[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 124-125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-8203]



[[Page 124]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2005-23339]


National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice; request for public comment.

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

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
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, developed the National 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 exercise cycle for 2006 through 2008, requests comments from 
the public, and requests industry participants to volunteer for 
scheduled PREP Area exercises. Additionally, this notice requests 
comments on the design and delivery of Government-led PREP exercises.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before March 6, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2005-23339 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
or need general information regarding the PREP or the triennial 
exercise schedule, contact Lieutenant Commander Mark Cunningham, Office 
of Response, Plans and Preparedness Division (G-MOR-2), U.S. Coast 
Guard, telephone 202-267-2877, fax 202-267-4065, or e-mail 
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Renee V. Wright, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-493-0402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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'' paragraph below.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your 
name and address, identify the docket number for this notice (USCG-
2005-23339), 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 as well as other elements of the PREP 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 last five digits of 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 United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Research and 
Special Programs Administration (RSPA) of the Department of 
Transportation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the 
Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the Department of the Interior, 
coordinated the development of the 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 planholder's 
organization. External exercises extend beyond the planholder's 
organization to involve other members of the response community. 
External exercises are separated into two categories: area exercises, 
and Government-initiated, unannounced exercises. External exercises are 
designed to evaluate the entire pollution response mechanism in a given 
geographic area to ensure adequate response preparedness.
    A National Schedule Coordination Committee (NSCC) was established 
for scheduling Area exercises. The NSCC is comprised of personnel 
representing the four Federal regulating agencies--the USCG, EPA, MMS, 
and PHMSA's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS). Since 1994, the NSCC has 
published a triennial schedule of area exercises. Area exercises 
involve the entire response community including Federal, State, local, 
tribal, and non-government organizations, and industry participants; 
therefore, these area exercises require more extensive planning than 
other oil spill response exercises. The PREP Guidelines describe all of 
these exercises in more detail.

Source for PREP Documents

    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/federalregister.html. To 
obtain a hard copy of the exercise design manual, contact Ms. Melanie 
Barber at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 
(PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety at 202-366-4560. The 2002 PREP 
Guidelines booklet is available at no cost on the Internet at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/nsfweb/nsfcc/prep/federalregister.html or by writing or 
faxing the TASC DEPT Warehouse, 33141Q 75th Avenue, Landover, MD

[[Page 125]]

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.

PREP Schedule

    Table 1 below lists the dates and Federal Register cites of past 
PREP exercise notices.

                  Table 1.--PAST PREP EXERCISE NOTICES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Federal Register
       Date published                 cite                 Notice
------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 21, 2004..........  69 FR 56445.........  PREP triennial
                                                     exercise schedule
                                                     for 2005, 2006, and
                                                     2007.
February 5, 2004............  69 FR 5562..........  Revision to PREP
                                                     triennial exercise
                                                     schedule for 2004,
                                                     2005, and 2006.
October 16, 2003............  68 FR 59627.........  PREP triennial
                                                     exercise schedule
                                                     for 2004, 2005, and
                                                     2006.
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.
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This notice announces the next triennial schedule of area 
exercises. The PREP schedule for calendar years 2006, 2007, and 2008 
for Government-led and Industry-led Area exercises is available on the 
Internet at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/nsfweb/nsfcc/prep/PREP%20CY2006-2008%20DRAFT.xls. If a company wants to volunteer for an Area exercise, 
a company representative may call either the Coast Guard or EPA on-
scene coordinator where the exercise is scheduled.

Design and Delivery of Government-Led PREP exercises

    The National Strike Force Coordination Center (NSFCC) designs and 
coordinates the delivery of Government-led PREP exercises. If you have 
concerns or recommended improvements to the Government-led PREP 
exercises, please submit those using the procedures described under the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice. If sufficient interest exists, the 
NSFCC, in coordination with the NSCC, may hold a public workshop to 
determine improvements to the method in which they develop and deliver 
Government-led PREP exercises.

    Dated: December 28, 2005.
Craig E. Bone,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Assistant Commandant for Marine 
Safety, Security and Environmental Protection.
 [FR Doc. E5-8203 Filed 12-30-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P