Cedar Key, Fla. – Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, in conjunction with its federal, state, and local port partners and key stakeholders, facilitated a day-long maritime pollution planning and response Table Top Exercise to validate portions of the Tampa Bay Area Contingency Plan to elected officials and stakeholders Thursday.
The exercise was intended to assist response partners, stakeholders, and trustees in validating and updating portions of the Tampa Bay Area Contingency Plan resulting from lessons learned during the Deepwater Horizon Response.
Participants at the exercise included members of the Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Levy County Emergency Management, the City of Cedar Key and University of Florida.
“I applaud the proactive efforts of Levy County to exercise their planning and response capabilities. The ability of federal, state and local officials to work together in the event of a maritime pollution event begins with training and preparation,” said Capt. Sheryl Dickinson, commanding officer of U.S. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg.
The exercise was organized in accordance with the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program, which is a capabilities and performance-based exercise program that provides a standardized methodology and terminology for exercise design, development, conduct, evaluation, and improvement planning. This is the first in a series of exercises that will be occurring in the western Florida coastal counties
To view the Tampa Bay Area Contingency Plan visit: http://ocean.floridamarine.org/ACP/STPACP/StartHere.html
