[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 26, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14494-14497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-7621]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[CGD 97-016]


National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP)

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of a public workshop and the exercise schedule for 
calendar years 1997, 1998, and 1999; requests for comments.

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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 next PREP 
workshop and the next triennial PREP schedule. The schedule covers 
calendar years 1997, 1998, and 1999. This notice requests industry 
volunteers for industry-and government-led exercises.

DATES: The workshop will be held on April 8, 1997 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 
PM. Comments must be received on or before April 30, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held in rooms 203/204 at the Greater 
Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower 
Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316. Written comments should be 
submitted to COMMANDANT (G-MOR-2), Room 2100, U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, 2100 Second Street, SW; Washington, DC, 20593-0001. ATTN: 
Ms. Karen Sahatjian.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information regarding the 
PREP program and the schedule, contact Ms. Karen Sahatjian, Marine 
Safety and Environmental Protection Directorate, Office of Response, 
(G-MOR-2), (202) 267-2850. The schedule and exercise design manual is 
available on the internet at http://www.navcen.uscg.mil or to obtain a 
hard copy of the design manual, contact Ms. Toni Hundley at the Office 
of Pipeline Safety at (202) 366-4397. The 1994 PREP Guidelines and 
Training Elements are available at no cost by writing or faxing the 
TASC Dept Warehouse, 3341 Q 75th Avenue, Landover, MD 20785, fax: 301-
386-5394. The stock numbers of each manual are: PREP Guidelines--USCG-
X0191; the Training Reference--USCG-X0188. Please indicate the quantity 
when ordering. Quantities are limited to 10 per order.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background Information

    The workshop will address several issues that have been raised by 
exercise participants and response plan holders. The topics to be 
discussed at the workshop include, but are not limited to: (1) 
Developing and Evaluating an Oil Spill Response Exercise, (2) 
government-initiated unannounced exercises, (3) minor changes to 
existing PREP Guidelines, and (4) the proposed triennial exercise 
schedule. The following information is provided as background in 
preparation for the workshop.
    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

[[Page 14495]]

154.1055(a)(5) and 155.1060(c), and 40 CFR 112. 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: (1) Area exercises, and (2) Government-initiated 
unannounced exercises. These exercises are designed to evaluate the 
entire response mechanism in a given area to ensure adequate pollution 
response preparedness.

1. Guidelines for Developing and Evaluating an Oil Spill Response 
Exercise

    The PREP Guidelines have been extremely valuable to exercise 
participants. However, the Coast Guard and other federal agencies 
received numerous requests for a more detailed guide to develop Area 
exercises, especially for Industry-led exercises. A manual used by the 
National Strike Force Coordination Center (NSFCC) to develop 
government-led exercises was rewritten to provide guidance to exercise 
participants.
    This document is not intended to replace exercise designs already 
used by companies following the PREP Guidelines. It is meant to augment 
or provide further explanation for companies without exercise 
experience.
    The Coast Guard realizes that some companies have their own staff 
to plan and execute exercises and that these exercises may differ 
between companies. The emphasis of these guidelines is guidance to plan 
holders who do not have employees experienced in developing exercises 
or the financial resources to hire contractors to meet their triennial 
exercise requirement. The Coast Guard is interested in ensuring that 
the response community does not neglect the exercise requirement 
because of lack of knowledge. This document will not be used to 
evaluate how well an exercise is executed. The Coast Guard would like 
to hear comments from the public regarding these guidelines.

2. Government-Initiated Unannounced Exercises

    Recently, the Coast Guard began conducting more Government-
initiated unannounced exercises. The unannounced exercises provide the 
opportunity for the Captain of the Port (COTP) to determine if an 
adequate level of preparedness exists in an area and whether the plan 
holder is prepared to activate the plan during an incident.
    As a result of these exercises and the input of other interested 
parties, several issues have been identified by both industry and 
government. The Coast Guard is requesting comments on the following 
issues as outlined below.
a. Equipment Deployment
    It may not always be necessary to deploy equipment as part of an 
unannounced exercise. Equipment deployment is typically included as 
part of the scenario. However, the Coast Guard may decide to test other 
important elements of the response plan. If the plan holder recently 
conducted an equipment deployment exercise, it may be redundant to have 
the equipment deployed again. Equipment may be used in circumstances 
where the COTP wants to determine the availability of equipment through 
Oil Spill Removal Organizations (OSROs). To afford the COTP the 
opportunity to ensure the Area is prepared for a spill greater than an 
average most probable discharge, the scenario may exceed the current 50 
bbl limit.
b. Length of Exercise
    To prevent the exercises from exceeding a duration of 
``approximately four hours'', they should be focused on no more than 
four of the 15 objectives listed in the PREP Guidelines (August 1994). 
The COTP has the discretion to choose the number of objectives, but the 
should not exceed four.
c. Unannounced Exercise Credit
    A plan holder will not be given credit for a Government-Initiated 
Unannounced Exercise if the plan holder does not use or follow the 
industry response plans. Although the planning requirements in 33 CFR 
154 and 155 and 40 CFR 112 should be used as guidance, they are not 
performance measures for responses. For example, if the plan holder 
calls the OSRO and the OSRO arrives within 1\1/2\ hours (not 1 hour) 
because of road traffic, the plan holder should not be penalized for 
missing the 1 hour planning reference. Contrarily, if the plan holder 
does not call the OSRO until an hour into the exercise, and the plan 
holder has no facility owned equipment to deploy, then the Coast Guard 
may deny credit for the exercise. If the plan holder does not receive 
credit for an unannounced exercise, then the Coast Guard may return in 
less than 36 months to conduct another exercise. Once the plan holder 
receives credit from the COTP, then the plan holder will not be 
exercised for 36 months.

