Developing technical guidance for oil spill preparedness requirements

From: Transport Canada

We recognize that this document is highly technical. If you have any questions or require additional information about the document, please contact us at EnvResRegs-RegsIntEnv@tc.gc.ca.

Transport Canada is proposing regulations to update and improve the oil spill preparedness requirements for Transport Canada-certified response organizations and oil handling facility operators. The proposed Regulations have been pre-published in Part I of the Canada Gazette and are available for comment until September 5, 2024.

The following draft revised Environmental Response Standards is a technical guidance document that would support and provide additional context to the draft Regulations. It would provide technical advice and examples to guide regulated parties, such as response organizations and oil handling facility operators as they seek to implement the draft Regulations. The revised Environmental Response Standards would be finalized once the draft Regulations are published in Part II of the Canada Gazette and become official.

Revised environmental response standards

1 General

1.1 Introduction

Part 8 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 (CSA 2001), applies to all Canadian waters, which includes all inland waters and waters out to 200 nautical miles. It applies to vessels in those waters, oil handling facilities (OHF) engaged in or proposing to engage in the loading and unloading of oil to or from prescribed vessels and to certified response organizations (ROs).

The Environmental Response Regulations (ERR) do not apply to vessels engaged in the location and removal of oil and gas from the seabed of internal waters, the territorial sea or the continental shelf of Canada. The Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (1985) governs these activities, which is the responsibility of the Minister for Natural Resources Canada.

The Environmental Response Standards (referred to below as “the Standards”) supports and provides context to the ERR. The Regulations repeal the Oil Handling Facilities and Response Organization Regulations and deals with matters related to the prevention and response to marine spills from OHFs of a class established by the ERR that are engaged in the loading or unloading of oil to or from a prescribed vessel. The Standards also explain the types of vessels (the prescribed classes) that require an arrangement with an RO. This Transport Publication (TP) supports the ERR and replaces TP 12401 and TP 12402 (Response Organization Standards and Oil Handling Facilities Standard, 1995). Furthermore, the Standards outline the calculations that are to be used in calculating the total rated capacity of an RO's equipment in responding to an oil pollution incident.

Oil handling facilities: This section of the TP will provide additional explanation of the requirements found in the ERR surrounding the details in the oil pollution prevention and emergency plans, exercises and training. It also explains the requirement for OHFs of an established class to have a declaration on site and for those OHFs located at or south of 60°N to have an arrangement with an RO.

Vessels: This section explains the requirements for prescribed classes of vessels to have a declaration on board.

Response organizations: This section explains the calculations to be used by ROs to quantify minimum recovery, storage and boom equipment requirements for certification purposes.

4.4 Statutory authority

As per subsections 35(1) and 182(1) of the CSA 2001, the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport (Minister), make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of Part 8, including regulations:

respecting the circumstances in which operators of OHFs shall report discharges or anticipated discharges of pollutants, the manner of making the reports and the persons to whom the reports shall be made (182(1)(a));
establishing classes of OHFs and determining which of the requirements set out in sections 167.1 to 168.01 apply to the operators or, to persons who propose to operate, OHFs of each class (182(1)(d.1));
respecting oil pollution prevention plans (OPPPs) and oil pollution emergency plans (OPEPs), including the time within which the plans shall be submitted to the Minister and the circumstances in which up-to-date plans shall be submitted to the Minister (182(1)(d.2));
respecting the procedures, equipment and resources referred to in paragraph 168(1)I and section 168.3 (182(1)(d.3));
respecting the information and documents referred to in sections 167.1 and 167.3 and subsection 168.01(2), including the time within which the information and documents shall be submitted to the Minister (182(1)(d.4));
respecting the issuance, amendments, suspension, reinstatement, cancellation or renewal of certificates referred to in section 169 (182(1)(b);
respecting the manner in which ROs and persons who make an application under subsection 169(1) must calculate proposed fees before notifying the Minister of the fees under subsection 170(1); and

4.4 prescribing anything that by this Part (Part 8) is to be prescribed (182(1)(e).3 Summary of authority

The Standards provides support to the ERR as a tool to ensure prescribed vessels have an arrangement with a RO and a declaration on board the vessel. The Standards will also support the requirements of an OHF of an established class to have a declaration on site, an arrangement with a RO (where applicable), an OPPP and an OPEP, and the procedures, equipment and resources for immediate use in the event of an oil pollution incident. Further, the Standards will support the requirements for ROs to calculate the capacity of their equipment in responding to a marine oil pollution incident.

2 Vessels

2.1 General

All prescribed vessels destined to a Canadian port must ensure that they have a valid arrangement in place with the certified oil spill RO in their region prior to arrival in Canadian waters.

The CSA 2001 Part 8, paragraph 167(1)(a) states the following:

“…every prescribed vessel or vessel of a prescribed class shall
- (a) have an arrangement with a response organization in respect of a quantity of oil that is at least equal to the total amount of oil that the vessel carries, both as cargo and as fuel, to a prescribed maximum quantity, and in respect of waters where the vessel navigates or engages in marine activity”.

2.1.2 Declaration

The purpose of the declaration is to bring together a few critical pieces of information that are readily available in the event of an oil pollution incident. Experience has shown that the information supplied in this declaration can greatly reduce delays in mounting an effective response to an oil pollution incident.

In paragraph 167(1)(b) of the CSA 2001, every prescribed vessel must have on board a declaration, that:

Identifies the name and address of the vessels insurer or, in the case of a subscription policy, the name and address of the lead insurer who provides pollution insurance coverage in respect of the vessel;
Confirms the arrangement has been made (for vessels located in waters at or south of 60°N), and
Identifies every person who is authorized to implement the arrangement (for vessels located in waters at or south of 60°N).

In addition to the above, the declaration also identifies the name of the person responsible for implementing the Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) required by subsection 27(1) of the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations.

There are two declarations found in schedules 4 and 5 of this document; one for vessels located south 60°N and one for vessels located north of 60°N.

See schedules 4 and 5 for the declarations for a vessel.

3 Oil handling facilities

3.1 General

This Part provides further explanation and support to the requirements found in the ERR as they pertain to OHFs of an established class.

Part 8 of the CSA 2001 outlines the framework for prevention and response for those who propose to operate an OHF and operators of existing OHFs that are engaged in the loading or unloading of oil to or from a prescribed vessel.

The framework is built to ensure those persons who propose to operate an OHF notify the Minister of the proposed operations and to provide the Minister with the plans in advance of commencement of operations.

For the operators of OHFs, the framework ensures that they have an arrangement with an RO (where applicable), an up to date OPPP and OPEP on site and have procedures, equipment and resources available for immediate use in the event of an oil pollution incident. The Act also establishes a requirement that if the operator proposes to make changes to its facility that will impact the loading and unloading of oil to or from a vessel, the operator must notify the Minister of the proposed change, revise its plans and submit those plans to the Minister in advance of the change taking place.

The Standards are intended to be used in support of the ERR and where necessary, provide further information for those items that are “specified” in the CSA 2001.

Each OPPP and OPEP will be unique, taking into account the geographic features specific to the facility.

3.2 Established classes of oil handling facilities

The CSA 2001 describes standards as including “specifications and technical and operational requirements”. The Standards provide details to persons who propose to operate an OHF of a class established by the ERR and for operators of OHFs of a class established by the ERR, in developing their OPPP and OPEP. These standards also provide details regarding the requirement for OHFs to have the procedures, equipment and resources required by the ERR.

The classes of OHFs set out in the ERR are designed to be linked to the area in which they are located – at or south of 60°N or north of 60°N. It also establishes levels based on the facility's maximum transfer rate per cubic metres per hour, in respect of oil that is loaded or unloaded to or from prescribed vessels referred to in Part 1 of the ERR.

