SCAA PARTNERSHIP ACTION TEAM
(PAT)
USCG PAT
In February of 1998, the Spill Control Association of America and
the U.S. Coast Guard entered into a Quality Partnership for Marine
Safety and Environmental Protection. In June of 1998, the Association
of Petroleum Industry Co-op Managers ("APICOM") also became
a signatory to the Partnership.
The purpose of the Partnership is to strengthen the communication
and working relationship between the parties and the spill response
community. Its objectives are to improve the effectiveness of spill
response and to further sound risk management among/between private
and governmental response organizations.
This quality partnership established a program of cooperative,
informal, structured processes addressing issues of marine safety
and environmental protection. These processes are not intended to
subvert the legitimate role for government regulation in establishing
minimum standards necessary to ensure the safety of U.S. Waters,
response vessels and crews; nor are they intended to supplant the
important role that has been and continues to be played by existing
federal advisory committees to the Coast Guard. Rather, they are
intended to complement these other legitimate government and industry
functions by providing a flexible mechanism for joint Coast Guard-industry
action in a results oriented, non-regulatory environment.
The quality partnership involved the creation of a Partnership
Action Team ("PAT") comprised of SCAA, U.S. Coast Guard,
and APICOM representatives to review and act on Opportunities for
Improvement received from members of the spill response community,
SCAA, APICOM, and U.S. Coast Guard personnel.
Issues addressed by the PAT thus far include The Interface of Public
and Private Response Resources; The Basic Ordering Agreement ("BOA")
Process; and The Federal Role in Dispersant Deployment.
A letter from Rear Admiral Paul J. Pluta
David Usher Speaks on
the tougher response rules
and on
The Role of the Private Sector in Homeland Defense
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