[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 218 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57050-57053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-27867]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard
[CGD 95-076]


National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP)

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of PREP area exercise schedule for 1996, 1997 and 1998, 
and summary of the PREP Annual Workshop.

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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, developed the Preparedness for 
Response Exercise Program (PREP). This notice announces the schedule of 
the Area Exercises for 1996, 1997 and 1998. It also provides a summary 
of the annual public workshop held on June 14, 1995, in Alexandria, VA.

DATES: Industry members interested in leading an Industry-led Area 
Exercise or participating in a Government-led Area Exercise should 
submit their requests directly to the USCG or EPA On-Scene Coordinator 
(OSC) in the appropriate Area as soon as possible, but no later than 3 
months before conducting the exercise. Industry representatives should 
indicate the date and location of the exercise in which they are 
interested in participating or leading. Once the OSC has chosen an 
industry plan holder for an Industry-led Area Exercise or as 
participant for the Government-led Exercise, the OSC will contact the 
National Scheduling Coordinating Committee (NSSC) at the address listed 
below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed to COMMANDANT (G-MRO-2), 
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, Response Division, (G-
MRO-2), (202) 267-2850. PREP Guidelines and Training Elements, 
previously available through Coast Guard Headquarters, are now 
available from the Government Printing Office, (202) 512-1800. Stock 
numbers and cost for each manual are: PREP GUIDELINES--050-012-00365-3 
COST: $3.75; TRAINING REFERENCE--050-012-00364-5 COST: $8.50.

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 (OPA 90) pollution 
response exercise requirements (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)). OPA 90 requires 
periodic unannounced drills. See 33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(7). However, the 
working group (comprised of Coast Guard, EPA, RSPA, MMS, state 
representatives, and industry representatives) determined that the PREP 
Guidelines should also include announced drills. See 33 CFR 
154.1055(a)(5) and 155.1060(d), and 40 CFR part 112. This notice 
addresses announced drills only. The guiding principles for PREP 
distinguish between internal and external exercises. Internal exercises 
are conducted within the plan holder's organization. External exercises 
extend beyond the plan holder's organization to involve other members 
of the response community. External exercises are separated into two 
categories, Area exercises, and Government-initiated unannounced 
exercises. These exercises 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 approximately 20 Area 
exercises per year, with the intent of exercising most Areas of the 
country over a three year period. This notice sets forth the Area 
exercise schedule for calendar years 1996, 1997 and 1998.
    The National Scheduling Coordinating Committee (NSCC) conducts an 
annual public workshop. In the past, this workshop focused on the 
upcoming schedule; however, this year, the workshop included 
presentations from a variety of individuals with experiences 
participating in or conducting Area Exercises. This notice also 
provides a summary of the workshop.

Summary of PREP Workshop

    On June 14, 1995, the Coast Guard, EPA, RSPA Office of Pipeline 
Safety (OPS), and MMS hosted the second annual PREP Workshop. The 
following provides a brief summary of the points raised by the Workshop 
participants. A more complete summary is available on the Coast Guard 
Navigation Information Service (NIS) Electronic Bulletin Board (BBS) at 
703-313-5910.
    The workshop was opened by speakers from the four Federal Agencies: 
Captain Michael Donohoe, USCG; Chris Hoidal, OPS; Ann Whalen, EPA 
Region 5; and Carl Anderson, MMS. The objectives of the workshop were 
to ensure that the program is effective for the entire response 
community; share industry experiences on internal exercises; and 
identify industry concerns regarding participation in Area exercises in 
an effort to increase their participation. All four Federal Agency 
representatives agreed that their Agencies were committed to making the 
exercise program work for the entire response community.
    A panel of industry representatives was convened to give their 
perspectives of the Area exercise and share their experiences. Tiffany 
Rau of ARCO Marine, Inc., described ARCO's participation in a 
Government-led Area Exercise. She said that it was, overall, a positive 
experience and enabled them to become familiar with area resources and 
personnel available during an incident. There were negative 
considerations also. The planning process is very time consuming. 
Additionally, PREP does not allow for maximum participation of industry 
management during an exercise. Ms. Rau believed that this is not 
representative of an actual incident when the government would have 
minimal participation if the responsible party was responding to the 
oil spill. Ms. Rau also said that if a company wants to have an 
exercise with the government, then it is best to volunteer for a PREP 
Area Exercise.
    Dick Wilson and Joel Larkin of Buckeye Pipeline discussed their 
experience with an Industry-led Area Exercise in the inland zone. Mr. 
Wilson said that he supports PREP because it reinforces government 
relations in advance of real incidents. Furthermore, this exercise 
allowed Buckeye to demonstrate their commitment and competence. 
Overall, both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Larkin felt that the exercise was 
meaningful for all participants. The 

[[Page 57051]]
exercise reflected many attributes of real events including internal 
confusion.
    Earl Espeland of TOSCO discussed his Industry-led Area Exercise in 
the coastal zone. Mr. Espeland said that TOSCO found that preparing for 
the exercise was just as beneficial as conducting one. They decided to 
exercise limited objectives so that they could focus on how the 
management response team would work together. Unlike many other 
scenario designs,they viewed the source of the spill as relatively 
unimportant, since the exercise focused on the response once oil 
entered the water.
    During the afternoon, Mike Kurgan, USCG National Strike Force 
Coordination Center (NSFCC), and Carrie Bravenec, Robert J. Meyers & 
Associates, gave presentations on preparing an exercise from the 
perspective of the public and private sector (respectively).
    Throughout the course of the workshop there was a considerable 
amount of discussion and questions asked of the federal agencies and 
states represented, as well as other company officials. The summary 
provides more information, but the following highlights the more 
salient issues raised.

