Environmental Response Regulations (SOR/2019-252)

Marginal note:Content

• 11 (1) The operator of an oil handling facility must demonstrate in its oil pollution emergency plan that the operator has the ability to meet the requirements relating to the procedures, equipment and resources referred to in section 13 by providing the following information:

  • (a) the procedures to be followed in order to respond to an oil pollution incident;

  • (b) in respect of each type of oil product that is loaded or unloaded to or from a vessel, an oil pollution scenario that

    • (i) in the case of a facility of a class set out in column 1 of the table to section 5, describes the procedures to be followed to respond to a discharge of a quantity of that oil product of at least

      • (A) 1 m³, in the case of a class 1 facility,

      • (B) 5 m³, in the case of a class 2 facility,

      • (C) 15 m³, in the case of a class 3 facility, and

      • (D) 50 m³, in the case of a class 4 facility,

    • (ii) in the case of a facility located north of latitude 60° N, describes the procedures to be followed to respond to a discharge of the total quantity of the oil product that could be loaded or unloaded to or from a vessel, up to a maximum of 10,000 tonnes,

    • (iii) identifies the assumptions on which that scenario is based,

    • (iv) identifies the factors that were taken into account when developing those assumptions, including:

      • (A) the nature of the oil product,

      • (B) the types of vessels in each class referred to in section 2 to or from which the oil product is loaded or unloaded,

      • (C) the tides and currents that exist at the facility,

      • (D) the meteorological conditions that exist at the facility,

      • (E) the surrounding areas of environmental sensitivities that would likely be affected by a discharge,

      • (F) the measures to be taken to minimize the effects of a discharge, and

      • (G) the time necessary to carry out a response to an oil pollution incident in accordance with these Regulations;

  • (c) the activities to be carried out in the event of an oil pollution incident, the order in which and the time within which those activities are to be carried out and the position of the persons responsible for carrying them out, taking into account the following priorities:

    • (i) the safety of the facility’s personnel,

    • (ii) the safety of the facility,

    • (iii) the safety of the communities living adjacent to the facility,

    • (iv) the prevention of fire and explosion,

    • (v) the minimization of the effects of a discharge,

    • (vi) the reporting of the oil pollution incident,

    • (vii) the environmental impact of a discharge, and

    • (viii) the measures to be taken for clean-up following the oil pollution incident, including with respect to areas of environmental sensitivities and surrounding ecosystems;

  • (d) the types and quantity of equipment and resources referred to in subsection 13(2) that are available for immediate use at the location of the discharge;

  • (e) the name of each person or organization and the location from which the equipment and resources will be obtained in the event of an oil pollution incident, and the manner in which the equipment and resources will be deployed at the location of the incident;

  • (f) the position of the persons who are authorized and responsible for ensuring that the response to an oil pollution incident is immediate, effective and sustained;

  • (g) [Repealed, SOR/2025-233, s. 5]

  • (h) a description, by position, of the training that has been or will be provided to the oil handling facility’s personnel or other persons in preparation for the role that they may be requested to undertake in response to an oil pollution incident, including the frequency of the training;

  • (i) a description of the oil pollution incident simulation exercise program that is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the procedures, equipment and resources set out in the plan and that is coordinated with the Minister and, if possible, with the persons, entities and vessels that may be involved in an oil pollution incident or that may be requested to respond to such an incident;

  • (i.1) a schedule for implementing the exercise program;

  • (j) the measures to be taken by the operator, in accordance with applicable federal and provincial regulations relating to health and safety, to protect the health and safety of personnel and of other individuals who are involved in responding to an oil pollution incident at the operator’s request;

  • (k) the procedures to be followed for the review and updating of the plan in order to meet the requirements of section 12;

  • (l) the procedures to be followed by the operator in order to meet the requirements of section 39 of the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations; and

  • (m) the procedures to be followed by the operator to investigate any oil pollution incident in order to determine the causes and contributing factors and the actions that are needed to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

• Marginal note:Other plans

  (2) The operator must ensure that the oil pollution emergency plan takes into account any contingency plan for its geographical area that may affect the facility’s plan, including contingency plans that are issued by the Canadian Coast Guard or provincial or municipal governments.

• Marginal note:Notification — exercise

  (3) The operator must submit a written description of any exercise referred to in paragraph (1)(i), other than a notification exercise, to the Minister at least 30 days before the day on which it conducts the exercise.