Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Response Organizations and Oil Handling Facilities Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the Canada Shipping Act; (Loi)

area of environmental sensitivities

area of environmental sensitivities means an area containing threatened, vulnerable or endangered species or locations of cultural or high socio-economic significance; (milieux sensibles)

designated port

designated port means a designated port set out in section 1 of Schedule I to the Response Organizations Standards; (port désigné)

geographical area

geographical area means an area that includes a designated port and is identified by a response organization as the area in which it intends to offer its services; (zone géographique)

oil

oil has the same meaning as in subsection 660.2(1) of the Act; (hydrocarbures)

Oil Handling Facilities Standards

Oil Handling Facilities Standards means the standards set out in the Transport Canada document TP 12402, published in August, 1995, as amended from time to time; (Normes sur les installations de manutention d’hydrocarbures)

on scene

on scene means on site at an oil handling facility and at any other location where the oil handling facility deploys the equipment and resources identified in its oil pollution emergency plan in response to an oil pollution incident; (sur place)

operating environment

operating environment means sheltered waters, unsheltered waters or a shoreline; (milieux d’utilisation)

Response Organizations Standards

Response Organizations Standards means the standards set out in the Transport Canada document TP 12401, published in August, 1995, as amended from time to time; (Normes sur les organismes d’intervention)

sheltered waters

sheltered waters means waters where on-water recovery operations for spilled oil can be carried out effectively without significant disruption by environmental conditions; (eaux abritées)

shoreline

shoreline means the area between extreme low tide and the back shore area that may be affected by storm conditions; (rivage)

treat

treat means to carry out an activity, in a manner that has the least detrimental impact possible on the environment, for the purpose of restoring an operating environment in which an oil pollution incident has occurred to its condition before the incident; (traiter)

unsheltered waters

unsheltered waters means waters where on-water recovery operations for spilled oil may be significantly disrupted by environmental conditions. (eaux ouvertes)

PART IResponse Organizations

Response Plan

• 3 (1) A response organization shall demonstrate in its response plan that the response organization has the capability to comply with the requirements relating to the procedures, equipment and resources prescribed in section 4 in respect of its geographical area.

• (2) A response organization’s response plan shall include the following information:

  • (a) the name and address of the response organization and its geographical area;

  • (b) the total quantity of oil in respect of which the response organization is to be certified in accordance with the tiered response capabilities set out in section 2 of the Response Organizations Standards;

  • (c) the name of each person included in the personnel who is available for a response to an oil spill;

  • (d) the name of each person to be notified in the event of an oil spill;

  • (e) the name of each person included in the personnel who has received basic oil spill response training or any other training in relation to an oil spill;

  • (f) a description of the training that the response organization provides to its personnel in preparation for the responsibilities that they might be requested to undertake in response to an oil spill;

  • (g) a description of the training that the response organization provides to its employees and to volunteers whom it might use to respond at short notice to an oil spill;

  • (h) a description of the oil spill exercise programme established to evaluate the effectiveness of all aspects of the procedures, equipment and resources that are identified in the plan, including exercises to be coordinated with ships, oil handling facilities or the Canadian Coast Guard, as the case may be;

  • (i) a list of the types and quantity of equipment for use at each designated port in its geographical area in respect of a tier 1 response capability referred to in the Response Organizations Standards;

  • (j) a list of the types and quantity of equipment for use during a simultaneous response in all operating environments;

  • (k) a list of the equipment for scaring off birds from an oil spill location and of the measures available in support of the wildlife rehabilitation activities of other parties;

  • (l) a description of the measures that the response organization will take, in response to an oil spill, to protect and treat areas of environmental sensitivities within the affected operating environment;

  • (m) a description of the treatment and recovery procedures that will be implemented in response to an oil spill;

  • (n) a description of the procedures that will be implemented for notifying the persons referred to in paragraph (d) in the event of an oil spill;

  • (o) a description of the measures that the response organization will take, in conformity with federal and provincial regulations relating to health and safety, to protect the health and safety of its personnel, of volunteers and of other individuals who are involved, at the request of the response organization, in a response to an oil spill; and

  • (p) a description of procedures for the updating of the response plan.

• (3) A response organization’s response plan must take into account any contingency plan for its geographical area that is issued by the Canadian Coast Guard.

