[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59627-59630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26129]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2003-16297]


National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP)

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice; request for public comments on PREP triennial exercise 
schedule for 2004, 2005, and 2006.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard, the Research and Special Programs 
Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Minerals 
Management Service, in concert with representatives from various State 
governments, industry, environmental interest groups, and the general 
public,

[[Page 59628]]

developed the Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) 
Guidelines to reflect the consensus agreement of the entire oil spill 
response community. This notice announces the PREP triennial cycle, 
2004 through 2006, requests comments from the public, and requests 
industry participants to volunteer for scheduled PREP Area exercises.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before December 15, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2003-16297 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one 
of the following methods:
    (1) Web Site: http://dms.dot.gov.
    (2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (3) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (4) Delivery: 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.
    (5) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
or need general information regarding the PREP Program and the 
schedule, contact Mr. Robert Pond, Office of Response, Plans and 
Preparedness Division (G-MOR-2), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 
telephone 202-267-6603, fax 202-267-4065 or e-mail 
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Ms. Andrea M. Jenkins, Program Manager, 
Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-0271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Preparedness for Response Exercise 
Program (PREP) Area exercise schedule and exercise design manuals are 
available on the Internet at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/nsfweb/nsfcc/prep/index.html. To obtain a hard copy of the exercise design manual, 
contact Ms. Melanie Barber at the Research and Special Programs 
Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety, at 202-366-4560. The 2003 
PREP Guidelines booklet is available at no cost on the Internet at 
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/nsfweb/nsfcc/prep/index.html or by writing or 
faxing the TASC DEPT Warehouse, 33141Q 75th Avenue, Landover, MD 20785, 
facsimile: 301-386-5394. The stock number of the manual is USCG-X0241. 
Please indicate the quantity when ordering. Quantities are limited to 
10 per order.

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to respond to this notice by submitting comments 
and related materials. All comments received will be posted, without 
change, to http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information 
you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of 
Transportation (DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see 
DOT's ``Privacy Act'' three paragraphs below.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your 
name and address, identify the docket number for this notice (USCG-
2003-16297), 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 electronic means, mail, fax, or 
delivery 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 submit them by mail and would 
like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and 
material received during the comment period. We may change this 
triennial exercise schedule in view of them.
    Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, as well as 
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, 
go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a simple search using 
the docket number. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in 
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.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the 
Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

Background and Purpose

    In 1994, the Coast Guard (USCG) and the Research and Special 
Programs Administration (RSPA) of the Department of Transportation, the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and the Minerals 
Management Service (MMS) of the Department of Interior, coordinated the 
development of the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program 
(PREP) Guidelines to provide guidelines for compliance with the Oil 
Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) pollution response exercise requirements 
(33 U.S.C. 1321(j)). 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.
    Since 1994, the USCG, U.S. EPA, MMS, and RSPA's Office of Pipeline 
Safety (OPS) have published a triennial schedule of Area exercises. In 
short, the Area exercises involve the entire response community 
(Federal, State, local, and industry participants) and therefore, 
require more extensive planning than other oil spill response 
exercises. The PREP Guidelines describe all of these exercises in more 
detail.
    Table 1 below lists the dates and Federal Register cites of past 
PREP exercise notices.

                                       Table 1--Past Prep Exercise Notices
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              Date published                      Federal Register Cite                      Notice
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October 30, 2002.........................  67 FR 66189                         PREP triennial exercise schedule
                                                                                for 2003, 2004, and 2005.
January 22, 2002.........................  67 FR 2944                          PREP triennial exercise schedule
                                                                                for 2002, 2003, and 2004.

[[Page 59629]]

 
February 9, 2001.........................  66 FR 9744                          PREP triennial exercise schedule
                                                                                for 2001, 2002, and 2003.
March 7, 2000............................  65 FR 12049                         PREP triennial exercise schedule
                                                                                for 2000, 2001, and 2002.
June 15, 1999............................  64 FR 32090                         PREP triennial exercise schedule
                                                                                for 1999, 2000, and 2001.
January 8, 1998..........................  63 FR 1141                          PREP triennial exercise schedule
                                                                                for 1998, 1999, and 2000.
March 26, 1997...........................  62 FR 14494                         PREP triennial exercise schedule
                                                                                for 1997, 1998, and 1999.
January 26, 1996.........................  61 FR 2568                          Correction to PREP triennial
                                                                                exercise schedule for 1996,
                                                                                1997, and 1998.
November 13, 1995........................  60 FR 57050                         PREP triennial exercise schedule
                                                                                for 1996, 1997, and 1998.
October 26, 1994.........................  59 FR 53858                         Revision to PREP triennial
                                                                                exercise schedule for 1995,
                                                                                1996, and 1997.
March 25, 1994...........................  59 FR 14254                         PREP triennial exercise schedule
                                                                                for 1995, 1996, and 1997.
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    This notice announces the next triennial schedule of Area 
exercises. If a company wants to volunteer for an Area exercise, a 
company representative may call either the Coast Guard or EPA On-Scene 
Coordinator (OSC) where the exercise is scheduled.
    Table 2 below is the PREP schedule for calendar years 2004, 2005, 
and 2006.

