Navy, Coast Guard plan simulated fuel spill exercise in Jax

Jacksonville will host a National Preparedness for Response (PREP) exercise from March 14-17, coordinated by the Coast Guard, the Navy, NOAA, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

During this exercise, response personnel will be mobilized and deployed with appropriate equipment, under an incident command organization designed to test the coordination of these arms of federal and state government.

The crisis to be simulated: a fuel spill at the Heckscher Drive Navy Fuel Depot and St. Johns River.

There will be a VIP event on March 16. Attendees will get a tour of the Navy Fuel Depot and a boat tour of oil spill removal boom deployment.

A similar test occurred in South Georgia earlier in February, reports the Florida Times-Union. This involved the Coast Guard and local agencies in what was called a “worst-case-scenario response drill.”