This week, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Oil Spill Response Division conducted a day-long Government Initiated Unannounced Exercise involving Pacific Operators Offshore, LLC (POOLLC). The full-scale exercise, held in Carpinteria, Calif., and offshore at Platform Hogan, tested POOLLC's ability to respond to a simulated spill event in accordance with its Oil Spill Response Plan (OSRP).
During the exercise, POOLLC was instructed to respond to a simulated release of 50 barrels of crude oil from a pipeline leak in the Platform Hogan-to-shore pipeline. Clean Seas, LLC, the Oil Spill Response Organization under contract with POOLLC, deployed response equipment. Representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary; and California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of Spill Prevention and Response also participated in the BSEE-led exercise.
These exercises are conducted in accordance with 30 CFR Section 254.42(g) as authorized by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. Following an exercise, BSEE and other participating agencies reviewed the day's events, identified lessons learned and provided appropriate regulatory feedback to help improve operators' response and approved OSRPs.
