ALCOAST 471/23 - NOV 2023 GOVERNMENT INITIATED UNANNOUNCED EXERCISE (GIUE) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR FY24

R 281511Z NOV 23 MID120000660507U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 471/23
SSIC 16000
SUBJ: GOVERNMENT INITIATED UNANNOUNCED EXERCISE (GIUE) PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS FOR FY24
A. U.S. Coast Guard Marine Environmental Response and
Preparedness Manual, COMDTINST M16000.14A
1. Per REF (A), this ALCOAST establishes the FY24 GIUE requirements
for Sector and Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Captains of the Port (COTP).
Additionally, Paragraph 4 provides an amendment to REF (A).
2. GIUEs are a cornerstone of the area oil spill exercise cycle and
a key tool for COTPs to evaluate risk and measure oil spill response
preparedness. The Office of Marine Environmental Response Policy,
COMDT (CG-MER) is responsible for establishing the number of
GIUEs required for each COTP. The number of GIUEs established are
determined by taking into account the total number of candidates
available within each COTP Zone. Candidates include fixed and mobile
Marine Transportation Related (MTR) facilities and tank and non-tank
vessels required to have response plans. Units that wish to adjust
their requirements shall route a memo to COMDT (CG-MER), via their
chain of command, with adequate justification to support the change.
3. GIUE requirements are published annually. For the purposes of
GIUE reporting requirements, subsequent GIUEs on the same plan
holder following an unsuccessful GIUE do not count towards the
COTP’s annual requirement but must be conducted within the same
Fiscal Year.
FY24 GIUE Requirements:
MSU Duluth 1
MSU Houma 4
MSU Pittsburgh 4
MSU Port Arthur 4
MSU Savannah 2
MSU Valdez 1
Sector Anchorage 4
Sector Buffalo 2
Sector Boston 4
Sector Charleston 2
Sector Columbia River 4
Sector Corpus Christi 4
Sector Delaware Bay 4
Sector Detroit 2
Sector Guam 2
Sector Honolulu 3
Sector Houston-Galveston 4
Sector Jacksonville 4
Sector Juneau 4
Sector Key West 1 (every 3 years)
Sector Lake Michigan 4
Sector Long Island Sound 4
Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach 4
Sector Lower Mississippi River 4
Sector Maryland-National Capitol Region 4
Sector Miami 4
Sector Mobile 4
Sector New Orleans 4
Sector New York 4
Sector North Carolina 2
Sector Northern New England 4
Sector Ohio Valley 4
Sector Puget Sound 4
Sector San Diego 4
Sector San Francisco 4
Sector San Juan 4
Sector Southeastern New England 4
Sector Sault Ste. Marie 1
Sector St. Petersburg 4
Sector Upper Mississippi River 4
Sector Virginia 4
    a. GIUEs are routinely reported to DHS and COMDT (CG-DCO) as
service-wide performance measure. Units should perform GIUEs
throughout the year to facilitate meeting requirements, while also
ensuring plan holders are capable of responding in year-round
conditions. Ideally, COTPs required to conduct four GIUEs per FY
should conduct one exercise each quarter. Units that cannot meet
their GIUE requirement shall route a memo to COMDT (CG-MER), through
their District and Area, outlining the reasons the unit could not
complete the required exercises and how they intend to meet the
requirement going forward. GIUE shortfall memos should be received
by COMDT (CG-MER) no later than November 30, 2024. A template is
posted on the COMDT (CG-MER-4) SharePoint page:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/:f:/r/sites/cgmer/mer4/Shared%20
Documents/GIUE%20Documents?csf=1&web=1&e=OUeAaA

    b. Requirements for average most probable discharge (AMPD)
equipment are defined in 33 C.F.R. § 154.1045(c),
33 C.F.R. § 155.1050(d), and 33 C.F.R. § 155.5050(d). Plan holders
do not meet these requirements by merely staging the equipment
onsite. One of the exercises that plan holder’s receive credit for
is an equipment deployment exercise. Therefore, adequate amounts of
this equipment should be deployed and observed in an operational
state during a GIUE. Containment boom, along with all necessary
equipment for proper deployment, are to be in place within one hour
and skimming devices, including temporary storage, within two hours.
Units should keep in mind that these requirements specify criteria
to be used during the planning process and are not performance
standards. As such, units may grant some time variance based on
actual exercise conditions.
    c. Coordinating GIUEs with other agencies benefits both plan
holders and governing agencies. Joint GIUEs are a success story as
they achieve the goals of testing industry, improving interagency
relations, and providing training opportunities, while reducing
industry's exercise burden. Incident Management Divisions (IMD)
shall coordinate with other governing agencies to conduct joint
exercises when possible. To facilitate joint GIUEs when partnering
agencies have lengthy documentation procedures, units may delay
issuing the results letter to the plan holder when requested by the
other exercise evaluating agencies. Normally, Federal On-Scene
Coordinators (FOSC) have 10 business days to complete the results
letter, but at the request of another agency, the FOSC may
coordinate to issue the documentation at similar times. When this
occurs, the FOSC shall inform their District within 10 days of the
completed GIUE stating the details, to include the exercise results
and reason for the delay. This allows the District to log the
completed GIUE in the COMDT (CG-MER-4) SharePoint page for COMDT
(CG-MER) reporting purposes. Federal On-Scene Coordinators now have
30 days to complete the documentation in MISLE and forward to their
respective Districts.
4. Paragraph 6.C.2.c.(3) of REF (A) is amended to read:
“Tank vessels moored at an MTR facility may be considered for a GIUE
if the GIUE team determines the vessel is not relying on the MTR
facility for AMPD coverage, and notes this in the scenario. When the
MTR facility has a contract in place and is providing AMPD coverage
for the vessel, the GIUE team may conduct a GIUE to evaluate the
AMPD coverage provided by the MTR facility (plan holder) on the
condition that the MTR facility has not had a successful GIUE in the
past 36 months. VRP holders should be specifically notified that the
GIUE is intended to test their plan and they should not rely on the
facility plan for this scenario.” Any vessel that satisfactorily
completes a Coast Guard GIUE is not required to participate in
another Coast Guard GIUE for 36 months. All other vessels approved
under the same plan will receive credit for the COTP Zone in which
the satisfactory GIUE was conducted for 36 months.
5. COMDT (CG-MER) is creating Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
(TTP) to outline additional requirements, guidance, and training for
conducting GIUEs. This TTP will be available on MER and FORCECOM’s
Portal Online website once published. VRPs and vessel GIUE history
can be accessed using VRPExpress. COMDT (CG-MER-4) VRP personnel
can provide additional guidance and training on VRP Express and VRP
information upon request by emailing VRP@uscg.mil or by calling
202-372-1005.
6. The changes in paragraph 4 of this ALCOAST will be incorporated
into the next revision of REF (A).
7. This message will be cancelled on 16 NOV 24.
8. POC: LT Amos R. Carroll, COMDT (CG-MER-4), 571-607-7565 or
Amos.R.Carroll@uscg.mil.
9. Ms. Dana S. Tulis, Director of Emergency Management
(CG-5RI), sends.
10. Internet release is authorized.