Guest blog from LT Kelly Dietrich, USCG
Oil and Hazardous Substance Response Division U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters - Office of Incident Management and Preparedness
The United States Coast Guard is excited to sponsor the 2010 Spill of National Significance (SONS) Exercise which kicks off on March 22th with training, equipment deployment, and exercise play in Portland, ME; Portsmouth, NH; Boston, MA; Portsmouth, VA; and Washington, D.C. This exercise will include on-water use of oil spill response equipment including boom, skimmers, response vessels, and aircraft deployed by Transport Canada, US Coast Guard, US Navy, State, and commercial contractors.
The purpose of SONS 2010 is to implement and stress all elements of oil spill response plans and organizations at the local regional, and national levels in accordance with the National Contingency Plan (NCP) and National Response Framework (NRF). This includes the engagement of the National Incident Commander (NIC), a national level support position responsible for coordination and communication at the national and strategic levels.
The exercise has been designed by over 200 representatives from over 50 participating agencies over the past year. Shell Oil volunteered to support the exercise as the industry Responsible Party. We look forward to a realistic and valuable learning opportunity designed to test and examine the NRS.
Exercise partners include: Transport Canada, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Navy Supervisor of Salvage, National Response Team, Shell Oil Products US, as well as the States of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Exercise design and execution are major efforts that require the full participation of all partners.
A short photo collage titled Oil Spill Response featuring some images from the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay November 2007.
For more information about the SONS 2010 exercise and past SONS exercises please visit www.SONS2010.com.
