BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Coast Guard and the New York State Park Police formally signed a cooperative agreement Friday morning to clarify agency roles for operations in the Niagara Falls River.
Capt. Brian Roche, commander of Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, and Maj. David Page, commanding officer of the New York State Park Police Western Region, shake hands after signing a cooperative agreement between the NYS Park Police and the Coast Guard, Nov. 1, 2013.(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Rory Boyle)
Capt. Brian Roche, commander of Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, and Maj. David A. Page, commanding officer of the NYSPP Western Region, entered into the cooperative agreement to further enhance coordination of maritime incidents along the Niagara River. The agreement covers a wide range of missions including: search and rescue; maritime law enforcement; ice rescue and pollution response.
“This is a huge step forward,” says Cmdr. Dan Jones, chief of response at Sector Buffalo. “Clarifying roles and formalizing the agreement will really go a long way to ensuring safe operations in the Niagara River.”
The signing of the cooperative agreement represents a unique opportunity to formalize the agency-to-agency cooperation between the Coast Guard and the State Park Police and is intended to define roles and responsibilities for decades to come. The agreement establishes consensus guidelines necessary to succeed over the long-term and will serve as a model for cooperation between New York State Park Police and Coast Guard leaders.