Oil Spill Procedures, Equipment and Resources

• 4 (1) The procedures to be implemented with respect to a spill of a specified quantity of oil in a geographical area include the following:

  • (a) the response to the oil spill is within the time set out in section 3 of the Response Organizations Standards;

  • (b) the number of metres of shoreline that are treated in a day is at least that set out in section 4 of the Response Organizations Standards;

  • (c) the maximum number of days required to complete the on-water recovery operations is that set out in section 5 of the Response Organizations Standards;

  • (d) the response operation is managed in coordination with the Canadian Coast Guard and federal, provincial and other bodies responsible for, or involved in, the protection of the environment;

  • (e) strategies appropriate for a simultaneous response are employed in all affected operating environments;

  • (f) in the case of an on-water recovery operation in unsheltered waters present in its geographical area, the equipment can be operated in Beaufort Force 4 conditions;

  • (g) the response capability in each applicable operating environment in primary areas of response and enhanced response areas is to be apportioned in accordance with the percentage of tiered response capability that is set out in Schedule II to the Response Organizations Standards; and

  • (h) the equipment and resources are provided to the persons managing the response operation.

• (2) The equipment and resources for use with respect to a spill of a specified quantity of oil in a geographical area include the following:

  • (a) equipment that is appropriate for responding to the oil spill; and

  • (b) the primary and secondary temporary storage capacities that are referred to in section 6 of the Response Organizations Standards.

Oil Spill Exercise Programme

5 The oil spill exercise programme referred to in  paragraph 3(2)(h) shall be carried out over a three-year period that begins on the day on which the certificate of designation is issued.

Equipment at Designated Port

6 The equipment that is for a tier 1 response capability described in section 2 of the Response Organizations Standards and is to be deployed on the shoreline and in sheltered waters at a designated port may not be removed unless the Commissioner permits the removal for the purpose of protecting the environment.

Submission

7 A response organization shall submit to the Minister four copies of its response plan.

Review

8 The Minister shall review a response plan within 90 days after the day on which it is submitted.

Plan Update

9 A response organization to which a certificate of designation has been issued pursuant to subsection 660.4(1) of the Act shall notify the Minister of all substantive changes to its response plan immediately after they are made and shall, at least annually, update its response plan.

Declaration

10 A declaration submitted by a person or body for the purpose of subsection 660.4(1) of the Act shall be in the form set out in Part I of the schedule.

Certificate of Designation

• 11 (1) A certificate of designation issued pursuant to subsection 660.4(1) of the Act to a response organization expires three years after the day on which it is issued or the day that the response organization

  • (a) becomes insolvent;

  • (b) commits an act of bankruptcy;

  • (c) is dissolved; or

  • (d) abandons or transfers its business.

• (2) Where a response organization applies to the Minister for a certificate of designation that is in respect of a period that begins on the day after the current certificate of designation expires, it shall make the application at least 90 days before that day.

PART IIOil Handling Facilities

Oil Pollution Emergency Plan

• 12 (1) The operator of an oil handling facility shall demonstrate in the oil pollution emergency plan that the operator has the capability to comply with the requirements relating to the procedures, equipment and resources referred to in section 13.

• (2) An oil handling facility’s oil pollution emergency plan shall include the following information:

  • (a) the policies that the operator of the oil handling facility will follow in the event of an oil pollution incident;

  • (b) in respect of each group of oil products that are loaded or unloaded to or from a ship at the oil handling facility and that, if spilled, would individually require a response similar to the appropriate response for every other oil product in the group, an oil pollution scenario that contains

    • (i) a description of the response in respect of the spill size determined in accordance with section 2 of the Oil Handling Facilities Standards; and

    • (ii) the assumptions on which each scenario is based, taking into account the factors set out in section 3 of the Oil Handling Facilities Standards;

  • (c) a description of the activities that will be carried out in the event of an oil pollution incident, taking into account the priorities set out in section 4 of the Oil Handling Facilities Standards, the time within which those activities will be carried out and the names of the persons responsible for carrying them out;

  • (d) the types and quantity of equipment for use on scene during a response to an oil pollution incident at the oil handling facility in respect of the spill size that is determined in accordance with section 2 of the Oil Handling Facilities Standards;

  • (e) the name of each person or body 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;

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

  • (g) the name of each person included in the personnel who has received basic oil pollution incident response training or any other training in relation to an oil pollution incident;

  • (h) a description of the training that the operator of the oil handling facility provides to its personnel in preparation for the responsibilities that they might be requested to undertake in response to an oil pollution incident;

  • (i) a description of the training that the operator of the oil handling facility plans to provide to its employees and to volunteers whom it might use to respond at short notice to an oil pollution incident;

  • (j) an oil pollution incident exercise programme established to evaluate the effectiveness of all aspects of the procedures, equipment and resources that are identified in the oil pollution emergency plan, including exercises to be coordinated with ships, response organizations or the Canadian Coast Guard, as the case may be;

  • (k) a description of the measures that the operator of the oil handling facility will take, in accordance with federal and provincial regulations relating to health and safety, to protect the health and safety of personnel, of volunteers and of other individuals who are involved, at the request of the operator, in responding to an oil pollution incident;

  • (l) a description of procedures for the updating of the oil pollution emergency plan; and

  • (m) a description of the manner in which the operator of the oil handling facility plans to respond to an oil pollution incident that involves a quantity of oil that is greater than the spill size referred to in paragraph (d) and that is scheduled to be transhipped, to a maximum of 10,000 t.

