Title 33
SECTION 146.140
146.140 Emergency Evacuation Plan.
§ 146.140 Emergency Evacuation Plan.(a) The operator of each manned OCS facility shall develop an Emergency Evacuation Plan (EEP) for the facility which addresses all of the items listed in paragraph (d) of this section. The EEP may apply to more than one facility, if the facilities are located in the same general geographic location and within the same Coast Guard Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI) zone; if each facility covered by the EEP is specifically identified in the EEP; and if the evacuation needs of each facility are accommodated. The EEP must be submitted to the OCMI having jurisdiction over the facility, 30 days before placing the facility in operation. The OCMI reviews the EEP to determine whether all items listed in paragraph (d) of this section are addressed for each facility included in the EEP. If the OCMI determines that all items in paragraph (d) of this section are addressed, the OCMI stamps the EEP “APPROVED” and returns it, together with a letter indicating Coast Guard approval, to the operator. If the OCMI determines that any item is not addressed, the OCMI stamps the EEP “RETURNED FOR REVISION” and returns the EEP, together with an explanation of the EEP's deficiencies, to the operator.
(b) Once the EEP is approved under paragraph (a) of this section, the facility operator shall ensure that a copy of the EEP and the letter indicating Coast Guard approval is maintained on the facility.
(c) The EEP must be resubmitted for approval when substantive changes are made to the EEP. Only the pages affected by a change need be resubmitted if the EEP is bound in such a way as to allow old pages to be removed easily and new ones inserted. Substantive changes include, but are not limited to, installation of a new facility within the area covered by an EEP, relocation of a MODU, changes in the means or methods of evacuation, or changes in the time required to accomplish evacuation.
(d) The EEP must, at a minimum,
(1) Be written in language that is easily understood by the facility's operating personnel;
(2) Have a table of contents and general index;
(3) Have a record of changes;
(4) List the name, telephone number, and function of each person to be contacted under the EEP and state the circumstances in which that person should be contacted;
(5) List the facility's communications equipment, its available frequencies, and the communications schedules with shore installations, standby vessels, rescue aircraft, and other OCS facilities specified in the EEP;
(6) Identify the primary source of weather forecasting relied upon in implementing the EEP and state the frequency of reports when normal weather is forecasted, the frequency of reports when heavy weather is forecasted, and the method of transmitting the reports to the facility;
(7) Designate the individual on each facility covered by the EEP who is assigned primary responsibility for implementing the EEP;
(8) Designate those facility and shoreside support personnel who have the authority to advise the person in charge of the facility as to the best course of action to be taken and who initiate actions to assist facility personnel;
(9) Describe the recognized circumstances, such as fires or blowouts, and environmental conditions, such as approaching hurricanes or ice floes, in which the facility or its personnel would be placed in jeopardy and a mass evacuation of the facility's personnel would be recommended;
(10) For each of the circumstances and conditions described under paragraph (d)(9) of this section, list the pre-evacuation steps for securing operations, whether drilling or production, including the time estimates for completion and the personnel required;
(11) For each of the circumstances and conditions described under paragraph (d)(9) of this section, describe the order in which personnel would be evacuated, the transportation resources to be used in the evacuation, the operational limitations for each mode of transportation specified, and the time and distance factors for initiating the evacuation; and
(12) For each of the circumstances and conditions described under paragraph (d)(9) of this section, identify the means and procedures -
(i) For retrieving persons from the water during an evacuation;
(ii) For transferring persons from the facility to designated standby vessels, lifeboats, or other types of evacuation craft;
(iii) For retrieving persons from designated standby vessels, lifeboats, or other types of evacuation craft if used; and
(iv) For the ultimate evacuation of all persons on the facility to land, another facility, or other location where the evacuees would be reasonably out of danger under the circumstance or condition being addressed.
(e) The operator shall ensure that -
(1) All equipment specified in the EEP, whether the equipment is located on or off of the facility, is made available and located as indicated in the EEP and is designed and maintained so as to be capable of performing its intended function during an emergency evacuation;
(2) All personnel specified in the EEP are available and located as specified in the EEP and are trained in fulfilling their role under the EEP; and
(3) Drills are conducted in accordance with § 146.125(c).
(f) A complete copy of the EEP must be made available to the facility's operating personnel and a brief written summary of, or an oral briefing on, the EEP must be given to each person newly reporting on the facility.
(g) A copy of the EEP must be on board each standby vessel, if any, designated in the EEP and provided to all shoreside support personnel, if any, specified in the EEP.
[CGD 84-098b, 54 FR 21572, May 18, 1989, as amended by USCG-1998-3799, 63 FR 35530, June 30, 1998]