Title 18 . Environmental Conservation

Chapter 75 . Administrative Enforcement

Section 427. Nontank vessel equivalent plan contents

18 AAC 75.427. Nontank vessel equivalent plan contents

(a) A nontank vessel equivalent plan must be in a form that is usable as a working plan for oil discharge control, containment, cleanup, and disposal, and must contain enough information, analyses, and documentation to demonstrate the plan holder's ability to meet the applicable requirements of AS 46.04.055 and 18 AAC 75.441. The plan must provide sufficient detail to guide clearly an emergency response to a discharge, up to and including a discharge that is equal to the applicable response planning standard for each covered vessel as calculated under 18 AAC 75.441 in each of the applicant's regions of operation.

(b) A nontank vessel equivalent plan must contain the following information:

(1) Part 1 - General Information: the plan must include the following general information:

(A) the name of the plan holder;

(B) the application date of the plan and the first scheduled date of entry into waters of the state;

(C) the name of each covered nontank vessel;

(D) the name, telephone number, title, electronic mail address, and facsimile number of each qualified individual for the plan holder;

(E) the vessel fuel classification described in 18 AAC 75.446(e) (1), Table F, for which application is made; the vessel fuel classification must correspond to the largest vessel response planning standard volume calculated under (G) of this paragraph;

(F) the length overall, maximum beam, gross tonnage, and type and configuration of each covered vessel;

(G) the maximum fuel capacity, in barrels, of each covered vessel and the volume used to calculate the vessel's response planning standard under 18 AAC 75.441 for each vessel; if the volume used to calculate the vessel's response planning standard is less than the maximum fuel capacity of the vessel, the vessel operator must certify that the volume used to calculate the vessel's response planning standard under 18 AAC 75.441 is the maximum volume of fuel carried by the vessel in state waters;

(H) a general chart showing each route normally used within state waters, and the frequency of use for each route;

(I) if applicable, a statement certifying that

(i) for each region of operation identified in the plan, the applicant has a contract with, or is a member of, at least one nontank vessel cleanup contractor for that region of operation;

(ii) each nontank vessel cleanup contractor identified in the statement is registered under 18 AAC 75.500 - 18 AAC 75.580 for the appropriate vessel fuel classification under 18 AAC 75.561(b) (1), Table G, and region of operation identified in the plan; and

(iii) each contract or membership agreement with the nontank vessel cleanup contractor demonstrates that the nontank vessel cleanup contractor will respond on behalf of the applicant;

(J) if applicable, a statement certifying that

(i) for each region of operation identified in the plan, the applicant has a contract with at least one nontank vessel incident management team for that region of operation;

(ii) each nontank vessel incident management team identified in the statement is registered under 18 AAC 75.500 - 18 AAC 75.580 for the appropriate vessel fuel classification under 18 AAC 75.562(b) , Table II, and region of operation identified in the plan; and

(iii) each contract with the nontank vessel incident management team demonstrates that the nontank vessel incident management team will respond on behalf of the applicant;

(K) a statement certifying that each vessel complies with applicable federal and international maritime requirements; and

(L) a statement, signed by an individual with the authority described in the statement, committing the resources necessary to implement the plan, and certifying the contents of the application; the statement must read as follows: "I hereby certify under penalty of unsworn falsification in violation of AS 11.56.210 , that I am the applicant, a principal of the applicant, an authorized agent for the applicant, or an official of the applicant; that I have authority to sign this application and commit the resources necessary to implement the plan on behalf of the applicant; and that I have examined this application and plan in its entirety and to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, find it to be true, correct, and complete.";

(2) Part 2 - Response Operations Plan: the plan must include a response operations plan; the response operations plan must include the following information:

(A) emergency action checklist - a short checklist of the immediate response and notification steps to be taken if an oil discharge occurs; this checklist must be posted in prominent locations on board the vessel, including the bridge and engine compartment, and must be duplicated on a wallet-sized card, to be carried by the appropriate response personnel while on duty;

(B) reporting and notification - a description of the immediate spill reporting actions to be taken at any hour of the day, including the

(i) title and telephone number of personnel responsible for making notifications;

(ii) telephone number of each appropriate government agency to be notified if a discharge occurs, and who is to notify them; and

(iii) telephone number of each contracted nontank vessel cleanup contractor and nontank vessel incident management team, as appropriate, and who is to notify them;

(C) safety - based on applicable safety standards, a description of the steps necessary to develop an incident-specific safety plan for conducting a response;

(D) communications - a description of field communications procedures, including, if applicable, assigned radio channels or frequencies and their intended use by response personnel;

(E) deployment strategies - a description of proposed initial response actions that may be taken, including

(i) procedures for the transport of equipment, personnel, and other resources to the spill site, including plans for alternative transport methods in adverse weather conditions;

(ii) procedures that provide for transportation of personnel and all auxiliary equipment to a staging area; the procedures must demonstrate that containment, control, and cleanup equipment, sufficient to meet the response planning standard, can be in the region within 24 hours after the spill; and

(iii) if the operator is not the primary spill responder, procedures to notify and mobilize the contractor or other responder identified in the plan, including a description of the interim actions that the operator will perform until the responder identified in the plan initiates a full response to the discharge;

