ALCOAST 453/24 - DEC 2024 GOVERNMENT INITIATED UNANNOUNCED EXERCISE (GIUE) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR FY25 AND PROMULGATION OF THE GIUE, CGTTP 3-75.7

R 061233Z DEC 24   MID120001602137U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 453/24
SSIC 16000
SUBJ: GOVERNMENT INITIATED UNANNOUNCED EXERCISE (GIUE) PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS FOR FY25 AND PROMULGATION OF THE GIUE, CGTTP 3-75.7
A. U.S. Coast Guard Marine Environmental Response and Preparedness
Manual, COMDTINST M16000.14A
B. Government Initiated Unannounced Exercise (GIUE) Tactics,
Techniques, and Procedures, CGTTP 3-75.7
1. Per REF (A), this ALCOAST establishes the FY25 GIUE requirements
for Sector and Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Captains of the Port (COTP).
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) continues to require the number of GIUEs permitted
under regulation and the Preparedness for Response Exercise
Program (PREP) Guidelines, while also taking into account the total
number of group I-V oil candidates available within each COTP Zone.
Units with more than 12 facilities should select candidates using a
risk-based decision process as described in REF (A). Units with 12
or less should continue to rotate candidates to ensure compliance
with response plan regulations and planning standards. Candidates
include fixed and mobile Marine Transportation Related (MTR)
facilities and tank and non-tank vessels required to have response
plans.
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 when conducted within the same Fiscal Year
as the unsuccessful GIUE.
FY25 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 Boston                                                         4
Sector Charleston                                                    2
Sector Columbia River                                              4
Sector Corpus Christi                                                4
Sector Delaware Bay                                                 4
Sector Detroit                                                           2
Sector Eastern Great Lakes                                        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 Great Lakes                                          1
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 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, in accordance with REF (A), and 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, 2025. A template is posted on the COMDT (CG-MER-4)
SharePoint page:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/cgmer/mer4/Shared%20Documents/
Forms/AllItems.aspx?csf=1&web=1&e=3kcyvt&CID=affa0e7c%2D96fd%2D43d8%
2Dbc26%2D5945a8691a1f&FolderCTID=0x012000DDE6264431F48C40A463B348886
21F40&id=%2Fsites%2Fcgmer%2Fmer4%2FShared%20Documents%2FGIUE
%20Documents

    b. Requirements for average most probably discharge (AMPD)
equipment are defined in 33 C.F.R. 154.1040(d), 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 the equipment deployment requirements by merely
staging the equipment onsite. During a GIUE the facility or vessel
owner/operator must have the required equipment deployed to receive
credit for that portion of their required exercises. 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.
    d. Paragraph 6.C.2.c.(3) of REF (A) is amended to include: "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. 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. 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
(FRP holder) if the MTR facility has not had a successful GIUE in
the past 36 months." 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.
4. COMDT (CG-MER) has created the GIUE Tactics, Techniques, and
Procedures (TTP) REF (B) to outline additional requirements,
guidance, and training for conducting GIUEs. The TTP shall be used
by all units who administer a GIUE program. This TTP will be
available on MER and FORCECOM's Portal Online website once
published. VRPs and vessel GIUE history can be accessed using VRP
Express. 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.
5. These changes will be incorporated into the next revision of
REF (A), which will be released within the next year.
6. This message will be cancelled on 05 DEC 2025.
7. POC: CWO Amos R. Carroll, COMDT (CG-MER-4), 571-607-7565 or
Amos.R.Carroll@uscg.mil.
8. Ms. Dana S. Tulis, Director, Emergency Management (CG-5RI),
sends.
9. Internet release is authorized.