Proceedings Of The Marine

FALL 2015

Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.

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78 Proceedings Fall 2015 www.uscg.mil/proceedings of Commerce, Transportation, Energy, and Interior, in concert with other National Response Team agencies, to facilitate an integrated federal effort in advanced plan- ning for new energy production and transportation. ■ Continue to invest in person nel and training to strengthen our cadre of preparedness specialists at all levels of the organization and provide them the tools needed to effectively leverage resources across local, state, and federal government and the private sec- tor; harmonize the diverse family of contingency and response plans; develop preparedness measures; and implement strategies necessary to mitigate the effects of oil spills and hazardous substance releases. ■ Evaluate and upgrade the command, control, communi- cations, and sensors necessary for shore-based incident response to ensure the Coast Guard is technologically prepared to meet the increasing demands of this mis- sion in the 21 st century. ■ Coordinate with federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, international partners, and the private sector to further advance response-related research and development associated with new forms of energy that may affect U.S. waters to inform prepared- ness and response activities. ■ Continue to engage federal, state, and local stakeholders to review and, if necessary, update existing area contin- gency plans, area maritime security assessments, area maritime security plans, and preauthorization agree- ments to refect new risks associated with increased oil production and new transportation modes. ■ Engage with the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior to identify sensitive marine environments, identify threatened and endangered spe- cies, and ensure compliance with federal consultation laws. Continue to work with these and other partners to integrate other consultation requirements into spill planning and response structures. Response Major environmental incidents such as the Deepwater Hori- zon oil spill; Hurricane Sandy; and the Paulsboro, New Jer- sey, train derailment, which released vinyl chloride into the air; underscore the importance of having well-trained and readily deployable incident management and pollu- tion response professionals. Equally important is a strong regulatory framework that ensures the right private sector resources are available to respond expeditiously, comple- menting federal, state, and local capacity and ensuring unity of effort. Small unit sizes, large distances, and limited oil spill removal organization resources along new and emerging transportation corridors, particularly on the western rivers and Great Lakes, present signifcant response challenges for on-scene coordinators and will require Coast Guard atten- tion to ensure response industry adaptation to changing transportation patterns. Further exacerbating these shortfalls is the lack of clear regulatory requirements for Group V (sinking) oils, which degrades response plan effcacy and presents an incomplete picture of industry readiness. Moreover, increased domestic energy production and exportation, particularly of LNG, will require additional security resources and innovative means to mitigate risk to ensure the safety and security of the public and maritime response personnel. Chief Warrant Offcer Dennis Croyle inspects machinery in the engine room aboard a tankship. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Offcer Henry G. Dunphy.

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