• (3) An oil handling facility’s oil pollution emergency plan shall take into account any contingency plan for the area that is issued by the Canadian Coast Guard.

Oil Pollution Incident Procedures, Equipment and Resources

• 13 (1) The procedures that an oil handling facility shall implement on site, in respect of an oil pollution incident arising out of the loading or unloading of oil to or from a ship, include the following:

  • (a) the loading and unloading operation is to be shut down immediately and is not to be restarted in a manner that would interfere with the immediate, effective and sustained response to the oil pollution incident;

  • (b) the response to the oil pollution incident is to be managed in coordination with the Canadian Coast Guard and federal, provincial and other bodies responsible for, or involved in, the protection of the environment;

  • (c) in relation to the quantity of oil involved in the oil pollution incident, up to the minimum spill size determined in accordance with section 2 of the Oil Handling Facilities Standards, the response to that incident in accordance with paragraphs 13(2)(b) and (c);

  • (d) the operator takes the measures required during the response to the oil pollution incident in accordance with the priorities set out in section 4 of the Oil Handling Facilities Standards;

  • (e) at least one of the persons referred to in paragraph 12(2)(f) is to be accessible to the Canadian Coast Guard during the entire loading or unloading operation; and

  • (f) the operator of the oil handling facility is prepared, after the response in relation to a quantity of oil of the spill size referred to in paragraph (c), to respond to an oil pollution incident in relation to the total quantity of oil that is scheduled to be transhipped, to a maximum of 10,000 t.

• (2) The equipment and resources that an oil handling facility shall have for use, in respect of an oil pollution incident at the oil handling facility arising out of the loading or unloading of oil to or from a ship, include the following:

  • (a) the equipment referred to in paragraph 12(2)(d) that is required to contain and control the oil or, where the oil cannot be contained, to control the quantity of oil involved in the incident, up to the minimum spill size determined in accordance with section 2 of the Oil Handling Facilities Standards, is to be on site during any loading or unloading operation;

  • (b) the equipment and resources required to contain and control the oil or, where the oil cannot be contained, to control the quantity of oil involved in the incident, up to the minimum spill size determined in accordance with section 2 of the Oil Handling Facilities Standards, are to be deployed on scene within one hour after the discovery of the oil pollution incident, unless deployment within one hour would be unsafe, ineffective or impracticable; and

  • (c) the equipment and resources required to recover and clean up the oil involved in the incident up the minimum spill size determined in accordance with section 2 of the Oil Handling Facilities Standards are to be deployed on scene within six hours after the discovery of the oil pollution incident.

Oil Handling Facility Tiered Response Capability

• 14 (1) This section applies to the operator of an oil handling facility in waters south of the sixtieth parallel of north latitude where

  • (a) the response is subsequent to a response in accordance with paragraphs 13(2)(b) and (c); and

  • (b) the preparations referred to in paragraph 13(1)(f) do not include the implementation of an arrangement entered into with a response organization.

• (2) The operator of an oil handling facility shall demonstrate in the oil pollution emergency plan that the operator has the capability to comply with the requirements relating to the procedures, equipment and resources set out for a response organization in section 4, with such modifications as the circumstances require.

• (3) In addition to the information required by  subsection 12(2), the oil pollution emergency plan shall contain the information required for a response organization by subsection 3(2), with such modifications as the circumstances require.

• (4) The procedures that an oil handling facility shall implement and the equipment and resources that it shall have on scene are as set out in section 4 for a response organization, with such modifications as the circumstances require.

Oil Pollution Incident Exercise Programme

15 An oil pollution incident exercise programme referred to in paragraph 12(2)(j) shall be carried out over a three-year period that begins on the day on which the oil handling facility is designated pursuant to subsection 660.2(8) of the Act and over each three-year period thereafter.

Submission

16 The operator of an oil handling facility shall submit to the Minister four copies of the oil pollution emergency plan.

Plan Update

17 The operator of an oil handling facility shall update the oil pollution emergency plan

• (a) annually, to take into account changes in law, in environmental factors and in facility characteristics and policy; and

• (b) after every oil pollution incident and exercise.

Arrangement with Response Organization

18 For the purpose of paragraph 660.2(4)(b) of the Act, the specified quantity of oil in respect of which the operator of a designated oil handling facility shall have an arrangement with a certified response organization is, for any operation, the total quantity of oil scheduled to be transhipped, to a maximum of 10,000 t.

Declaration

19 For the purpose of paragraph 660.2(4)(c) of the Act, the declaration by an operator of an oil handling facility that is designated pursuant to subsection 660.2(8) of the Act shall be in the form set out in Part II of the schedule.