When OHFs are calculating their actual transfer rate, they have to take into consideration the actual maximum transfer rate that could occur simultaneously during transfer operations. It does not mean to capture the maximum transfer rating of the conduits, but the maximum transfer rate that they would use during normal operations at the facility. Operators must calculate the sum the volume of all conduits that transfer simultaneously at the facility. For example, if a facility uses three conduits at the same time during transfer operations with a rate of 100 m3/hour, then the actual transfer rate of the facility would be 300m3/hour.

If an OHF employs two docks where two vessels load or unload simultaneously, the operator should explain in their OPPP or OPEP the operation and whether or not an incident at one dock would affect the transfer at the other.

Though many of the requirements for OHFs are similar irrespective of their location, some differ depending on their geographical location, thereby recognizing the flexibility to establish different requirements to account for practical considerations. OHFs located north of 60°N must have the necessary procedures to respond to a discharge of the total quantity of oil that could be loaded or unloaded to or from a vessel, up to a maximum of 10,000 tonnes. This requirement reflects that there are no TC-certified response organizations operating north of 60°N. Additionally, equipment and resources are required to contain, control, recover and clean up the discharge of a quantity of oil up to the applicable threshold set out in clauses 11(1)(b)(i)(A) to (D) of the ERR.

However, operators of OHF located north of 60°N must still provide information of the names of persons who are authorized to implement the OPEP as set out at subparagraph 168(1)(b)(iii) of the Act. Operators should provide a list of all persons who have the authority to implement the plans on behalf of the operator in their plans.

3.3 Declaration

In accordance with section 168 of the CSA 2001, every OHF of a class established by the ERR, must have on site a declaration, in the form set out in Schedule 1 of the Standards, that:

describes the manner in which the operator will comply with the ERR and reporting requirements in Part 3 of the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations;
confirms that the arrangement has been made (for OHFs south of 60°N); and
identifies every person who is authorized to implement the arrangement (for OHFs south of 60°N) and the OPEP.

The purpose of the declaration is to bring together a few critical pieces of information from the OPEP and to have this information readily available in the event of an oil pollution incident. Experience has shown that the information supplied in this declaration can greatly reduce delays in mounting an effective response to an oil pollution incident.

There are two declarations found in schedules 1 and 2; one for OHFs located at or south of 60°N and one for those located north of 60°N.

See schedules 1 and 2 for the OHF declarations

3.4 Notification of proposed operations

Upon receiving Royal Assent in December 2014, Bill C-3, the Safeguarding Canada's Seas and Skies Act brought forward changes to the CSA 2001 that introduced requirements for persons who propose to operate an OHF. The Act sets out the timeframes for the submission of the oil pollution prevention and emergency plans (subsection 167.2(1) of the CSA 2001) while the ERR stipulate the timeframe for notifying the Minister of the proposed operations (as required under section 167.1 of the CSA 2001).

Section 8 of the ERR stipulates that a person proposing to operate an OHF must notify the Minister of the proposed operations at least 180 days before commencing transfer operations. This timeframe is consistent with the requirement under section 168.01 of CSA 2001 for notifying the Minister when proposed changes are being made to the OHF's operations.

Schedule 3 of these standards includes the information the person should provide to TC when making such notification of the proposed operations (section 167.1).

This advance notice will provide TC with the time needed to prepare for the receipt of the plans (ss. 167.2(–) - 90 days prior to commencement), review the plans and schedule the necessary inspections.

The prescribed requirements for the oil pollution prevention and emergency plans that the person submits to the Department are found in Part 2 of the ERR.

3.5 Notification of proposed change to operations

The changes made to the CSA 2001 as part of Bill C-3, section 168.01 lays out the framework and requirements for operators of OHFs that propose to make a change or permit a change to be made to the facility's transfer operations.

Section 168.01 of the Act also sets out the requirements and the timeframe for operators of an OHF to notify the Minister, the timeframe for submitting revised OPPPs and OPEPs to the Minister and the obligation for the operator to ensure the plans meet the requirements set out in the ERR before the change to be made.

However, if an OHF operator would like to decrease the oil transfer rate at the facility, the Minister may specify a period less of 180 days to receive the notification from the operator.

Schedule 3 of these standards provides the information that the operator of the OHF should provide to the Department when making such a notification.

See schedule 3 for notification of proposed operations or proposed change to operations.

3.6 Oil pollution prevention plan (OPPP)

3.6.1 General

These standards provide supporting details for the requirements found in the ERR on what must be contained in the OPPP. This plan is designed to ensure that the necessary planning is undertaken to help prevent a discharge of oil during the loading or unloading of oil to or from a prescribed vessel.

Each OPPP will be applicable to the particular OHF, taking into account the requirements found in the ERR. The operator of an OHF or a person who proposes to operate an OHF, provided the OHF is of a class established by the ERR, should take into account the specifics of the facility and its surroundings when developing the OPPP.

The objective of an OPPP is to help the OHF prevent discharges into the marine environment when loading and unloading oil to or from a vessel by identifying the hazards associated with the OHF's activities and to assess the risk to the environment from these activities. The desired result is continuous improvement towards eliminating discharges of oil into the marine environment. In order to minimize the risk to the marine environment, prudence and due diligence in maintaining an effective OPPP and marine operations is essential to mitigate the threat and ultimately strengthen the existing marine oil spill preparedness and response regime in Canada.

Examples of the type of activities surrounding the transfer operations include:

Berthing and unberthing of vessels;
Communications;
Transferring oil in bulk to or from a vessel;
Maintaining vessels at the berth;
Emergency procedures;
Maintaining critical equipment; and
Assessing environmental conditions.

The operator of an OHF or a person who proposes to operate an OHF must have an OPPP, describing the preventive measures established at the OHF involving the loading or unloading of oil to or from a prescribed vessel. The OPPP requirements apply to all classes of OHF established by the ERR (classes 1 to 4).

To minimize duplication of effort, if an existing OPPP has been prepared on a voluntary basis or in accordance with the requirements of other legislative requirements of another government, it can be used as long as it meets the requirements of the ERR. If the existing plan does not meet all the requirements identified, the OPPP must be amended to be in compliance with the ERR.

The OPPP and the OPEP are two separate plans. However, if the elements of both plans can be combined into one plan, it is acceptable as long as each component required by the ERR can be clearly identified.

Sections 3.6.2 to 3.6.4 are areas that should be considered when developing the OPPP. Incorporating these areas will help to strengthen the OPPP and the effectiveness of the prevention activities during an oil transfer at the facility.

3.6.2 Environmental policy

When developing the OPPP, consideration should be given to including the OHF's environmental policy that:

is appropriate to the nature, scale and environmental impacts of the OHF's marine activities;
includes a commitment to continual improvements and prevention of marine pollution;
includes a commitment to comply with relevant environmental legislation and regulations, and with other requirements to which the OHF subscribes;
provides the framework for setting and reviewing environmental protection objectives and targets; and
is documented, implemented and maintained and communicated to all employees.

