§ 254.42 Exercises for your response personnel and equipment. ( a ) You must exercise your entire OSRP at least once every 3 years (triennial exercise). You may satisfy this requirement by conducting separate exercises for individual parts of the OSRP over the 3-year period; you do not have to exercise your entire OSRP at one time.
( b ) In satisfying the triennial exercise requirement, you must, at a minimum, conduct: ( 1 ) An annual spill management team tabletop exercise. The exercise must test the spill management team's organization, communication, and decision making in managing a response. You must not reveal the spill scenario to team members before the exercise starts.
( 2 ) An annual deployment exercise of response equipment identified in your OSRP that is staged at onshore locations. You must deploy and operate each type of equipment in each triennial period. However, it is not necessary to deploy and operate each individual piece of equipment.
( 3 ) An annual notification exercise for each facility that is manned on a 24- hour basis. The exercise must test the ability of facility personnel to communicate pertinent information in a timely manner to the qualified individual.
( 4 ) A semiannual deployment exercise of any response equipment which the BSEE Regional Supervisor requires an owner or operator to maintain at the facility or on dedicated vessels. You must deploy and operate each type of this equipment at least once each year. Each type need not be deployed and operated at each exercise.
( c ) During your exercises, you must simulate conditions in the area of operations, including seasonal weather variations, to the extent practicable. The exercises must cover a range of scenarios over the 3-year exercise period, simulating responses to large continuous spills, spills of short duration and limited volume, and your worst case discharge scenario.
( d ) BSEE will recognize and give credit for any documented exercise conducted that satisfies some part of the required triennial exercise. You will receive this credit whether the owner or operator, an OSRO, or a Government regulatory agency initiates the exercise. BSEE will give you credit for an actual spill response if you evaluate the response and generate a proper record. Exercise documentation should include the following information: ( 1 ) Type of exercise;
( 2 ) Date and time of the exercise;
( 3 ) Description of the exercise;
( 4 ) Objectives met; and
( 5 ) Lessons learned.
( e ) All records of spill-response exercises must be maintained for the complete 3-year exercise cycle. Records should be maintained at the facility or at a corporate location designated in the OSRP. Records showing that OSROs and oil spill removal cooperatives have deployed each type of equipment also must be maintained for the 3-year cycle.
( f ) You must inform the Chief, OSPD of the date of any exercise required by paragraph (b)(1), (2), or (4) of this section at least 30 days before the exercise. This will allow BSEE personnel the opportunity to witness any exercises.
( g ) The Regional Supervisor periodically will initiate unannounced drills to test the spill response preparedness of owners and operators.
( h ) The Chief, OSPD may require changes in the frequency or location of the required exercises, equipment to be deployed and operated, or deployment procedures or strategies. The Chief, OSPD may evaluate the results of the exercises and advise the owner or operator of any needed changes in response equipment, procedures, or strategies.
( i ) Compliance with the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) Guidelines will satisfy the exercise requirements of this section. Copies of the PREP document may be obtained from the Chief, OSPD.
[76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011, as amended at 81 FR 36153, June 6, 2016]