ALCOAST 178/21 - MAY 2021 2020 MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS AWARD RECIPIENTS

R 111121Z MAY 21
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 178/21
SSIC 16452
SUBJ:  2020 MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS
AWARD RECIPIENTS
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 121701Z JAN 21/ALCOAST 014/21  
1. I am pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 RADM
Sidney A. Wallace Award for Excellence in Marine Environmental
Response and Preparedness (Wallace Award). The Wallace Award
recognizes units and individual members who exemplify the
highest standards of professionalism and initiative embodied by
RADM Wallace throughout his career. This year’s awardees were
selected from impressive nominations submitted per REF (A).
Thank you to all who dedicated time to highlight both unit and
individual achievements. A panel convened and reviewed the
nominations based on the following criteria:
    a. Excellence in the area of marine environmental response
and preparedness;
    b. Contributions to the Marine Environmental Response (MER)
Program;
    c. Efforts to improve coordination and cooperation among all
MER partner agencies, industry, and the public;
    d. Professional conduct in carrying out program assignments;
    e. Innovations in response and preparedness to pollution
incidents; and
    f. Furthering the goals and objectives of the MER program.
2. The 2020 Wallace Award unit recipient is Sector New Orleans.
Sector New Orleans displayed excellence in marine environmental
response and preparedness during 2020. In addition to leading 11
federally managed oil spill projects totaling over $39 million,
Sector New Orleans and its sub-units responded to over 1,200
reports of pollution, leading to 515 enforcement activities.
Additionally, Sector New Orleans expertly responded to six named
storms during the 2020 Gulf Hurricane Season. Utilizing this
extensive field experience, Sector personnel made great
contributions to the MER program through their involvement with
the development and beta-testing of new program-level Marine
Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) data-entry
requirements that will streamline MER data entries and establish
measures to analyze effectiveness and efficiency nationwide.
Sector New Orleans also displayed outstanding preparedness
in the response to the fatal marine casualty involving the towing
vessel RC CREPPEL, ably managing the response to the potential
release of 286,000 gallons of sulfuric acid. Demonstrating
exceptional innovation, Sector New Orleans partnered with U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to utilize CBP's BigPipe
mobile data management suite and Geospatial Intelligence assets
to provide data throughput and populate information within the
Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) during
hurricane response efforts, enabling field responders to conduct
rapid target assessment and synthesize large volumes of data in
communication compromised areas. Demonstrating continued management
of the MC-20 oil spill response, Sector New Orleans oversaw the
first-ever maintenance operations on the Rapid Response Solution
equipment, a complex operation involving sustained saturation
dive operations over a 47-day period. These innovative at-sea
recovery solutions demonstrate the leading edge in deep ocean
spill response technology. Sector New Orleans’ combined efforts
led to furthering the goals and objectives of the MER program
and are in keeping with the legacy of RADM Sidney A. Wallace.
3. The 2020 Wallace Award individual recipient is MSTC
Christopher K. Lynch, stationed at Sector Mobile. Chief Petty
Officer Lynch's professionalism in carrying out program assignments
and efforts to improve coordination and cooperation among MER
partner agencies were highlighted during the responses to
Hurricanes Sally and Zeta. Exercising superb foresight and
preparedness for both category II storms and five other storm
events, Chief Lynch coordinated with multiple Federal, State
and local partners, including the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality, Alabama Department of Environmental
Management, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
to assess 90 key locations in advance of each weather event.
Serving as the Marine Environmental Response Branch Director
and Deputy Operations Section Chief, he coordinated the management
of $1.3 million from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. Directing
twenty MER teams throughout both challenging responses, Chief Lynch
was instrumental in identifying and responding to 1,202 vessel
targets. Ultimately, the responses deployed 5,600 feet of hard
boom, and removed 7,000 gallons of oil-water mixture and 12 tons
of oiled solids. Further, Chief Lynch demonstrated a consistent
effort to improve MER response program activities within Sector
Mobile. Spearheading the creation of a Sector-wide Marine Science
Technician instruction and training program, he improved the
professionalism of the MER program and significantly increased
the number of qualified Federal On-Scene Coordinator Representatives,
Pollution Responders, and Incident Command System trained personnel
within the Sector, ultimately improving the capabilities of the
next generation of MER professionals. MSTC Lynch's contributions
to the MER program are commendable and are in keeping with the
legacy of RADM Sidney A. Wallace.
4. There were a total of 28 combined unit and individual
nominations submitted to the panel for review. The selection
process was thorough and thoughtful. All units and members
should be proud of their continued efforts to support the
MER mission. Although only one recipient for each category
could be selected, it is my honor to provide the following
honorable mentions:
    a. Unit:
        (1) CG District Eight DRAT
        (2) Gulf Strike Team
        (3) Sector San Diego
        (4) Pacific Strike Team
        (5) Sector Delaware Bay
    b. Individual:
        (1) Mr. Anthony Mangoni – CG District Nine DRAT
        (2) MSSR3 Brandon Todd – CG Sector New Orleans
        (3) MSSR2 Francis Schiano – CG Atlantic Strike Team
5. In addition to the extraordinary achievements noted by the
Wallace Award Unit and Individual recipients, I applaud the
continued environmental response efforts conducted on a
day-to-day basis. Stay safe in the field and we look forward to
reviewing next year's submissions. Semper Paratus!
6. POC: LT Justin R. Valentino, COMDT (CG-MER) at
Justin.R.Valentino@uscg.mil or (202) 372-2248.
7. Ms. Dana Tulis, Director, Emergency Management (CG-5RI), sends.
8. Internet release is authorized.