3.6.3 Hazard identification, risk assessment and mitigation

While developing the OPPP, it is encouraged to identify the hazards associated with the transfer of oil to or from a prescribed vessel, assess the risks with those hazards, and highlight the measures that will be taken to prevent an incident from happening. This could include:

the procedures identifying those activities undertaken at the OHF that may impact the marine environment, identifying the hazards and when an event could occur. Examples of such activities include:
- ensuring the OHF's design capability, condition and water depth can handle the size of vessels transferring at the facility while;
- overseeing vessel berthing and unberthing;
- handling overseeing vessel mooring and maintaining moor;
- managing general tanker hazards while vessels are alongside;
- developing a joint, mutually acceptable (between vessel and OHF) plan for oil transfer;
- implementing and maintaining the oil transfer plan;
- suspending or completing the oil transfer;
- making a temporary or permanent change in the facility's design, equipment or operating procedures is introduced; and
- describing the general operation of equipment
an assessment of the probability and consequences of an incident resulting from the identified hazards; and
identifying the processes (measures) used to mitigate the risks identified through the assessments.

3.6.4 Risk identification and analysis

The OPPP should contain procedures that identify the environmental factors of the OHF's activities that the OHF can control, and over which the OHF can be expected to have an influence, in order to determine those risks which have or can have significant impacts on the marine environment. The factors related to those significant impacts should be considered in setting its environmental protection objectives.

3.6.5 Duties of operation

It is important that the OPPP describes those preventative duties that the operator of the OHF is responsible for and that are in line with the ERR. Some of those duties include:

securing the vessel while taking into consideration the weather and the tidal and current conditions, and that the mooring lines are tended so that the movement of the vessel does not damage the transfer conduit or its connections. This is a shared responsibility between the vessel and the operator of the OHF where applicable:
Spill prevention, control, and countermeasure;
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS);
Roles and responsibilities of various responders;
Site safety plan;
Transfer operations;
Basic vessel information; and
Vessel arrival / departure procedures.

3.7 Oil pollution emergency plan (OPEP)

The Standards provide supporting details for some of the requirements found in Part 2 of the ERR on what must be contained in the OPEP. This plan is designed to be used in the planning process in the preparation to respond to a discharge of oil during the loading or unloading of a prescribed vessel.

Each OPEP will be unique, taking into account the resources, equipment, procedures and geographic features used in the event of a discharge of oil during loading or unloading of a vessel at the OHF.

The operator of an OHF or a person who proposes to operate an OHF, provided the OHF is of a class established by the ERR, must take into account the specifics of the facility and its surroundings when developing the plan.

3.7.2 OPEP policies and procedures

The OPEP must include the information set out in the ERR. The policies and procedures that are important in the OPEP are those that the operator of the OHF will follow in the event of an oil pollution incident.

The procedures, equipment and resources that the operator of the OHF must plan for and have available for immediate use and must implement in the event of a discharge of oil during the loading or unloading of a prescribed vessel are found in section 13 of the ERR, including time standards that the facility must achieve in the event of a spill. These time standards are critical to ensure an immediate response is undertaken by the operator of the OHF.

3.7.3 Scenario development and factors

As part of the OPEP, oil pollution scenarios must be developed that describe the incident and the proposed response to possible discharge. All OHFs are required to include an oil pollution scenario that describes the procedures to be followed to respond to a discharge of a quantity of the oil product specified in 11(1)(b)(i).

As per the ERR, the assumptions used in each scenario that is developed must take into account, at a minimum, the following factors:

the nature of the oil product;
classes of vessels referred to in section 2 that are loaded or unloaded at the OHF;
the tides and currents that exist at the OHF;
the meteorological conditions that exist at the OHF;
the surrounding environmentally sensitive areas that would likely be affected by a discharge, including but not limited to: fish and wildlife habitat areas, flood plain areas, intakes of drinking water systems and recreational water use areas;
the measures to be taken to minimize the effects of a discharge; and
the time necessary to carry out a response to an oil pollution incident in accordance with these ERR.

3.7.4 Oil pollution incident – priorities

As per the ERR, the OPEP must contain information regarding the activities that will be carried out in the event of an oil pollution incident, taking into account the priorities listed below, the order and the time within which those activities will be carried out and the positions of the persons responsible for carrying them out.

The following are the priorities that must be considered:

the safety of the facility's personnel;
the safety of the facility;
the safety of the communities living adjacent to the facility;
the prevention of fire and explosion;
the minimization of the effects of a discharge;
the reporting of the oil pollution incident;
the environmental impact of a discharge; and
the measures to be taken for clean-up following the oil pollution incident, including with respect to environmentally sensitive areas and surrounding ecosystems.

3.7.5 Exercises

The exercise program is an integral part of the OPEP. The primary goals of the exercise program are to evaluate, in a controlled environment, the effectiveness of all aspects of the procedures, equipment and resources identified in the OPEP, the capabilities of OHF response staff, and the interaction between the OHF, vessels, other government agencies, and ROs. Exercises are divided in four categories: internal notification, external notification, deployment and table-top (management).

When designing an exercise, specific evaluation criteria should be developed. The evaluation criteria should be based on the actions expected to be carried out as described in the procedures in the OPEP. A written description of any exercise, other than a notification exercise, must be sent to TC at least 30 days in advance of the exercise to allow the marine safety inspector sufficient time to review the objectives of the exercise, raise any concerns, and to be prepared to attend and evaluate the exercise when it is conducted.

To test the interaction between various parties, exercises should be coordinated with TC Marine Safety and Security, and other players or interested parties such as vessels that could be used when responding to an oil pollution incident and vessels engaged in oil transfer operations, RO(s), the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), First Nations and local communities.

OHF operators should describe in their plans how they intend to implement their exercise program over three-year cycle including a description of the types of exercise, the frequency of the exercises and the year in which they intend to execute each activity.

As per the ERR, if a gap is identified as a result of an exercise, it will trigger a review of the OPPP and OPEP by the OHF operator. If updates to one or both of the plans are deemed necessary, the updates must be completed within 90 days after the day on which the event occurred.

The following table lays out the objectives of the various types of exercises, a description of the exercises and the suggested frequency the exercises should be carried out.

Oil handling facilities – example of exercise program

Types of exercise	Objective	Description	Frequency
Internal notification	Verify the ability to contact, in a reasonable time, OHF response staff identified in the OHF's OPEP.	Notification of emergency call out Activation of the OHF response/ management team	Two (2) times a year
External notification	Verify the ability to contact OHF authorities, company management, governments and other organizations identified in the OHF's OPEP within a reasonable time.	External notification systems – emergency call out to OHF neighbours Mobilization of the OHF response/Management team Activation of ROs and contractors Notification of government and nongovernment agencies Notification of the federal emergency number found in the OPEP	Once a year
Deployment:	Evaluate the effectiveness of the OHF response team in following the procedures established to contain/recover a spill, using response equipment described in the OPEP within time standards.	Shut down procedures Source control Deployment of equipment Containment and recovery activities Site Safety Plan development	Once a year
Table T–p - Management:	Evaluate all aspects of the OHF's response management system by simulating an incident using a scenario with inputs. Simulation of deployment of equipment and activation of personnel. Test the communication, briefing, reporting and data and records collection and management techniques.	Identification of the On-Scene Commander Establishment of the management team Understanding roles and responsibilities of mandated agencies Situational analysis Spill Trajectory Environmental assessment Site Security Financial record management Equipment tracking Waste management (disposal) Preparation of Incident Action Plan Public Awareness/notification Post incident de-briefing	Once every three (3) years

For those OHFs of a class established by the ERR that have a shortened shipping season, for example, OHFs located north of 60°N, the suggested frequency noted in the above table, may not be feasible. As an alternative, a deployment and notification exercise should be conducted once each season, prior to the first transfer of oil.

The operator of an OHF must keep a record of the dates and results of each exercise to capture the lessons learned from each exercise and to ensure the results are taken into consideration in subsequent exercises.

3.7.5.1 Exercise report

Exercise reports are used to identify gaps and deficiencies in the implementation of the OHF plans. Section 15 of the ERR describes the elements that have to be included in the exercise report as well as the submission requirements to the Minister. Exercise reports should be kept for a minimum of three years and presented to TC upon request.