(F) response strategies - a description of the discharge containment, control, and cleanup actions to be taken, which clearly demonstrate the strategies and procedures adopted to conduct and maintain an effective response; this information must be presented in the form of a response scenario to a discharge of the applicable response planning standard volume and must be usable as a general guide for a discharge of any size; response strategies must include

(i) procedures to stop the discharge at its source and prevent its further spread;

(ii) a description of methods to prevent or control a potential fire hazard;

(iii) procedures and methods for real-time surveillance and tracking of the discharged oil on open water and forecasting of its expected points of shoreline contact;

(iv) procedures and methods to exclude oil from environmentally sensitive areas and areas of public concern;

(v) a description of the actions to be taken to contain and control the spilled oil, including, as applicable, boom deployment strategies, construction of temporary beams, and other methods; for planning purposes, a maximum three-foot wave height must be assumed;

(vi) a description of the actions to be taken to recover the contained or controlled oil using mechanical methods, including plans and provisions for skimming, absorbing, or otherwise recovering the contained or controlled product from water or land;

(vii) procedures for lightering, transfer, and storage of oil from damaged tanks or from undamaged tanks that might be at risk of discharging additional oil;

(viii) procedures and plans for transfer and storage of recovered oil and oily water, including methods for estimating the amount of recovered oil;

(ix) plans, procedures, and locations for temporary storage and ultimate disposal of oil contaminated materials, oily wastes, and sanitary and solid wastes, including plans for obtaining any required permits or authorizations for temporary storage or ultimate disposal;

(x) plans for the protection, recovery, disposal, rehabilitation, and release of potentially affected wildlife, including minimizing wildlife contamination through hazing or other means, when appropriate, the recovery of oiled carcasses to preclude secondary contamination of scavengers, and the capture, cleaning, rehabilitation, and release of oiled wildlife, when appropriate; and

(xi) if applicable, plans for the deployment of shoreline cleanup equipment and personnel, including cleanup and restoration methods and techniques to be used if the shoreline is impacted by the discharge;

(G) vessel diagram - a diagram of each covered vessel for reference in conducting emergency response operations; each diagram must have locations of features pertinent to the response plan clearly marked, including the location, size, and storage capacity of all oil storage tanks, the type of oil carried in each tank, and any other information that responders may need to know in an emergency;

(H) emergency contact - the name, location, and telephone number of an emergency contact for gaining access to detailed plans for each vessel showing the

(i) location of personnel quarters and each emergency exit;

(ii) location of all fuel piping locations, including valve locations and identification;

(iii) location and size of each tank, tank valve, overflow pipe, and tank access point;

(iv) location of each internal or portable pump on board;

(v) location of emergency shutdown switches; and

(vi) other detailed information pertinent to emergency response operations;

(I) response planning standard - a calculation of the response planning standard of each vessel, based on the fuel capacity as certified in (1)(G) of this subsection; the response planning standard volume for a plan covering more than one vessel must be equal to the largest calculated response planning standard volume for those vessels covered by the plan;

(3) Part 3 - Supplemental Information: the plan must include background and verification information, including:

(A) incident command system - a description of the incident command system to be used in response to a discharge, including the title, address, telephone number, and affiliation by company, agency, or local government of each person, including a person identified in (2)(B) of this subsection, who by law or through employment, contract, or cooperative agreement, is responsible for responding to a discharge, and each person's functional role in the command system; at a minimum, this list must include command, fiscal, operations, planning, and logistics lead personnel; the incident command system must be modeled after the National Interagency Incident Management System Incident Command System;

(B) logistical support - a listing of aircraft, vessels, and other means that may be used to transport equipment and personnel during a discharge response, including information of ownership and availability of identified means of transportation;

(C) response equipment - a complete list of contracted or other oil discharge containment, control, cleanup, storage, transfer, lightering, and related response equipment maintained or under contract which meets or exceeds the amounts set out in 18 AAC 75.446(e) (1), Table F, including

(i) the location, inventory, and ownership of the equipment;

(ii) the time frame for delivery and startup of response equipment and trained personnel located outside the vessel's region of operation;

(iii) the manufacturer's rated capacities, limitations, and operational characteristics for each item of oil recovery equipment;

(iv) each vessel designated for oil recovery operations, including skimming vessels and platforms and vessels designated to tow and deploy boom;

(v) information on each additional vessel available from other sources for oil recovery operations, including, if applicable, procedures for inventorying, training personnel, and equipping vessels;

(vi) pumping, transfer and temporary storage, and lightering equipment for transferring oil from damaged or undamaged tanks; and

(vii) the procedures for storage, maintenance, and inspection of spill response equipment under the immediate control of the operator when not in use, including procedures for periodic testing and maintenance of response equipment;

(D) training - a detailed description of the training programs for discharge response personnel; and

(E) additional information - other information necessary to provide background for or verification of the plan contents.

History: Eff. 11/27/2002, Register 164

Authority: AS 46.03.020

AS 46.04.030

AS 46.04.055

AS 46.04.070