Rejuvenating the Port Area Committee Process
| Autor: | Donald S. Jensen, Lcdr Thomas D. Harrison, Thomas J. Hammell |
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| Rok vydání: | 1999 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings. 1999:305-309 |
| ISSN: | 2169-3358 2169-3366 |
| DOI: | 10.7901/2169-3358-1999-1-305 |
| Popis: | The organization that is most critical to the preparedness of a port is the Area Committee (AC). The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) mandated the establishment of ACs in every port area in the United States and charged them with oversight of the preparedness of their ports through preparation of Area Contingency Plans (ACPs) to specify how spill responses would be carried out. ACs were formed across the United States, and initial ACPs were drafted. Since the AC is an ad hoc voluntary group in each port, its resources and time available to accomplish its functions are often limited. Over time some ACs flourished and initiated many worthwhile projects advancing their mission of port preparedness. Others, through a lack of focus and resources, failed to achieve their full potential. A recent study for the U.S. Coast Guard investigated the interaction of the AC and the Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) government-led area exercises to develop a vision for a more effective interaction. This paper highlights recommendations made during that study, which are believed to strengthen the AC process. The paper includes the characteristics of an effective AC based on interviews conducted by the authors with ACs across the United States. Some of the recommendations discussed in the paper include:A national AC model to serve as a guide for the organization and functioning of an effective ACFunctions that all ACs should accomplishNationally promulgated standards of port preparednessPerformance measures to objectively diagnose a port's preparednessA more aggressive role for ACs in the PREP area exercise programA national database to provide information to ACs and others involved with preparedness and response |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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