3.7.6

Training is an integral part of the OPEP. Training activities are a tool to ensure the knowledge, skills and ability of the personnel taking part in the response activities are current and correspond to their roles in an incident.

A description of training provided to the OHF personnel or other persons should be included in the OPEP, including the frequency of the training.

The following are examples of the type of training criteria that should be considered when providing training to personnel or other individuals who might be called upon to respond to an oil pollution incident.

3.7.6.1 Training criteria

Familiarization with the OPEP

Goal: Each OHF staff member is familiar with the contents of the OPPP and the OPEP and is proficient in the functions that may be assigned to them.
Training of the Notification System

Goal: Members of the OHF response team are trained in the procedures on how to activate the internal/external notification system.
Training for Response Managers – Roles and Responsibilities during an Incident

Goal: The OHF response team managers are familiar with their roles and responsibilities during an incident (i.e. Incident Command Systems) and their interaction with other representatives involved in an effective spill response.
Theoretical and Hands on Training for Deployment of Pollution Countermeasure Equipment

Goal: Provide the response team with the ability to effectively use the equipment to contain, control, recover and clean up after the discovery of the discharge, within the time standards found in subsection 24(1) of the ERR. It is important this type of training covers the handling of all response equipment described in the OPEP e.g., appropriate training for vessel operators, containment equipment (booms, absorbent material, anchors, etc.), recovery equipment (vacuum trucks, oil skimmers, etc.) and establishing temporary storage for recovered oil and oily waste, as required. If the OPEP includes other strategies, the OHF response team should know how to handle the appropriate equipment and the procedures.
Training in the Safety component of the OPEP

Goal: Each member of the OHF response team is familiar with the safety standards and relevant health and safety legislation. This legislation includes such things as federal, provincial and territorial occupational health and safety laws, such as the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) requirements, etc.

3.7.6.2 Training records

The OHF operator must keep training records for each person who has received training and they should be kept for a minimum of three years. If the training is valid for more than three years, the operator has to identify the validity period of the training. The training records could be kept internally and do not have to be included in the OPEP or OPPP. However, the OHF operator has to provide the updated copy of the training records to TC upon request.

3.8 Plan review

3.8.1 Annual review

The OHF operator should provide in their plans a description of the procedures for reviewing and updating their OPEP and OPPP including but not limited to:

annual reviews and updates if necessary.
Identification of amended sections by highlighting changes.
Submission of the updated plans to TC within one year as defined in paragraph 12 (3) of the ERR
Notification should be sent to TC if no updates to the plans are required.

3.8.2 Events

Paragraph 12 (2) of the ERR identify two events that require plan reviews, updates or submission, if necessary, within 90 days after the day on which the event occurred. If any other event occurred, the proposed updates to the plan could be submitted as part of the annual review and submission to TC.

3.9 Oil pollution incident report

After an oil pollution incident, the OHF operator must make a report setting out the causes and contributing factors that are needed to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. If necessary, the plans could be updated to reflect any deficiencies identified during the oil pollution incident. Other than the requirements listed in paragraph 16, the report should include:

the date and the description of the oil pollution incident;
Names and types of any vessel involved;
Response measures that were implemented during the oil pollution incident;
any corrective actions to be taken to mitigate deficiencies; and
any ongoing response activities by the OHF or its contractors.

The report should be sent to TC within 90 days after the event and the record should be kept for a minimum period of three years.

4 Response organizations

Background

The Standards are intended to be used in the planning process in preparation for a response to an oil spill incident. Each response plan will be unique, taking into account the geographic features specific to that region. Since the response to an incident will be influenced by environmental and other factors, the Standards should not be used as a performance standard to measure the appropriateness of the response. Rather, they seek to ensure that a suitable response infrastructure is in place and ready to be deployed in the event of any spill, regardless of size and conditions.

Response Organizations require a certificate in order to offer arrangements to vessels and OHFs that in turn are required to have an arrangement for spill response. The arrangement is also the means by which ROs levy and collect fees to cover the costs they assume to meet certification standards. This section details the technical and administrative RO certification and fee requirements to ensure that preparedness levels for each Geographical Area of Response (GAR) are appropriate.

In accordance with subsection 169. (4) of CSA 2001, every certificate of designation is valid for 3 years.

The planning element is constructed as a demonstration of capability and capacity only and should not be considered a performance standard. Actual operational performance will be influenced by many factors including environmental conditions, oil fate and behavior and other factors. The plan is not an operational document but an outline of how an RO can achieve preparedness. The Minister may require an applicant to provide a declaration in accordance with subsection 18(1)(s) of the ERR.

4.1 Capability to comply with requirements relating to procedures, equipment and resources

The ROs should demonstrate in their response plan that they have the capability to comply with the requirements relating to procedures, equipment and resources in respect of its geographical area, as outlined in the ERR.

4.2 General organizational and plan requirements

The requirements described in the ERR are based on the premise of pre-planning activities, they are not considered performance standards. The intent is to establish an efficient and effective system of response to future oil pollution incidents. The requirements are broad, allowing ROs to seek innovative solutions, to take advantage of local resources and technology advances when developing their plans.

The RO shall provide a description of their GAR in their plan. The GAR description should include, but not limited to:

Geographic coordinates where appropriate;
A list of provinces and territories within the extents of the area;
A description of major waterways that would be included inside the area described. Examples include, but not limited to, oceans, St-Lawrence Seaway, Great Lakes and any other waterways where large commercial vessels transit;
A description of any areas that would be excluded within the greater limits of the GAR; and
A map to describe the extents of the area.

The RO must provide a list of designated ports, 'AR's and 'RA's included in the GAR as per Schedule 1 of the ERR.

The applicant must indicate in their plan the total quantity of oil for which they are seeking certification as per Section 17 of the ERR.
The title and position of each permanent personnel employed by a RO must be provided in the response plan. Specifically, the people employed directly by the RO that may be required to be available in case of an oil spill response must be provided in the response plan. The term “position” may refer to the employee's job title within the company or to any function they may fulfill within a spill management system, such as the Incident Command System (ICS). An organization chart could be provided if available for display purposes.
Procedures for notifying personnel in case of an oil spill incident should be clearly explained in the plan. The plan should include the manner and order the personnel, trained responders and contractors would be notified.

The response plan must include a list of contractors (companies or individuals that supply services or resources) that the RO may contract during an oil pollution incident. The list should include the following information, but not be limited to:

Name of the contracting companies;
Types of resources or services that they are contracted to provide (i.e., equipment, human resources, trained responders, advisors); and
The number of trained responders potentially available during an oil pollution incident for response operations.

The RO should include a reference detailing how they incorporate provincial, territorial, and federal legislation concerning health and safety in their response plan.

Safety of all personnel is the number one objective during an oil spill response. The RO must plan effectively for the safety measures that will be required to protect the health and safety of all workers and ensure an unimpeded response. Safety measures must be based upon all applicable federal, provincial and territorial ERR, and clearly indicated in the plan.

The response plan may include information concerning the day-to-day health and safety practices of its own personnel, as well as information concerning the health and safety of others who are requested by the RO to be involved in the response. References to internal and external documents could be added to the response plan.

Each RO should provide a description of a comprehensive health and safety program that describes the measures to be put in place during a response to protect responders.

The RO should have in their plan a description of the procedures for updating their response plan and it should include, but not limited to:

The development of a revision log;
Identification of amended sections by highlighting changes; and
A yearly plan review should be submitted to TC.

