ALCOAST 165/26 - JUN 2026 2025 MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS AWARD RECIPIENTS

R 081249Z JUN 26   MID120041303137U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 165/26
SSIC 1600
SUBJ: 2025 MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS AWARD
RECIPIENTS
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 081406Z APR 26/ALCOAST 090/26
B. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 121500Z DEC 25/ALCOAST 493/25
1. We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 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. As we reflect on his legacy, we honor a
career defined by unwavering leadership and transformative
contributions to Marine Environmental Protection. RADM Wallace’s
legacy endures in the policies he shaped, the people he mentored,
and the high standards he set for our Service. See REF (A) for his
recent passing and additional details on his extraordinary life.
2. The 2025 awardees were selected from the impressive people
nominated IAW paragraph 2 of REF (B); a panel convened and reviewed
the nominations. The award winners are:
    a. MST2 Evan Treanor from Sector Virginia
    b. Sector San Francisco Incident Management Division (IMD)
    c. Mr. Steven Woodard from Sector New Orleans
    d. The Coast Guard Incident Management Assist Team (CG-IMAT)
    e. Sector New Orleans Well #59 IMT
3. Details of each award recipient's achievements are as follows:
    a. The 2025 Wallace Award Individual Response recipient is
MST2 Evan Treanor from Sector Virginia. Notably, he responded to
142 pollution incidents involving over 41,400 gallons of hazardous
discharges, led four federal projects, and advanced unit readiness
by training and qualifying 14 responders.
        (1) He led critical responses to numerous oil spills,
including a 2,100-gallon discharge where he applied cutting-edge
modeling techniques to reduce wetland impact by 40 percent, as well
as a 1,400-gallon fuel oil spill where he protected economically
vital oyster beds and saved 60 percent of his allocated
federal funds.
        (2) His rigorous oversight during a Government Initiated
Unannounced Exercise exposed critical response shortcomings,
driving immediate corrective actions that improved regional
disaster readiness.
        (3) Additionally, he championed local habitat restoration
and public outreach, significantly enhancing community trust and
interagency cooperation.
    b. The 2025 Wallace Award Unit Response recipient is Sector
San Francisco Incident Management Division (IMD). Sector
San Francisco IMD demonstrated exceptional leadership and
innovation through management of 242 pollution incidents and
20 federal projects totaling over $3.2 million.
        (1) They led complex responses to major vessel pollution
cases, including the 152-foot M/V CHALEUR, which was successfully
cut and removed to restore a primary municipal water source, and
the F/V MANDY, where they mitigated hazardous threats near protected
sea lion habitats.
        (2) The IMD advanced response capabilities by
coordinating the removal of five derelict vessels at Hyde Street
Pier, hosting a multi-agency All-Hazard Response Workshop, and
standardizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems operations, which saved
an estimated $1.14 million in response costs.
    c. The 2025 Wallace Award Individual Preparedness recipient is
Mr. Steven Woodard from Sector New Orleans. Mr. Woodard
managed the Southeast Louisiana Area Contingency Plan,
enabling highly effective coordination and mitigation during
critical incidents, including the catastrophic "Well #59" crude
oil discharge.
        (1) He helped rewrite the national Area Contingency Plan
framework, integrated advanced environmental data management
applications, and facilitated joint aerial observation exercises
to strengthen pollution response capabilities.
        (2) Additionally, he proactively earned advanced instructor
certifications and delivered targeted Incident Command System
training, drastically enhancing incident management proficiency
across Coast Guard and partner agencies.
    d. The 2025 Wallace Award Unit Preparedness recipient is the
Coast Guard Incident Management Assist Team (CG-IMAT). CG-IMAT
significantly enhanced national readiness by executing a
comprehensive overhaul of all Incident Management Team (IMT)
Workshop materials and leading 22 rigorous workshops across the
nation, which resulted in over 200 critical qualifications for
Coast Guard and partner agency responders.
        (1) The team transformed these workshops into dynamic
readiness validations that pressure-tested regional contingency
plans and successfully identified systemic vulnerabilities for
enterprise-level correction.
        (2) Furthermore, COMDT (CG-IMAT) advanced nationwide
situational awareness by shaping next-generation incident management
software and developing a standardized Common Operating Picture and
Geospatial Information Systems dashboard.
    e. The 2025 Wallace Award Team recipient is the Sector
New Orleans Well #59 IMT. The catastrophic failure of Well #59
in April 2025, which discharged crude oil into Louisiana's remote
Pass-A-Loutre Wildlife Management Area, posed a major ecological
threat. In response, Sector New Orleans rapidly established a
Unified Command and assumed federal responsibility, coordinating
a $27 million federally directed response.
        (1) The Well #59 IMT provided critical leadership, seamlessly
directing over 340 responders across 17 organizations and
integrating 38 surface and aviation assets to develop a
comprehensive operational picture.
        (2) Key achievements include completing complex source control
operations to successfully cap the 80-year-old well, recovering over
1,350 barrels of oil, and pioneering virtual Shoreline Cleanup
Assessment Technique surveys using drones and satellite internet.
        (3) The team also managed high-visibility strategic
communications and expanded overall Coast Guard capabilities in
complex source control operations.
4. The following honorable mentions are commended for their
outstanding contributions:
    a. Individual Response, CPO Andrew Kistner of MSU Cleveland
    b. Unit Response, Sector Puget Sound
    c. Individual Preparedness, CWO2 Michael Rushane of Sector
Puget Sound
    d. Unit Preparedness, Sector New Orleans
    e. Team, Brunswick East River Mystery Sheen of IMT Georgia
5. Bravo Zulu to all winners and honorable mentions. Your efforts
are commendable and keeping with the legacy of RADM Sidney A.
Wallace. All members should be proud of their contributions to
the MER mission. Also thank you to all those who dedicated their
time to highlighted both unit and individual achievements.
6. In addition to the extraordinary achievements noted by the
Wallace Award individual, unit, and team recipients, we applaud the
continued environmental response and preparedness efforts
that you conduct on a day-to-day basis. Stay safe in the field and
we look forward to reviewing next year's submissions.
Semper Paratus!
7. POC: LT Noel Garcia, COMDT (CG-MER-1) at
Noel.L.Garcia@uscg.mil or (571) 607-6084.
8. RADM M. M. Dean, Assistant Commandant for Operations Integration
and Response Policy (CG-3/5R), sends.
9. Internet release is authorized.