 New York OSC).                                                         
Hawaii/American Samoa    v...............            4  ................
 Area (MSO Honolulu                                                     
 OSC).                                                                  
EPA Region IV Area (EPA  p...............            4  ................
 OSC).                                                                  
Duluth--Superior Area    v...............            3  ................
 (MSO Duluth OSC).                                                      
Orange County Area (MSO  f (mtr).........            4  ................
 LA/LB OSC).                                                            
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*QUARTERS: 1 (January-March); 2 (April-June); 3 (July-September); 4     
  (October-December).                                                   
**INDUSTRY: v = vessel; f (mtr) = marine transportation-related         
  facility; f (non-mtr) = non-marine transportation-related facility; p 
  = pipeline.                                                           

    Dated: October 20, 1994
Joseph J. Angelo,
Acting Chief, Office of Marine Safety, Security and Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 94-26507 Filed 10-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M