4.3 Organization's daily hours of operation and ability to comply

A response plan shall include the RO's daily hours of operation during a response and demonstrate how it will comply with the requirements relating to the procedures, equipment and resources in respect of its geographical area. Typical on water recovery operations are either 12 hours or 24 hours; however, an RO may select any reasonable time period as long as they can support their decision. If planning for more than 12-hours on water recovery operations, an RO should explain in their plan how they are taking into account:

Shift changes;
Lighting; and
Health and safety measures for working at night.

In some cases, the RO may plan on-water recovery operations for 12-hour periods during daylight hours but conduct other activities at night. The RO should provide a general statement that response activities continue beyond 12 hours and night operations could include, but not limited to the following activities: planning, equipment maintenance, unloading operations, rest periods, etc. Hours of operation will inform the calculations described in section 4.5.4 of these standards and incorporated by referenced in paragraph 18(1)(l) of the ERR.

4.4 Consideration of the Canadian Coast Guard's contingency plans

Response organizations must consider, in their response plans, any national or regional contingency plan for its geographical area that is issued by the CCG. The intent of this requirement is that RO will coordinate with CCG to provide the best response during an oil spill incident.

Response organizations must provide a list of any other contingency plans that have been considered in developing their response plan. A brief description of each plan could be added to the response plan to provide more information on the relationship between all plans.

4.5 Equipment requirements

4.5.1 List of equipment and access to equipment for response personnel

An RO's response plan should include a list of equipment and resources, including type, quantity, and description, to be used during a simultaneous response in all operating environments, such as unsheltered waters, sheltered waters and shoreline.

Response operations in each operating environment should be considered distinct and must be carried out simultaneously. The response capability of the equipment and resources allotted to each operating environment by the RO in a PAR and an Enhanced Response Area (ERA) shall be in accordance with the percentages set out in Schedule 2 of the ERR. Selected equipment should be suitable to operate in the specific operating environments.

An RO's response plan must describe equipment operational capabilities to ensure that all response equipment (primarily booms and recovery and storage devices) is able to be deployed and operated to meet the environmental conditions that can be expected in the operating environment for which it is intended to be used, up to a maximum of Beaufort Force-4, as described in section 22 (l) of the ERR.

The response plan should list the type and quantity of equipment in their inventory, including but not limited to:

Skimmer;
Boom;
Storage; and
Vessels;

Additional support, ancillary and specialized equipment is not required to be listed in the response plan but should be available upon request for review.

The RO should provide a general description of the maintenance program on their oil spill response equipment.

4.5.2 Designated port minimum requirements

An RO's response plan shall include a list of the minimum capacity and resources needed to remain at each designated port within their GAR, including: type; quantity; and description of equipment with consideration to the designated port's local conditions, risks, and logistical factors in respect to a 150 tonne response capability. Equipment and resources at the designated port should be capable of being operated during simultaneous response in all operating environments within the designated port (shoreline and sheltered waters).

An RO may choose to identify specific equipment to remain in the designated port; however, there is no requirement to create port specific equipment packages. The objective of the regulation is to ensure that response capacity in the port never falls below 150 tonnes.

This capacity should not be included in the overall 10,000 tonnes response capacity. The RO should define the minimum equipment requirements to be used during a 150-tonnes oil pollution incident. The description of the equipment should include:

Types of recovery devices appropriate for sheltered and shoreline operating environments;
Boom requirements as described in section 4.5.4 of the Environmental Response Standards;
Storage requirements as described in the section 4.5.4 of the Environmental Response Standards; and
Vessels required for effective response operations.

This identified equipment capacity cannot be removed unless permitted by the Minister as per section 36 of the ERR. For more information, refer to the section on designated port.

4.5.3 Equipment appropriate for oil types

Response organizations must include, in their response plans, a list of types and quantity of equipment available for use within their GAR. Additionally, it is essential for ROs to identify the categories of oils transferred within their GAR to ensure that the RO has the proper resources to respond to any oil pollution incident.

The RO should identify the types of oil each recovery device is capable of handling, as well as their respective suitable operating environments. It is recommended that ROs make use of ASTM standards when identifying appropriate devices for the various oil types and operating environments.

To demonstrate that their equipment is appropriate for the categories of oil that could be encountered, ROs should consider:

the likely fate and behavior of different oils moved in the area where they offer services; and
the constraints that the fate and behavior of the oils can impose on clean-up operations.

Response organizations have the responsibility to determine the oil categories moved in their geographic area of response. However, ROs may refer to federal publications in classifying oil categories. This may include oil categories found in ECCC's Field Guide to Oil Spill Response on Marine Shorelines, and the Field Guide to Oil Spill Response on Freshwater Shorelines. The classifications/categories in these manuals are:

volatile oils (gasoline products);
light oils (diesel and light crudes);
medium oils (intermediate products and medium crudes);
heavy oils (residual products, heavy fuel oils such as Bunker C, and heavy crudes); and
solid oils that do not pour (bitumen, weathered Bunker C, tar, and asphalt).

The regulatory requirement is not prescriptive to provide ROs flexibility in how they may demonstrate their compliance. It is not intended that the RO should have 10 000 tonnes of response capacity for each category of oil. If a major spill occurs and the RO does not have enough equipment to appropriately recover the oil, additional resources could be requested through mutual aid agreements.

4.5.4 Support vessels

Response organizations normally have company-owned vessels located in their response centres. However, they may employ other vessels that are not owned by the company to carry-out various tasks as required in all operating environments.

The RO's response plan should contain an evergreen list of vessels that the RO can access for use in the event of an oil pollution incident. The response plan should describe the methods the RO will use to update the list when information changes.

Where support vessels are used, the following precepts should be applied:

The RO should maintain an up to date, accurate and appropriate list of the vessels available in its GAR; and
As defined in section 35 of the ERR, the vessels must be able to perform the tasks that it is planned for and this would include:
- Providing support to the responders and the response;
- Providing a stable platform for response operations in the operating environments for which they are intended to be used; and
- Having the appropriate legal certification to undertake the tasks requested by the RO. Procedures for vetting vessels should be briefly described in the response plan.
Procedures should be developed for equipment to be used on vessels that describes the installation of the response equipment, if applicable.
The RO should provide training to on-board personnel of the support vessel if they are required to carry out duties with respect to response operations.

In the above description, capable is defined as having the ability to achieve a specific task.

Response organizations must receive, from the operator/owner of the vessels, the number of operating hours per day that the vessel could accomplish their tasks. The number of hours have an impact of the overall response to an oil pollution incident. For example, if a vessel has only one crew team, it is unlikely that they will be able to operate more than one shift per day. If the vessel is only available for 12 hours and the RO are performing 24-hour operations where that vessel would be needed, then a second vessel may be required to maintain continuous operations. It is important that ROs be compliant with health and safety regulations for shift work.

4.5.5 Equipment capacity determination

Sub-paragraph 18(1)(l) of the ERR outlines the requirement for ROs to determine the capacity of each item of equipment used for on-water recovery and storage as well as each type of equipment used for on-water containment in accordance with these standards.

The following calculations are intended to be used by an RO for certification purposes to quantify minimum recovery, storage, and boom equipment requirements for a maximum quantity of 10,000 tonne response capacity.

Total rated response capacity determination

The total rated capacity of an RO is a volumetric determination of response capability based on calculations of available equipment and resources that an RO intends to use in responding to oil pollution incidents in its geographical area of response.

