Pollution Response Team to Conduct Training in Juneau

A multi-agency pollution response training event will be conducted in the Juneau area during this week from May 13-15. The exercise is being coordinated under the Preparedness for Response Exercise Program, which has established requirements for periodically exercising oil spill response contingency plans throughout the country. A joint exercise team, consisting of local oil spill response planners, has been meeting to plan this exercise since January. A specialized team of Coast Guard exercise planners from the National Strike Force Coordination Center in North Carolina facilitated the team throughout the planning process. The Juneau Delta Western facility volunteered to participate as the lead industry planner for the exercise. Many activities will take place during the three-day event, with the main focus on training. Classes will be conducted during the 12th and 13th for shoreline cleanup, creating a joint information center, cost documentation process, and response equipment operations. A joint command post exercise will be conducted at Centennial Hall May 14. On the 15th a small equipment deployment and demonstration will occur in the Lawson Creek and Snowslide Creek areas of Juneau harbor. On-water activities on the 15th are not anticipated to impact normal harbor activities. An estimated 100 responders are expected to attend the various events. Members of this exercise includes Delta Western and Southeast Alaska Petroleum Response Organization (SEAPRO) representatives, Taku Oil, Petro Marine Services, SeaCoast Towing, the City and Borough of Juneau and Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska (CLAA). State participants include the Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Fish and Game, and Department of Natural Resources. Federal participants include NOAA, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Coast Guard members from the Marine Safety Office Juneau and 17th Coast Guard District staff.