My OSRO does my PREP TTX. Do I need it discussed in my FRP?
John K. Carroll III
Associate Managing Director at Witt O'Brien's, LLC, Part of the Ambipar Group
(This article was written without AI tools, i.e., ChatGPT.)
If your operation falls under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90), and is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United States Coast Guard (USCG), or Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), ?you must comply with the 2016 National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) guidelines.
One question comes up frequently when we work with clients that only have a handful of people on-site or, in some cases, in their company, when developing the required Facility Response Plans (FRP) / Oil Spill Response Plans (OSRP) under OPA90: “Why are you noting Incident Management Team (IMT) Tabletop Exercises (TTX) in my plan? We do not have response resources, and our Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO) manages this for us.”
The short answer is that OPA90 requires the operator/owner to participate in TTX , regardless of who conducts the actual exercise or is the primary response “unit.” These exercises aim to functionally test how all “players” will act in an incident. Your OSRO may do 90% of the work, but you are the Responsible Party (RP) and must participate in the exercise. You also have to document your participation and test your capabilities (in whatever capacity/functionality they may be). As such, your FRP/OSRP should summarize PREP. Your plan should also describe how your IMT (or Emergency Response Team (ERT)) is set up, and how it is trained. The description should note your limited capabilities and your relationships/reliance on third-party resources.
The bottom line is that if OPA90 regulates you, you must participate in the applicable portions of PREP. Failure to do so can result in regulatory deficiencies and fines. As such, your response plan should summarize your participation so that you have identified all applicable requirements, and nothing is overlooked.
An important note: the USCG, EPA, and PHMSA have slight variations under PREP for particular requirements. In the PREP document (link above) you’ll notice that the guidance provides color codes for each agency. If you are regulated by multiple agencies, you do not have to do separate exercises for each one. PREP allows you to combine them, and you just need to ensure that all applicable requirements are addressed.
Additional information on PREP:
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Do you need assistance with PREP, developing a response plan, or just having questions about OPA90? If so, email me below. Witt O’Brien’s assists hundreds of facilities annually with OPA90 programs.
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For a complete listing of archived articles and compliance insights, click here. Past articles cover training requirements, clarification of additional unclear elements within the above rules, and more.
We are here to help solve your compliance questions and challenges. If you need compliance assistance or have questions, please email John K. Carroll III ([email protected]), Associate Managing Director – Compliance Services, or call +1 954-625-9373.
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2 天前John, thank you for providing such a succinct and valuable summary!