Scope and Size of Exercise

    There is a perception that the exercises are very large and too 
costly. The industry panelists all said that the cost of conducting 
their exercise was not excessive. There was some discussion regarding 
the way costs were figured. A PREP Area Exercise does not have to be a 
large production and very costly to meet the exercise objectives.

Credit for Spill Management Team (SMT) Tabletop Exercises

    This issue has been raised on several different occasions. A 
workshop participant asked if someone else has a drill that exercises 
all members of his company's SMT, can he take credit? The answer was 
no. To further clarify, this does not mean that the plan holder can 
view an exercise from an audience and then take credit for an annual 
SMT Tabletop exercise. The purpose of the exercise is not to exercise 
the team, but to exercise the plan. The focus is how the SMT works 
within a specific plan, not how well your spill management team works 
within someone elses plan. To carry out the role of the SMT, the SMT 
must be familiar with their client's response plan. The reason for this 
exercise requirement is to ensure familiarity with sources, sizes and 
locations of potential spill scenarios they will be responsible for 
managing. In addition, familiarity with the response plan ensures that 
the SMT knows the plan holders' organization, i.e. domestic, foreign, 
family-owned, corporate structure, etc. A question was raised in 
another context regarding participation of the plan holder of a foreign 
vessel and the SMT during the exercise. This question was raised 
because of the cost of the plan holder to travel to the United States 
for the exercise. Understanding the economic burden this may cause a 
company, the Coast Guard believes that the plan holder gains invaluable 
experience and knowledge when participating, in person, in the 
exercise. The Coast Guard suggests combining the exercise with 
ancillary meetings or conferences to make the exercise more economical. 
Where this is not possible, the plan holder may participate in the 
exercise via telephone. In many circumstances, this may be more 
realistic since it could take the plan holder as long as 30 hours to 
arrive at the spill site.

Scheduling

    One of the participants said that the scheduling was too rigid and 
inflexible because the dates and location were already chosen before 
industry has an opportunity to comment on it. The schedule that is 
published in the spring is proposed. The Coast Guard accepts comments 
on the proposed schedule, and makes appropriate revisions at the annual 
workshop. But there was agreement within the Coast Guard that the 
scheduling seemed too structured. The final schedule in this notice 
addresses that comment by only listing suggested quarters for calendar 
year 1996; listing quarters only for the exercises where volunteers 
have already come forward for calendar years 1997 and 1998; and listing 
dates or quarters for government-led exercises. It would not be fair to 
change the date of the exercise after companies have been planning for 
the exercise. For government-led exercises, NSFCC established a 
schedule with dates that cannot vary greatly. In all other cases, the 
industry can work with the appropriate agencies to schedule an 
exercise. We expect to generate more industry volunteers by increasing 
the flexibility of the schedule.
    Another participant asked whether the scheduling cycle could be 
changed from three years to five years. The participant thought more 
companies would volunteer for the exercises if the schedule was 
extended. It does not appear that more companies would volunteer by 
extending the schedule. Furthermore, the Coast Guard needs to ensure 
that the Captains of the Ports (COTPs) are exercised frequently enough 
so the ACPs can be updated regularly, as needed.

Schedule

    The following is the revised PREP schedule for Calendar Years 1996, 
1997 and 1998. All of the comments received were considered by the 
NSCC. Where no industry plan holders have come forward to either 
participate or lead an exercise, the OSCs may solicit and recommend 
plan holders. Companies that wish to participate should contact the 
Coast Guard or EPA OSC, who will then forward the name to the NSCC at 
the address listed under ADDRESSES.

    Dated: November 1, 1995.
J.C. Card,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Office of Marine Safety, 
Security and Environmental Protection.

                                  Prep Schedule.--Government Led Area Exercises                                 
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                  Area                               Agency              Date/QTR *          Participant        
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                                                      1996                                                      
                                                                                                                
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Charleston, SC Area (MSO Charleston OSC)  CG                                2/15-16                             
Puget Sound Area (MSO Puget Sound OSC)..  CG                                4/18-19                             
Buffalo, NY Area (MSO Buffalo OSC)......  CG                                6/13-14                             
EPA Region VIII Area (EPA OCS)..........  EPA                                 8/8-9                             
Philadelphia Coastal Area (MSO            CG                                9/26-27                             
 Philadelphia OSC).                                                                                             
South Florida Area (MSO Miami OSC)......  CG                               12/12-13                             
                                                                                                                
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[[Page 57052]]
                                                                                                                
