AWO Recommended Practice Guide - The American Waterways ...

- 23 -Reporting (VGP section 4.4)You must report all incidents of noncompliance with the VGP at least once peryear to the EPA regional office responsible for the waters in which thenoncompliance occurred. Click here for a list of EPA regional offices. If yourvessel had more than one instance of noncompliance, you should submit yourreport to the EPA regional office responsible for the waters where the greatestnumber of noncompliances occurred, or, if the numbers are equal, to the EPAregional office responsible for the waters where the vessel spent the most time.In addition to reporting discharges of oil or a reportable quantity of a hazardous tothe National Response Center in accordance with existing regulations, you mustalso record the following information within 14 days of knowledge of the release:o Date and description of the release;o Circumstances leading to the release;o Responses to be employed for such releases; and,o Measures to prevent reoccurrence of such releases.This requirement can be satisfied by filling out and maintaining a copy of CoastGuard Form CG-2692.You must report orally to the appropriate EPA regional office within 24 hours anynoncompliance with the VGP that may endanger health or the environment, andsubmit a written follow-up report within five days. This requirement can besatisfied by sending a copy of Coast Guard Form CG-2692 to the appropriateEPA regional office. (If you comply with the Recommended Practices listed inthis Guide and report oil and hazardous substance spills to the National ResponseCenter in accordance with existing regulations, the need for such reporting shouldbe rare.)You must include the following certification 17 with any report you submit to EPA:“I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments wereprepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a systemdesigned to assure that qualified personnel properly gathered andevaluated the information contained therein. Based on my inquiry of theperson or persons who manage the system, or those persons directlyresponsible for gathering the information, the information contained is, tothe best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I haveno personal knowledge that the information submitted is other than true,17 This certification, the text of which is included in the VGP, is very broad and the penalties forsubmission of a certification that is not 100 percent accurate are severe. Members may wish to consultlegal counsel for advice on whether it is appropriate to use alternative language in making the requiredcertification.