Admiral: Coast Guard not ‘aggressively enforcing’ response rules
A U.S. Coast Guard admiral testified to Congress that the service has not been aggressively ensuring that vessels’ salvage and firefighting plans comply with federal regulations.
Rear Adm. Paul Thomas told a House subcommittee in May that because of a lack of resources, the Coast Guard “has not been aggressively enforcing the compliance” of vessel response plans filed under federal salvage and marine firefighting (SMFF) regulations.
The 2009 rules on the availability of 19 types of salvage services stem from the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) and are designed to prevent spills caused by a fire or explosion on a vessel. The enforcement of those rules was the subject of the May 3 hearing by the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Thomas, as assistant commandant for prevention policy, does not oversee compliance with the SMFF regulations. His assertion that insufficient resources prevent checking on whether shippers and response companies have proper plans in place aligned with concerns raised by the subcommittee chairman and some industry stakeholders.
Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., asked the Coast Guard official why vessel insurers don’t require better compliance to reduce their risk. “I think one of the reasons, and I think that most of the panel members here would agree, is because the Coast Guard has not been aggressively enforcing the compliance,” Thomas said.
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