Higher Volume Port Area-State of Washington

Zusammenfassung

The Coast Guard announces that it intends to comply with recent legislation that would expand an existing higher volume port area (HVPA) for Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The expansion would add Pacific Ocean waters, under U.S. jurisdiction and within a 50-mile arc measured from Cape Flattery, Washington, to the HVPA. Higher volume port areas require certain tankers to plan for faster response times following a spill of the tanker's cargo. The expansion could require a tanker's owner or operator to review and modify the tanker's existing vessel response plan (VRP) accordingly, and to receive Coast Guard approval for the modified VRP by October 15, 2015.