                                             Table 2.--Prep Schedule
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                   Area                             Agency            Qtr \1\              Participant
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Government-Led Area Exercises
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Calendar Year 2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guam (Marine Safety Office (MSO) Guam)...  CG                                 1
Los Angeles/Long Beach South (MSO LA/LB),  CG                                 2
 SONS \2\.
San Diego (MSO San Diego), SONS \2\......  CG                                 2
Prince William Sound (MSO Valdez)........  CG                                 4
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                                               Calendar Year 2005
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Houston-Galveston (MSO Houston)..........  CG                                 1
Virginia Coastal (MSO Hampton Road)......  CG                                 1
Alabama-Mississippi (MSO Mobile).........  CG                                 2
Providence (MSO Providence)..............  CG                                 3
Western Alaska (MSO Anchorage)...........  CG                                 3
Region V Regional Contingency Plan (RCP)   EPA                                4
 (EPA Region V).
------------------------------------------
                                               Calendar Year 2006
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Cleveland, OH (MSO Cleveland)............  CG                                 1
Jacksonville, FL (MSO Jacksonville)......  CG                                 2
To Be Determined.........................  CG                                 2
Northwest Area-Portland (MSO Portland)...  CG                                 3
Region IX RCP or Oceania (EPA Region IX).  EPA                                3
  New Orleans, LA (MSO New Orleans)......  CG                                 4
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             Area                     Qtr \1\            Participant
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                       Industry-Led Area Exercises
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Calendar Year 2004
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Chicago, IL (MSO Chicago).....                    2
Long Island Sound (MSO Long                       2
 Island).
Maryland Coastal (MSO                             2
 Baltimore).
San Francisco Bay (MSO San                        2
 Francisco).
South Texas Coast (MSO Corpus                     2
 Christi).
Charleston, SC (MSO                               3
 Charleston).
Morgan City, LA (MSO Morgan                       3
 City).
New York, NY (Activities NY)..                    3
Savannah, GA (MSO Savannah)...                    3
Duluth-Superior (MSO Duluth)..                    4
Eastern Wisconsin (MSO                            4
 Milwaukee).
Northwest-Puget Sound (MSO                        4
 Puget Sound).
Region IV RCP (EPA Region IV).                    4
Region VII RCP (EPA Region                        4
 VII).
-------------------------------
                           Calendar Year 2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detroit, MI (MSO Detroit).....                    1

[[Page 59630]]

 
Region VIII (EPA Region VIII).                    1
Boston (MSO Boston)...........                    2
Hawaiian Islands (MSO                             2
 Honolulu).
South Florida (MSO Miami).....                    2
South Los Angeles/Long Beach,                     2
 CA (MSO LA/LB).
S. North Carolina (MSO                            3
 Wilmington).
SW La./SE Texas (MSO Port                         3
 Arthur).
Tampa, FL (MSO Tampa).........                    3
Region X or EPA Alaska RCP                        4
 (EPA Region X).
Sault Ste. Marie, MI (MSO                         4
 Sault Ste. Marie).
-------------------------------
                           Calendar Year 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florida Panhandle (MSO Mobile)                    1
SE Alaska (MSO Juneau)........                    1
Buffalo (MSO Buffalo).........                    2
Maine-New Hampshire (MSO                          2
 Portland, ME).
Philadelphia, PA (MSO                             2
 Philadelphia).
Region II RCP or Caribbean                        2
 (EPA Region II).
North Coast (CA) Area (MSO San                    3
 Francisco).
Region III RCP (EPA Region                        3
 III).
Region VI RCP (EPA Region VI).                    3
Caribbean Area (MSO San Juan).                    4
Northern Marianas (MSO Guam)..                    4
Western Lake Erie (MSO Toledo)                   4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Quarters: 1 (January-March); 2 (April-June); 3 (July-September); 4
  (October-December).
\2\ SONS: 2004 Spill of National Significance Exercise.


    Dated: October 9, 2003.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security and Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 03-26129 Filed 10-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P