Environmental Statement on Response Plans

The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking comments on its Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) for increasing the oil removal capability requirements (caps) for vessel and facility oil spill response plans. The DPEIS is a huge, multi-volume set. The Executive Summary alone is 39 pages long. The DPEIS considers five major alternatives to raising the caps (which were first established back in the dark ages of 1993, when the OPA 90 Staff was laying courses across uncharted waters) and proposes a combination of mechanical recovery, on-water dispersant capability and in-situ burn credits. Comments should be submitted by August 1. 70 Fed. Reg. 31487 (June 1, 2005).