3. Changes to PREP Guidelines

    Since August 1994, several commenters have highlighted 
discrepancies in the PREP Guidelines. The Coast Guard has determined 
that minor corrections to the PREP Guidelines are needed. Accordingly, 
the guidelines should be adjusted as follows:
    Page 3-3: Currently, under objectives for QI Notification 
Exercises, telex could only be used if other means were not available. 
A telex can be used if this is the means of communication that would 
normally be used to report an incident. The objective should be changed 
to: Contact by telephone, radio-message-pager, telex, or facsimile and 
confirmation must be made with a qualified individual or designee as 
designated in the plan. The QI must acknowledge receipt of the message 
and action being taken.
    Page 3-7: Under frequency for Emergency Procedures Exercises, 
change quarterly to annually.
    Page 3-20: Currently, under Government-initiated unannounced 
exercise, the guidelines read that industry can take credit for this 
exercise after an actual spill. This was never the intent of the 
Government-initiated Unannounced Exercises. Therefore, the credit 
paragraph should be changed to: Plan holders participating in this 
exercise should take credit for appropriate internal exercises if they 
meet the objectives stated in the guidelines.

4. Proposed Triennial Exercise Schedule

    This notice announces the PREP Schedule for Calendar Years 1997, 
1998, and 1999. There are several changes since the schedule was 
published in the Federal Register on November 13, 1995 (60 FR 57050). 
Because of the North Cape Oil Spill in Rhode Island in 1996, Area 
Exercise credit was given to the Area and the company. The Incident 
Specific Preparedness Report will serve as the Joint Evaluation Report. 
Providence Area was moved to 1999 and the Caribbean Area will conduct a 
Government-led Area Exercise during the first quarter of 1997. As 
stated in 60 FR 57050, the only dates/quarters are listed for those 
exercises where an industry participant has already volunteered for an 
Industry-led Area Exercise. The industry volunteer should work with the 
COTP to schedule a mutually acceptable date to conduct the exercise. 
The dates for the Government-led Exercises will not vary much because 
the National Strike Force Coordination Center is under time constraints 
throughout the year.


[[Page 14496]]


    Dated: March 17, 1997.
J.C. Card,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety 
and Environmental Protection. /

