[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67922-67923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24521]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2022-0576]


Draft Guidance for Nationally Consistent Coastal Zone Area 
Contingency Plan Architecture

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability, in the docket, of 
a draft guidance document intended to establish a new, nationally 
consistent architecture for coastal zone Area Contingency Plans (ACPs). 
ACPs are required by the Clean Water Act and demonstrate the planning 
for oil and hazardous substance incident response at the local level. 
ACPs for areas within the coastal zone are approved by the Coast Guard. 
To modernize coastal ACPs, improve usability and attain national 
consistency the Coast Guard is developing new policy pertaining to ACP 
architecture. This new, standardized construct will better enable 
industry plan writers of vessel and facility response plans with 
multiple, diverse operating areas to consistently align with Coast 
Guard approved ACPs. A more standardized approach will minimize 
confusion due to highly variable ACP structure and content and will 
also facilitate more efficient response, especially for large sale 
responses requiring mobilization of personnel and resources from 
outside the region. Additionally, adopting a nationally consistent 
architecture will facilitate the Coast Guard's development of more 
modern, app-based ACP products for end users.

DATES: Comments must be submitted to the online docket via https://www.regulations.gov on or before January 9, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2022-0576 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for 
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further 
instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document 
call or email Jonathan Smith, Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-2675, 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments (or related material) on the 
draft guidance document in the docket. We will consider all submissions 
and may adjust our final action based on your comments. The Coast Guard 
Office of Marine Environmental Response Policy will release A Marine 
Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) containing the final product. When 
available, the MSIB will be posted here: https://homeport.uscg.mil/missions/environmental/hq-mer-msib. If you submit a comment, please 
include the docket number for this notice, indicate the specific 
section of this document to which each comment applies, and provide a 
reason for each suggestion or recommendation.
    We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be 
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate 
instructions. Documents mentioned in this notice as being available in 
the docket, and public comments, are in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and can be viewed by following that website's 
instructions. We review all comments received, but we may choose not to 
post off-topic, inappropriate, or duplicate comments that we receive. 
If you go to the online docket and sign up for email alerts, you will 
be notified when comments are posted.
    We accept anonymous comments. Comments we post to https://www.regulations.gov will include any personal information you have 
provided. For more about privacy and submissions in response to this 
document, see DHS's eRulemaking System of Records notice (85 FR 14226, 
March 11, 2020).
    The USCG requests comments from all stakeholders who use or have a 
role in the development of ACPs, including but not limited to: federal 
agencies with a nexus to the National Response System; tribal 
representatives; State and local agencies (Local Emergency Planning 
Committees; emergency managers, response personnel; Oil Spill Removal 
Organizations and environmental consultants; Non-profit and voluntary 
organizations; Industry plan holders; and any other organizations 
active in area committee functions. Comments received will be 
considered in preparing final guidance document(s).

Background and Purpose

    ACPs are required by Title IV, Section 4202 of the Oil Pollution 
Act of 1990, which amends Subsection (j) of Section 311 of the Federal 
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321 (j)), as amended by the 
Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et. seq.) to address the 
development of a National Planning and Response System. ACPs are also 
written in conjunction with the National Oil and Hazardous Substance 
Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) (40 CFR part 300) and the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) as amended by the Superfund Amendments 
and Reauthorization Act of 1986. Under the

[[Page 67923]]

NCP, the Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provide 
the leadership of the National Response Team (NRT), the Regional 
Response Teams (RRT) and local Area Committees to engage the National 
Response System to verify threats (spill potential), identify risks 
(resources that might be harmed in a spill), and establish the 
strategies necessary to prepare for and respond to a pollution incident 
or event.
    The Coast Guard and EPA are responsible for organizing and 
overseeing the Area Committees and each Area Committee is responsible 
for developing the ACP for their area of responsibility. ACPs outline 
the plan for oil and hazardous substance incident response at the local 
level. Additionally, ACPs describe the strategy for the Federal On-
Scene Coordinator (FOSC) to achieve a unified and coordinated response 
with federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, responsible party 
(RP), and other stakeholders. The predesignated FOSC has the legal 
responsibility to both plan for and respond to oil or hazardous 
substance spills in their area of responsibility. Pursuant to Executive 
Order 12777 (of October 22, 1991) the EPA provides the FOSC responsible 
for overseeing area contingency planning and response in the inland 
zone and the Coast Guard provides the FOSC for the coastal zone.
    As per the NCP, the coastal zone is defined as ``all United States 
waters subject to the tide, United States waters of the Great Lakes, 
specified ports and harbors on inland rivers, waters of the contiguous 
zone, other waters of the of the high seas subjected to the NCP, and 
the land surface or land substrata, ground waters, and ambient air 
proximal to those waters.'' ACPs are an integral component of the 
National Response System, as outlined in the NCP, which is comprised of 
federal, state, and local responders and private sector partners. The 
NRS provides a framework for coordination to respond effectively and 
efficiently to oil discharges; releases of hazardous substances, 
pollutants and contaminants; and radiological substances. As prescribed 
in the NCP, ACPs are part of a broader, layered system of plans 
designed to work in a synchronized manner. As required by the FWPCA, 
vessel and facility response plans must be consistent with the 
applicable ACPs for the areas in which they operate.
    Please note that the proposed guidance is for a macro level ACP 
architecture only, and that the USCG recognizes that some degree of 
local variability is expected beneath the macro level elements. The 
USCG will continue to advance additional, more detailed policy guidance 
supporting this new ACP architecture.
    This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: November 4, 2022.
T.L. Wirth,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Office of Marine Environmental Response 
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2022-24521 Filed 11-9-22; 8:45 am]
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