[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 126 (Thursday, June 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40160-40163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16448]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG-2000-7514]


National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP)

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
Research and Special Programs Administration and the Minerals 
Management Service, in concert with the states, the oil industry and 
concerned citizens, developed the Preparedness for Response Exercise 
Program (PREP). This notice announces the date, time, and location for 
the next PREP workshop. Federal, state, and local agencies and the 
public, are encouraged to participate and provide oral and written 
comments.

DATES: The meeting will be held on August 29, 2000, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 
p.m. Written comments must reach the Docket Management Facility on or 
before September 15, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Transportation Nassif Building, Room 2230, 400 Seventh St. SW 
Washington, DC 20590. To make sure your comments and related materials 
do not enter the docket more than once, please submit them (labeled 
with the docket number, USCG 2000-7514) by only one of the following 
means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 
20590-0001.
    (2) By delivery to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is 202-366-9329.
    (3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
    (4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
notice. Comments and material received from the public will become part 
of this docket and will be available for inspection or copying at room 
PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street 
SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. You may also access the public docket on the 
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information regarding the 
PREP program and the schedule, contact Mr. Bob Pond, Marine Safety and 
Environmental Protection Directorate, Office of Response, (G-MOR-2), 
(202) 267-6603.
    The 1994 PREP Guidelines are available for downloading from the 
World Wide Web at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/nmc/response/#PREP. The 
PREP Guidelines are also available in hard-copy at no cost by writing 
or faxing the TASC Dept Warehouse, 3341Q 75th Avenue, Landover, MD 
20785, fax: 301-386-5394, stock number--USCG-X0191. The schedule of 
PREP area exercises is also available at the above website along with 
an exercise design manual prepared by the Office of Pipeline Safety.
    For questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call 
Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, phone 202-
366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this program assessment by 
submitting comments and related material. If you do so, please include 
your name and address, identify the docket number for this notice 
(USCG-2000-7514), indicate the specific section of this document to 
which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You 
may submit your comments and material by mail, delivery, fax, or 
electronic means to the Docket Management Facility at the address under 
ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only one 
means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you

[[Page 40161]]

submit them by mail and would like to know they reached the facility, 
please enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard or envelope. We will 
consider all comments and material received during the comment period. 
We may change this program in view of the comments.

Background

    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). PREP was developed to establish a workable oil 
pollution response exercise program, which meets the intent of section 
4204(a) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. PREP provides a mechanism for 
compliance with the exercise requirements, while being economically 
feasible for the government and oil industry to adopt and sustain. 
Since the inception of PREP, public meetings have been held 
periodically to assess the continuing vitality of the program. The last 
meeting, in August of 1997, concluded that no changes were necessary to 
the program at that time. Since then, several changes have been 
proposed or implemented which influence the way government and industry 
prepare for and respond to oil and hazardous substance incidents in the 
United States. As a result, some changes to the PREP program may be 
appropriate.
    Therefore, the Coast Guard, EPA, RSPA, and MMS are holding a public 
workshop to conduct an assessment of the current PREP program. At the 
workshop, each agency will briefly outline its concerns with the 
current program and solicit participant input on resolution of those 
concerns, either through amendment of the PREP Guidelines or other 
means. Other participating stakeholders, including states and industry, 
will be invited to discuss their concerns as well. The workshop will 
reaffirm the vitality of the PREP program as it currently exists or 
identify outstanding concerns and gain commitment on the part of 
participants to a plan of action to resolve those concerns. It is 
anticipated that one or more additional workshops may be scheduled in 
order to resolve any outstanding concerns.

Workshop Agenda

    The workshop will address current concerns with PREP, specifically: 
What should the PREP goals be for the next 5 years? Is the program 
sufficiently dynamic and robust to address the needs of plan holders, 
area committees and the response community in general? In order to 
discuss these issues, we will follow the agenda in Table 1.
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Procedure

    The meeting will be an informal workshop open to the public. It is 
intended to bring together people who are knowledgeable about the 
issues addressed in this notice to assist us in enhancing PREP.
    Individuals or groups desiring to make presentations about their 
concerns during the workshop are asked to notify Mr. Bob Pond at the 
address or phone number under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, to 
ensure that all concerns are heard. The agenda for the workshop will be 
updated as appropriate to reflect concerns identified by other 
interested parties.

Information on Service for Individuals with Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact 
Mr. Bob Pond at the address or phone number under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT as soon as possible.

    Dated: June 21 2000.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Acting Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety and Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 00-16448 Filed 6-28-00; 8:45 am]
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