The following factors must be applied when determining the total rated response capacity:

Daily Rated Capacity (DRC) of the RO shall be determined using the formula:

DRC = Planned Volume ÷ Number of Operating Days

Where:
1. Planned Volume is the maximum oil volume for which the RO requests certification.
2. Number of Operating Days is the number of days the RO plans to operate in order to recover the maximum quantity of oil for which it requests certification, as specified in section 17 of the ERR.
Response planning must consider the requirements related to the planning time standards described in section 24 of the ERR.
An RO must have 150-tonne of dedicated capacity for each Designated Port located in their geographical area and that capacity shall not be included as part of the equipment in determining the RO's total rated response capacity.

For planning and certification purposes, the following assumptions are to be applied in determining response capacity:

If oil contaminates the shoreline, 10% of shoreline oil will be recovered by means of on water operations, requiring skimming, containment, and storage equipment, as per section 23 (1)(b) of the ERR.
Response Organizations shall plan to recover all the oil in unsheltered and sheltered waters within 10 days as per section 23 (1)(a) of the ERR.
The on-water portion of shoreline clean-up operations shall be completed within 50 days, as per section 23 (1)(b) of the ERR.

Equipment capacity determination:

The following assumptions and factors are used for planning and certification purposes. They must be applied when determining the rated capacity of the equipment to be presented in the RO's plan:

Assumptions:

Evaporation and natural dispersion shall not be considered in the calculations.
For planning purposes, recovery operations remain constant and are not impacted by factors such as environmental conditions, equipment breakdown or operator error.
For planning purposes in Designated Ports, operating environments are assumed to be 50% sheltered waters and 50% shoreline (see schedule 2 of the ERR). Percentages may be adjusted based on assessment by the RO and approval from the National Review Board (NRB).
Oil thickness is assumed to be 1 cm.
Specific gravity of oil spilled to be 1.0.

Factors:

The ROs must have sufficient resources to conduct recovery operations in all defined operating environments simultaneously as per section 23 of the ERR.
Equipment capability must be apportioned in coordination with the percentages of operating environments described in Schedule 2 of the ERR.
Equipment must be capable of operating in all operating environments up to a maximum sea state of Beaufort Four.

Recovery device capacity determination

Recovery rate for skimming devices must be expressed as derated capacity using the following formula:

Derated Capacity = Nameplate Capacity x derating factor
The derating factor shall be 20% of the nameplate capacity unless a change is approved by the Minister.
Daily recovery rate of the skimming device is then calculated by:

Daily Recovery Rate = Derated Capacity x Hours of Operation

Where:
1. Hours of Operations is the number of hours during which on-water recovery operations will be conducted and recovery devices will be in operation, as defined in 18(1)(p) of the ERR.

Storage capacity determination

Storage Calculations are to be based on section 23 of the ERR and will include;

a sufficient primary temporary storage capacity to maintain recovery operations of oil or oily-water waste during a 24-hour period.

Storage of liquid oil and oily water waste requirements are calculated using the nameplate capacity of the recovery device without the application of the derating factor (20%) since both oil and water are collected during recovery operations. Therefore, the quantity of primary storage required to support any recovery device is equal to the amount of liquid that would be recovered using the nameplate capacity of that device multiplied by the number of hours the device would be in operation.

Primary Storage = Nameplate capacity x Hours of Operations
a sufficient secondary temporary storage capacity to store at least twice the total quantity of oil or oily-water waste collected by the RO's oil recovery units defined in (a) that is used in a 24-hour period.

Secondary Storage = Primary Storage x 2

Boom determination

Unsheltered waters: minimum of 400 meters for each recovery device
Sheltered waters:

(Bs = 0.625 Hs) + (Bf = 1.25 Hs) = 1.875 Hs

Where:
1. Bs is the amount of boom required to contain oil near the shoreline.
2. Bf is the amount of boom required to contain free-floating oil.
3. Hs is the quantity of oil in sheltered waters.
Protective boom: minimum of 5,000 metres
Shoreline recovery boom: minimum of 1,000 metres
Designated port boom: oil containment boom lengths are based on 3 times the length plus 500 meters of the typical vessel entering the port plus an additional 100 metres of shoreline protection / treatment to an overall maximum of 1,600 metres. This equipment is defined as part of the 150-tonne dedicated port capacity as mentioned in sub- paragraph 18(1)(i) and section 36 of the ERR and should not be included in the overall capacity calculation.

Unsheltered waters

For contingency purposes, in unsheltered waters, the RO should plan to allocate 400 metres of offshore boom (sweep boom) for each oil recovery unit. Some devices, such as current buster and sweep systems, already have boom incorporated in the recovery device. In those cases, the minimum requirements of 400m is not required as the boom length provided would be sufficient.

Distance from the coastline does not factor into the determination of whether a particular operating environment is unsheltered waters. Methods for unsheltered oil recovery include booms of varying sizes deployed in a static or sweep system mode. Rugged boom or open water boom may be required to protect small bays, harbours, estuaries or other areas close to shore.

Sheltered waters

The success of any oil recovery operation depends on the flexibility of the RO's response plan and the mobility of emergency resources. The priority for deploying resources to protect environmentally sensitive areas will be made at the time of an oil pollution incident. As mentioned earlier, the plan itself must demonstrate to TC Marine Safety that the RO can successfully respond to a spill simultaneously in all operating environments within the required time standards.

In determining the quantity of boom required for sheltered waters, the following should be considered:

Shoreline protection of environmental sensitivities; and
On-water containment – containing or controlling oil on open water, or trapped in bays, coves, harbours or along the shoreline, and deflection of oil in fast flowing waters to control points.

Protection booming

The response plan must detail the measures the RO will take to protect environmental sensitivities in the cleanup process within its GAR. The amount of protection booming required to be deployed during an oil spill incident is approximately 5,000 metres. The priority of deploying resources, such as protection boom, to protect environmental sensitivities areas will be made at the time of an oil pollution incident.

The scenarios presented in the response plan should demonstrate the availability of protection booming and location where it is coming from. In some circumstances, it is possible that 5,000m of protection boom might not be necessary, as it mostly depends on different factors, such as spill location and sensitive areas located in the vicinity of the oil pollution incident. However, the RO should plan to meet the time standards associated, as defined in section 24 of the ERR, when planning the appropriate boom requirements.

Should a specific GAR contain an above average percentage of environmentally sensitive areas, these deployment figures should be increased proportionally to meet the needs.

Shoreline recovery boom

Additional boom is required to prevent any oil washed or flushed off the shore during shoreline cleanup activities to prevent remobilization of oil. The use of boom will ensure that oil being flushed from the shore is contained and thus able to be recovered by on-water recovery techniques. As the RO is required to treat 500m of shoreline per day, as defined in 22(j) of the ERR, it can be reasoned that at least a minimum of 500m of boom must be deployed. To allow time for boom placement, and for boom to remain in place for a reasonable period after cleanup operation, any shoreline protection boom calculation should be based on a minimum of two (2) days cleaning operation, resulting in a requirement of 1,000m. This is a minimum quantity of shoreline recovery boom that an RO must have in its inventory and is not related to any response level.

The RO should present scenarios in their response plan in table format that describes how they will meet the planning requirements for daily capacities set out in paragraphs 23(a)-(c) of the ERR and the time standards for deployment/delivery set out in paragraphs 24(a)-(f).

The table should indicate the quantity, type and location of recovery and storage devices as well as the quantity, type and intended use of the boom (containment, recovery, or protection) that will be used in each area within the GAR (Designated Port, PAR, ERA, etc).

Storage requirements

Storage Calculations are to be based on section 23 of the ERR and will include:

a sufficient primary temporary storage capacity to maintain recovery operations of oil or oily-water waste during a 24-hour period and a sufficient secondary temporary storage capacity to store at least twice the total quantity of oil or oily-water waste collected by the RO's oil recovery units that are used in a 24-hour period;
storage strategies, such as tertiary storage, shuttling system, offloading oil from barges, must be described in the response plan.

