[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 123 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 36328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14906]



[[Page 36328]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2014-0205]


National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program--Cycle Change

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces that it is changing from a three-
year to a four-year cycle for conducting National Preparedness for 
Response Exercise Program (PREP) area exercises. The changes are 
intended to promote the Coast Guard's maritime safety and stewardship 
missions.

DATES: Comments must be submitted to the online docket via http://www.regulations.gov, or reach the Docket Management Facility, on or 
before September 5, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit any comments using one of these methods:
    Online--http://www.regulations.gov following Web site instructions.
    Fax--202-493-2251.
    Mail or hand deliver--Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. 
Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Hours for hand 
delivery are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays (telephone 202-366-9329).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document 
call or email LCDR Jerry Butwid, Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-2263; 
email [email protected]. For information about viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Cheryl Collins, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826, toll free 1-800-
647-5527.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion

    Coast Guard units manage risk by leveraging opportunities to 
exercise with public, government, and industry stakeholders. Under 33 
U.S.C. 1321(j), the Coast Guard has been required since 1990 to 
periodically conduct oil spill response exercises to ensure that 
personnel and equipment are ready to respond to oil spills. The 
schedule for these exercises is largely determined by the Coast Guard 
but maintained by the National Schedule Coordination Committee (NSCC), 
which comprises representatives from the Coast Guard, the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the Department of the 
Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). 
Exercises are held in partnership with NSCC agencies and with private 
industry. Although the statute does not specify how often these 
exercises must be held, it has been Coast Guard practice since 1994 to 
hold area exercises once in every three years according to the PREP 
Guidelines in each of the Coast Guard's 42 Captain of the Port (COTP) 
zones and in each of the Environmental Protection Agency's 10 Regions. 
We have decided to extend the area exercise cycle to four years. This 
will ensure that exercises focus on quality, not quantity, by providing 
exercise coordinators sufficient time to process and implement area 
exercise lessons learned and best practices into the preparedness 
cycle.
    On March 25, 2014, BSEE published a notice \1\ on behalf of the 
NSCC, requesting public comments on the NSCC's latest draft PREP 
Guidelines update. The notice specifically stated that area exercises 
follow a three year cycle. We noted the possibility of changing to a 
four year cycle when we met with our NSCC partners at the NSCC's 
January 2014 meeting, and the NSCC agreed that BSEE would make no 
mention of a cycle change in its notice unless we first reached our 
decision on whether to proceed with the change. We did not reach our 
decision prior to March 18, when BSEE's notice was signed. The draft 
PREP Guidelines update to which that notice refers will be updated to 
reflect the new four year cycle.
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    \1\ 79 FR 16363.
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    For the next four fiscal years, beginning October 1, 2014, the 
start of Fiscal Year 2015, the PREP area exercise schedule will be:
    2015: Industry-led exercises in Sectors Delaware Bay, San Juan, 
Mobile Guam, and Juneau; government-led exercises in Sectors Hampton 
Roads, New Orleans, and Buffalo.
    2016: Industry-led exercises in Marine Safety Units Savannah, 
Duluth, and Valdez, and in Sectors Key West, Corpus Christi, Los 
Angeles/Long Beach (South), San Francisco, and Columbia River; 
government-led exercises in Sectors New York and Jacksonville.
    2017: Industry-led exercises in MSU Port Arthur and in Sectors 
Northern New England, Charleston, Lake Michigan, and Puget Sound; 
government-led exercises in MSU Morgan City and in Sectors Boston, 
Baltimore, and Long Island Sound.
    2018: Industry-led exercises in Sectors Southeastern New England, 
St. Petersburg, Houston-Galveston, Sault St. Marie, San Diego, Los 
Angeles/Long Beach (North), and Anchorage; government-led exercises in 
Sectors North Carolina, Miami, Detroit, and Honolulu.
    This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: May 29, 2014
P.J. Brown,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Response 
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-14906 Filed 6-25-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P