                                  Prep Schedule--Government-Led Area Exercises                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Area                         Agency          Date/qtr\1\                Participant              
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      1997                                                      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caribbean Area (MSO Puerto Rico     CG                          2/12-13  Sun Oil.                               
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Duluth-Superior Area (MSO Duluth    CG w/RSPA                   4/16-17  Lakehead Pipeline.                     
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Jacksonville Area (MSO              CG                          6/13-14   ST Services/Compliance System.        
 Jacksonville OSC).                                                                                             
Southeast Alaska Area (MSO Juneau   CG                          8/11-12                                         
 OSC).                                                                                                          
EPA Region IX (EPA OSC)...........  EPA                         9/10-11                                         
New Orleans Area (MSO New Orleans   CG w/MMS                   12/10-11                                         
 OSC).                                                                                                          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      1998                                                      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guam Area (MSO Guam OSC)..........  CG                                1                                         
San Diego, CA Area (MSO San Diego   CG                                                                          
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Savannah Area (MSO Savannah OSC)..  CG                                2                                         
EPA Region VII Area (EPA OSC).....  EPA                               3                                         
Long Island Sound Area (COTP Long   CG                                3                                         
 Island Sound).                                                                                                 
Morgan City Area (MSO Morgan City)  CG                                4                                         
                                                      1999                                                      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LA/LB North Area (MSO LA/LB OSC)..  CG                                1                                         
Prince William Sound Area (MSO      CG                                2                                         
 Valdez OSC).                                                                                                   
Boston Area (MSO Boston OSC)......  CG                                2                                         
EPA Region VI (EPA OSC)...........  EPA                               3                                         
Buffalo, NY Area (MSO Buffalo OSC)  CG                                4                                         
Virginia Coastal Area (MSO Hampton  CG                                4                                         
 Rds OSC).                                                                                                      
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                                      Prep Schedule--Industry-Led Exercises                                     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Area                           Ind             Date/qtr                     Lead                 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      1997                                                      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Coast Area (MSO San           v\2\                                                                        
 Francisco OSC).                                                                                                
Northeast North Carolina Coastal    v                                                                           
 Area.                                                                                                          
(MSO Hampton Rds OSC).............                                                                              
Commonwealth of N. Mariannas        v                                 1  Mobil Corp.                            
 Islands Area (MSO Guam OSC).                                                                                   
Florida Panhandle Area (MSO Mobile  v                                 2  Kirby Corp.                            
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Western Lake Erie Area (MSO Toledo  f (mtr)\2\                                                                  
 OSC).                                                                                                          
EPA Alaska Area (EPA OSC).........  p\2\                                                                        
Houston/Galveston Area (MSO         v                                 3  Aramco Services.                       
 Houston OSC).                                                                                                  
EPA Region IV Area (EPA OSC)......  p                                                                           
Detroit Area (MSO Detroit OSC)....  f (mtr)                              Mobil Corp.                            
EPA Region X Area (EPA OSC).......  f (nonmtr)\2\                                                               
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      1998                                                      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York, NY Area (COTP NY OSC)...  v                                    OMI Corp.                              
Southern Coastal NC Area (MSO       v                                                                           
 Wilmington OSC).                                                                                               
San Francisco Bay & Delta Region    f (mtr)                                                                     
 Area (MSO San Francisco OSC).                                                                                  
Cleveland, OH Area (MSO Cleveland   f (mtr)                                                                     
 OSC).                                                                                                          
EPA Region V Area (EPA OSC).......  p                                                                           
EPA Region III Area (EPA OSC).....  f (nonmtr)                                                                  
Saulte Ste. Marie, MI Area........                                                                              
(COTP Saulte Ste. Marie OSC)......  f (mtr)                                                                     
South Texas Coastal Zone Area (MSO  f (mtr)                                                                     
 Corpus Christi OSC).                                                                                           
Maryland Coastal Area (MSO          v                                                                           
 Baltimore OSC).                                                                                                
SW Louisana/SE Texas Area (MSO      v                                                                           
 Port Arthur OSC).                                                                                              
Puget Sound Area (MSO Puget Sound)  f                                                                           
Tampa, FL Area (MSO Tampa OSC)....  v                                                                           
EPA Region I Area (EPA OSC).......  p                                                                           
LA/LB South Area (MSO LA/LB OSC)..  v                                                                           
EPA Region II (EPA OSC)...........  f (nonmtr)                                                                  
Philadelphia Coastal Area (MSO      v                                                                           
 Phila OSC).                                                                                                    
Chicago Area (MSO Chicago OSC)....  f (mtr)                                                                     
-----------------------------------                                                                             

[[Page 14497]]

                                                                                                                
                                                      1999                                                      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama/Mississippi Area (MSO       f (mtr)                                                                     
 Mobile OSC).                                                                                                   
South Florida Area (MSO Miami OSC)  f (mtr)                                                                     
Portland, OR Area (MSO Portland     v                                                                           
 OSC).                                                                                                          
EPA Region VIII (EPA OSC).........  f (nonmtr)                                                                  
Hawaii/Samoa Area (MSO Honolulu     v                                                                           
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Central Coast Area (MSO San         v                                                                           
 Francisco OSC).                                                                                                
Western Alaska Area (MSO Anchorage  v                                                                           
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Eastern Wisconsin Area (MSO         f (mtr)                                                                     
 Milwaukee Area).                                                                                               
EPA Region Oceania Area (EPA OSC).  f (nonmtr)                                                                  
Maine & New Hampshire Area (MSO     v                                                                           
 Portland OSC).                                                                                                 
Charleston, SC Area (MSO            v                                                                           
 Charleston OSC).                                                                                               
EPA Region II Area (EPA Caribbean   f (nonmtr)                                                                  
 OSC).                                                                                                          
Providence Area (MSO Providence     v                                                                           
 OSC).                                                                                                          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Quarters: 1 (Jan-March); 2 (April-June); 3 (July-Sept); 4 (Oct-Dec).                                        
\2\ Industry: v--vessel; f (mtr) --marine transportation-related facility; f (nonmtr)--nonmarine transportation-
  related facility; p--pipeline.                                                                                

[FR Doc. 97-7621 Filed 3-25-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-P