Derating factor used for recovery device calculations

When calculating recovery capacity, a de-rating factor must be used in consideration of factors such as the type of oil and condition of oil, encounter rate, environmental conditions, operator error and inaccurate name plate figures. For planning purposes, a default derating of 20% from the nameplate capacity shall be applied, unless alternative evidence is provided and approved by the Minister.

Response organizations must send a request to TC to request the use of a different de-rating factor. Information should include the types of recovery devices, scientific data proving that derating factor could be increased, the operating environments and types of oil that would be applicable for the increased efficiency as well as the factors considered.

Calculation example

10,000 tonne Pollution Incident in the Primary Area of Response (PAR)

For this requirement, the scenarios should reflect the 72 hours for delivery on scene within the PAR or ERA. To meet this requirement, the RO must have the required personnel and appropriate equipment to respond to a 10,000-tonne spill. A scenario should reflect this situation and describe all the steps the organization will follow in responding to an incident, including communications, organizational structure, and logistics, etc.

Assumptions

Recovery devices are derated to 20% of nameplate capacity.
Operational time frame is 10 days.
Primary temporary storage is based on the total nameplate capacity of the recovery devices per operational day.
Secondary Storage capacity is based on the two times the amount of primary temporary storage.
Oil thickness is 1 cm.
Assume specific gravity of oil spilled to be 1.0.
Assume one large free floating slick in unsheltered waters.
Assume oil impacts all three operating environments.

Recovery devices
Operating environment type	Percentage of operating environment	Recovery requirement	Total recovery by environment	Daily recovery requirement	Total requirement (tonnes)
Onshore	40%	4,000	x 10% = 400	÷ 50 days = 8	8 Tonnes/day
Sheltered	30%	3,000	3,000	÷ 10 days = 300	300 tonnes/day
Unsheltered	30%	3,000	3,000	÷ 10 days = 300	300 tonnes/day
Total	100%	10,000	6,400	608	608 tonnes/day

Boom
Operating environment type	Percentage of operating environment	Recovery requirement	Formula	Calculation	Total (metres)
Onshore	40%	4,000	500m per Day	500m X 2 days	1,000m
Sheltered-Containment	30%	3,000	1.25 X 3000 + 0.625m X 3000	5,625m	5,625m
Protection	N/A	N/A	5000m (Static)	5,000m	5,000m
Unsheltered	30%	3,000	400m per Sweep System	400m X 2 sweep systems (for example only)	800m
Total	100%	10,000	N/A	12,425m	12425m

Storage
Operating environment type	Percentage of operating environment	Recovery requirement	Storage required (oil)	Derating	Daily requirement (tonnes)
Onshore	40%	4,000	X 10% = 400T	÷ 20% = 2000	÷ 50 days = 40
Sheltered	30%	3,000	3,000	÷ 20% = 15,000	÷ 10 days = 1,500
Unsheltered	30%	3,000	3,000	÷ 20% = 15,000	÷ 10 days = 1,500
Total	100%	10,000	6,400	32,000	Primary Storage = 3,040
Total secondary storage					Primary storage x 2 = 6,080 tonnes
Total primary and secondary storage					9,120 tonnes

4.6 Procedures – strategies appropriate for all operating environments

Response organizations shall have in their plan appropriate strategies when responding in different operating environments. In their scenarios, they should be able to demonstrate that the equipment used is appropriate for the operating environmental in which it's being used. Furthermore, the RO should indicate in their scenarios in which operating environmental their equipment could be deployed or delivered.

Transport Canada may request that an RO to provide evidence of a specific strategy included in their response plan in order to assess its effectiveness, as defined in section 33 of the ERR. This will only be requested if TC has reasonable doubt that a specific element of the response plan might not be suitable for the task identified in the plan. This may include testing specific elements (strategies, equipment tactics) of the plan in specific operating environments. Transport Canada will work with the RO to develop the best method to validate the element in question.

Evidence to support the validation may include recent scientific data such as manufacturer or independent field testing. Should these types of reports not be available, then preference will be given to include this testing in regular exercises or training events should other means of validation not be available.

Individual TC environmental response marine safety inspectors (ER-MSIs) will discuss with the NRB representative and with the regional manager before any request for testing specific strategies or equipment tactics are forwarded to the (NRB). After review, the NRB will send the proposal to the RO if the request is accepted.

TC will consider any financial impact on the RO and strive to work in conjunction with the RO to develop the most reasonable approach to satisfy the validation of the strategy.

4.7 On-water containment and recovery

4.7.1 10-day planning standards

ROs must plan to complete on-water recovery operations within ten days of a pollution incident up to a maximum of 10,000 tonnes, as described in section 23 of the ERR. For planning purposes, the 10 days commence when the equipment is deployed or delivered on scene depending on the location as described in Section 24 of the ERR. This standard describes the calculations associated with the 10-day planning process to achieve a daily recovery rate.

Response organizations should consider that the recovery rate is not constant over time. In fact, it is well known that the first days are crucial for recovering oil on water, since after a few days, the oil starts to emulsify, disperse, and becomes harder to recover. With this information, ROs should concentrate their resources for on-water recovery operations as soon as possible to ensure maximum recovery.

When planning their on-water response recovery operations, the ROs should take into account their operational hours as defined in section 18(1)(p) of the ERR.

On-water recovery rate can be influenced by other factors such as the type of oil, priorities (environmental sensitivities, cultural sites, fisheries) and environmental conditions. Response organizations should take these factors into account when planning their on-water response. Consideration for these factors should be reflected in their planning strategies and scenarios.

4.8 Personnel and support equipment

4.8.1 Personnel

The success of any spill response operation depends on the capability of the people in the organization. In order for a response operation to be coordinated and effective, personnel and contractors require specialized training combined with periodic drills and exercises. Response organizations should assess local availability of responders for each PAR in respect to trained responders required to respond appropriately to an oil pollution incident.

The RO should explain in their response plan how they manage availability of responders (including contractors and personnel) to ensure they have adequate human resources available in each of their PARs to mount an adequate response during an oil pollution incident. This could be achieved through different methodologies, such as:

Determining redundancy factors;
Regular notification exercises; and
Monitoring contractor numbers.

Response organizations should list the training their personnel has taken in relation to the positions they hold in the organization. Training should be directly linked to the roles the personnel will play during an oil pollution incident.

4.8.2 Support equipment

For the purposes of these standards, the primary equipment are skimmers, booms, and storage units. Support equipment is defined as equipment required for the primary recovery units to function. Support equipment could include vessels, ancillary equipment, trucks, generator, pumps used for other purposes than oil recovery, etc. The support equipment is also used for transportation and storage of the primary equipment. The RO should detail, in their response plan, the equipment that will be used for each quantity, defined in section 24(1) of the ERR. Support equipment does not have to be listed in the response plan. However, the support equipment inventory list could be requested by TC and may be verified during an inspection.

4.9 Shoreline treatment

Shoreline treatment options will vary widely depending on a range of variables including oil type, shoreline type, degree of shoreline oiling and the environmental sensitivities present in the shoreline environment. Accordingly, the RO should demonstrate an understanding of the need for a range of treatment options. Environment and Climate Change Canada's Shoreline cleanup assessment technique (SCAT) manual and other publications provide pertinent information on the assessment and different techniques available for use for shoreline cleanup.

The ERR require that the procedures to be implemented with respect to an oil pollution incident of a specified quantity of oil in a geographical area described in an RO's response plan include:

A minimum of 500m of shoreline is treated per day; and
On-water recovery associated with shoreline treatment is completed within 50 operational days after the day on which the equipment is first deployed or delivered in the affected operating environment(s), as described in section 4.7.1 above.