                                                      1997                                                      
                                                                                                                
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Providence, RI Area (MSO Providence OSC)  CG                                      1                             
Jacksonville Area (MSO Jacksonville OSC)  CG                                      1                             
Southeast Alaska Area (MSO Juneau OSC)..  CG                                      2                             
Detroit Area (MSO Detroit OSC)..........  CG w/RSPA                               3                             
EPA Oceania Region (EPA OSC )...........  EPA                                     3                             
New Orleans Area (MSO New Orleans OSC)..  CG w/MMS                                4                             
                                                                                                                
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                                                      1998                                                      
                                                                                                                
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Guam Area (MSO Guam OSC)................  CG                                      1                             
San Diego Area (MSO San Diego OSC)......  CG                                      2                             
Savannah Area (MSO Savannah OSC)........  CG                                      2                             
EPA Region VIII Area (EPA OSC)..........  EPA                                     3                             
Long Island Sound, NY Area (COTP Long     CG                                      3                             
 Island Sound OSC).                                                                                             
Morgan City Area (MSO Morgan City)......  CG                                      4                             
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                                     Prep Schedule.--Industry-Led Exercises                                     
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                  Area                                Ind**              Date/QTR *              Lead           
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                                                      1996                                                      
                                                                                                                
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Virginia Coastal Area (MSO Hampton Roads  v                                       1                             
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Portland, OR Area (MSO Portland OSC)....  f (mtr)                                 1                             
Hawaii/American Samoa Area (MSO Honolulu  v                                       1                             
 OSC).                                                                                                          
EPA Region VI Area (EPA OSC)............  p                                       2  Fina.                      
Buffalo, NY Area (MSO Buffalo OSC)......  v                                       2                             
Central Coast Area (MSO San Francisco     v                                       2                             
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Prince William Sound Area (MSO Valdez     f (mtr)                                 3  Chevron.                   
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Western Alaska Area (MSO Anchorage OSC).  p                                       3                             
Boston Area (MSO Boston OSC)............  f                                       3                             
EPA Region IX Area (EPA OSC)............  f(nonmtr)                               3                             
Maine & New Hampshire Area (MSO Portland  v                                       3                             
 OSC).                                                                                                          
LA/LB North Area (MSO Los Angeles/Long    v                                       4                             
 Beach OSC).                                                                                                    
EPA Region II Area (EPA Caribbean OSC)..  f(nonmtr)                               4                             
                                                                                                                
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                                                      1997                                                      
                                                                                                                
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North Coast Area (MSO San Francisco OSC)  v                                                                     
Northeast North Carolina Coastal Area     v                                                                     
 (MSO Hampton Roads OSC).                                                                                       
Commonwealth of N. Marianas Islands Area  v                                       1  Mobile Corp.               
 (MSO Guam OSC).                                                                                                
Caribbean Area (MSO San Juan OSC).......  f(mtr)                                                                
Florida Panhandle Area (MSO Mobile OSC).  v                                       2  Kirby Corp.                
Western Lake Erie Area (MSO Toledo OSC).  f(mtr)                                                                
EPA Alaska Region (EPA OSC).............  p                                                                     
EPA Region X Area (EPA OSC).............  f(nonmtr)                                                             
Houston/Galveston Area (MSO Houston OSC)  v                                       3  Aramco Services Co.        
New York, NY Area (COTP New York OSC)...  v                                       3  OMI Corp.                  
EPA Region IV Area (EPA OSC)............  p                                                                     
Detroit Area (MSO Detroit OSC)..........  v                                                                     
                                                                                                                
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                                                      1998                                                      
                                                                                                                
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Southern Coastal NC Area (MSO             v                                                                     
 Wilmington).                                                                                                   
San Francisco Bay & Delta Region Area     f(mtr)                                                                
 (MSO San Francisco OSC).                                                                                       
Chicago Area (MSO Chicago OSC)..........  f(mtr)                                                                
Cleveland, OH Area (MSO Cleveland OSC)..  v                                                                     
EPA Region V Area (EPA OSC).............  p                                                                     
EPA Region III Area (EPA OSC)...........  f                                                                     
Saulte Ste. Marie, MI Area (COPT Saulte   f(mtr)                                                                
 Ste. Marie OSC).                                                                                               
South Texas Coastal Zone Area (MSO        v                                                                     
 Corpus Christie OSC).                                                                                          
Maryland Coastal Area (MSO Baltimore      v                                                                     
 OSC).                                                                                                          
SW Louisiana/SE Texas Area (MSO Port      v                                                                     
 Arthur OSC).                                                                                                   
Tampa, FL Area (MSO Tampa OSC)..........  v                                                                     
EPA Region I Area (EPA OSC).............  p                                                                     
LA/LB South Area (MSO LA/LB OSC)........  v                                                                     

[[Page 57053]]
                                                                                                                
EPA Region II (EPA OSC).................  f(nonmtr)                                                             
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*Quarters: 1 (January-March); 2 (April-June); 3 (July-September); 4 (October-December).                         
Industry: v-vessel, f(mtr)-marine transportation-related facility; f(nonmtr)-nonmarine transportation-related   
  facility; p-pipeline.                                                                                         


[FR Doc. 95-27867 Filed 11-9-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M