1996 CANADA / UNITED STATES ATLANTIC EXERCISE (CANUSLANT)

Halifax - The Canadian Coast Guard of Fisheries and OceansCanada, Maritimes Region, and the United States Coast Guard FirstDistrict wish to advise the public that the 1996 Canada / UnitedStates Atlantic Exercise (CANUSLANT), will be conducted from September23 - 26, 1996, in areas limited to Grand Manan Island, N.B., theCanadian and United States coastlines adjacent to the border betweenNew Brunswick and the State of Maine.

CANUSLANT 1996 is the latest in a series of biennial exercisesconducted jointly by Canada and the United States since 1974 toexercise the Joint Canada / US Marine Pollution Contingency Plan.The aim of this exercise is to demonstrate the capability of designatedgovernment and industry agencies to provide a coordinated andintegrated response to cross boundary pollution incidents.

This year's exercise participants are: the Fisheries and OceansCanada (involving Canadian Coast Guard and Science), the UnitedStates Coast Guard, Environment Canada, the State of Maine, theUS Environmental Protection Agency, Emergency Preparedness Canada,National Defence, the Province of New Brunswick, the NationalOceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Irving Oil, Kent Lines,and two agencies certified by the CCG to respond to oil marinespill incidents in Atlantic Canada: the Atlantic Emergency ResponseTeam (ALERT) and the East Coast Response Corporation (ECRC).

The exercise will be a full scale combined management and operationalexercise conducted in accordance with the principles laid downin the Canadian Coast Guard National Marine Spill Response ExerciseProgram (NEP) and the US National Preparedness Response ExerciseProgram (PREP).

CANUSLANT 1996 will be conducted in two phases. The initial phasewill involve an operational deployment of ALERT response equipmentto the Grand Manan Island and the formation of a Command Postat the St. Andrews Biological Station. The second phase will includea Joint CCG / Industry Operations Centre to be located at theCCG Base in Saint John, and at the Courtney Bay Inn in Saint John.This phase will concentrate on various management issues surroundinga transboundary oil spill response.

The most recent of these exercises was held in Boston, Ma., Portland,Me., Dartmouth, N.S., and Deer Island, N.B. in 1994.

For information:

Jack Gallagher
Supt. Rescue and Environmental Response
Canadian Coast Guard
Fisheries and Oceans
Dartmouth, N.S.
(902) 426-2292

Lt. Jeff Gafkjen
US Coast Guard
Marine Safety Office
Portland, Maine
(207) 780-3251 ext. 114

Joe Leclair
Training Officer
Canadian Coast Guard
Fisheries and Oceans
Dartmouth, N.S.
(902) 426-9593

Phyllis Kay
Petty Officer
US Coast Guard
Boston, Ma
(617) 223-8515

Michel Thérien
Communications Branch
Canadian Coast Guard
Fisheries and Oceans
Moncton, N.B.
(506) 851-7704