MEXUS GULF EXERCISE 2004

摘要

The Agreement of Cooperation Between the United States ofrnAmerican and the United Mexican States Regarding Pollution ofrnthe Marine Environment by Discharges of Hydrocarbons andrnOther Hazardous Substances signed in February 2000 by the U.S.rnCoast Guard and the Secretaria de Marina-Armada de Mexico,rnestablished the beginning of a successful bilateral cooperationrnbetween both countries for the preparation and response tornpollution incidents that could affect the coastal waters of bothrncountries. The agreement calls for joint pollution response exercisesrnto be conducted to exercise the bilateral coordination andrnjoint response system.rnIn May 2004, the Shell Exploration and Production Companyrnacted as the Responsible Party in such a joint exercise, denominatedrnMEXUS GULF 2004. The exercise was conducted inrnMatamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico May 25-27, 2004. Building on arnpreviously conducted exercise in 2002, the objectives of the 2004rnexercise were to exercise and identify joint response proceduresrnfollowing a significant impact to the shared shorelines. Specifically,rnthe four identified objectives included:rn? Identify Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA)rnProcedures in Mexico.rn? Address transboundary movement Procedures of collectedrnwaste and contaminated equipment with emphasis on movementrnfrom Mexico to the U.S.rn? Identify joint procedures for clean-up and rehabilitation ofrnoiled wildlife.rn? Exercise Joint Command and Control Procedures includingrntransboundary and field communicationsrnShell Exploration and Production Company (SEPCo), workingrnjointly with the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Mexican Secretaria dernMarina-Armada de Mexico and with outstanding support fromrnthe National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, ThernU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Minerals Management Servicernand the Texas General Land Office designed and executed an outstandingrnexercise well lessons learned were captured and shared.rnThis paper will cover the planning, logistical considerations,rnexecution and lessons learned from the joint exercise as well as thernsuccessful use of the Incident Command System as an incident re-rnresponsernmanagement tool for bilateral cooperation.