For planning purposes, ROs are expected to have knowledge of treatment options for the shoreline types that are present in their GAR, as required under 22(c) of the ERR. Various technical documents are available for use by ROs in reference to shoreline treatment including those produced by ASTM International, the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association, and ECCC.

Transport Canada recognizes that shoreline treatment options may be determined by the Science Table in the event of a real incident. However, for planning purposes, TC recommends that all ROs make use of ECCC's Marine (or Freshwater) Shoreline Field Guide and Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Team Manual for industry consistency. These documents provide classification of shoreline types and techniques available to improve the efficiency of shoreline treatment. As these documents are amended by ECCC periodically, they provide up to date information on shoreline treatment. Response organizations have the option to use other resources that are available as well.

Section 22 of the ERR requires that an RO's response plan includes a description of:

the treatment and recovery procedures that will be implemented in response to an oil pollution incident
- TC recognizes that each pollution event will be unique in nature and that specific strategies and tactics are difficult to pre-assign to any oil type or any geographic area. Response Organizations may be asked to employ many operational procedures during pollution response operations.
- There are many effective countermeasures and technologies available to the industry that can be adopted for use by an RO.
- The RO response plan should describe the methodology by which procedures, strategies and tactics are developed that might be employed in their geographic area in response to an oil pollution, to protect and treat areas of environmental sensitivities within the affected operating environment.
- The response plan should include or make reference to:
  - A description of response strategies, containment, protection, recovery measures they are trained and equipped to deploy.
  - Consideration should be given to the types of oil present in their GAR and the measures are appropriate for use on those products.
  - A description of the measures appropriate for all operating environments including:
    - Unsheltered Waters
    - Sheltered Waters
    - Shoreline
  - When developing area response plans, ROs can make reference to these various response measures which might be applied to sensitivities in a defined geographic area.
the procedures, equipment, and resources that will be used for the different shoreline types within their geographical area.

Response plans submitted for certification are normally higher-level documents that describe the equipment, resources, and procedures that the RO has on hand for all types of oil pollution incidents in general terms.

Response organizations should list, in their area response plans or their response plans, the shoreline types that are present in their GAR and briefly describe the procedures to treat them.

Response organizations should explain the methodology they will use to identify shoreline types within their GAR and how the strategies to treat various shoreline types are developed. Reference to internal documents or external documents would be acceptable. All documents should be accessible to TC at any time.

Transport Canada recognizes that during an incident, actual response methods will likely be determined by conducting SCAT assessments and decisions made by a lead agency or through the Science Table who may select the best methodology and priority.

4.10 Procedures – coordination with CCG and other bodies

An RO's plans and procedures must consider elements from other jurisdictions as described in section 22(i). As defined in the ERR, the response must be managed in coordination with the CCG and other federal, provincial, or municipal partners, and any other bodies responsible for, or involved in, the protection of the environment. For planning purposes, ROs should identify agencies that would be involved during an oil spill response and define the relationship between the RO and those agencies, if applicable.

Response organizations should have knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the various agencies which may be encountered during response operations. This could include those agencies which have functional roles in response such as the CCG or jurisdictional authorities such as provincial environment departments.

In their plans, ROs should describe:

a brief description of the roles and responsibilities of various agencies which the RO may interact during a response;
how the RO will interact with these agencies (e.g., Notification only, ICS integration, liaison); and
how the RO will interact with the polluter during an incident.

4.11 Temporary storage and waste management

4.11.1 Temporary storage equipment standard

This requirement links with section 23 of the ERR, which would require that an RO calculate the capacity of primary and secondary temporary storage equipment in accordance with technical formulas provided for the purpose of determining rated capacity of an RO's equipment.

“Primary temporary storage capacity” means the temporary storage capacity required for the oil recovery units that are used during a response by an RO.

“Secondary temporary storage capacity” means the temporary storage capacity required to consolidate and store all of the recovered oil and oily-water waste during a response by an RO before it is transported for final disposal.

‘‘Tertiary Fluid Handling Capability'' is the ability to provide some method of dealing with recovered fluids after the primary and secondary capacity has been consumed.

“Recovered materials” means oil and oily-water waste liquid and solid forms including oil contaminated solids and waste.

Response organizations should take into account several considerations when planning storage capacity for recovered materials to ensure sufficient equipment and resources are available to maintain continuous recovery operations:

sufficient primary temporary storage capacity is required to maintain on-water recovery operations of oil or oily-water waste continuously during one operational day and sufficient secondary temporary storage capacity is required to store at least twice the total quantity of oil or oily-water waste recovered in one operational day; where
- An RO's responsibility with respect to storage of recovered waste products is operational in nature to ensure recovery operations are not interrupted by lack of capacity to store recovered oil and oily waste water.
- The intention of the regulation is to ensure there is capacity available to store oil and oily waste for up to 72 hours (24 hours primary and 48 hours secondary) of continuous operations. During this 72-hour period, arrangements should be made to move recovered materials to tertiary storage in preparation for final disposal. Planning can be done for this capability in a general way in the response plan and details should be completed during the initial days of oil spill cleanup operations so that a seamless transition is available before the first two levels are fully utilized.
- Long term storage and final disposal of the recovered materials is the responsibility of the polluter. The RO may arrange for disposal, but this is only done at the request of the polluter.
Volume of storage required are determined using calculations explained in section 4.5.4. A primary temporary storage capacity and a secondary temporary storage capacity that are less than those determined by calculations may be permitted where the efficiency of the oil recovery devices or the use of other methods (those enabled in Canadian law) reduce the amount of storage required to recover the calculated amount of oil and oily waste in each operating environment.
- An RO should have enough equipment to address the needs of primary temporary storage.
- Strategies may be used such as cycling various means of primary temporary storage to attain the required capacity however this methodology should be clearly explained in their response plan.
- Secondary storage equipment requirements may be reduced if the RO if able to demonstrate that alternative secondary storage locations are available within the area of response and strategies to cycle equipment are practical and efficient such that recovery operations would not be interrupted. These methodologies should be well explained in their response plan.
The ROs must account for the percentage of operating environments.
- ROs must consider the operating environments describe in Schedule 2 of the ERR when planning their recovery operations.
- Equipment must be suitable to the environmental conditions, maneuverable, and compatible with recovery devices with which they are intended for use.
The ROs must account for the requirement to be able to complete on-water response and shoreline treatment operations to be completed within 10 days and 50 days, as defined in sections 23 of the ERR.
- For calculation purposes, it is assumed that 10% of the oil that makes landfall will be recovered by means of on-water operations. That is to say that 10% of oil present in the shoreline operating environment will be flushed or returned to the water way by some other means of re-mobilization. For planning purposes, ROs should plan to recover this quantity as part of their requirement to complete all on-water recovery operations within 50 days.
- For the remaining 90% of oil trapped on the shoreline, it is assumed that other methods of recovery will be used which would not include re-entry of the product into the waterway. This will likely produce large volumes of solid waste that must be stored, handled, or transported prior to disposal. Response organizations should include provisions in their response plan for the collection, transporting to and temporary storage of contaminated solids.

4.12 Protecting environmental and socio-economic sensitivities

4.12.1 Procedures, equipment, and resources to protect sensitivities

Availability of information on sensitivities may vary from one region to another through an RO's GAR. Areas of environmental or socio-economic sensitivity may be identified by the RO's own processes or planning processes led by the government or other organizations. It is recommended that the ROs work with provincial and federal governments as well as communities to better define the areas of environmental sensitivities in their GAR. The information does not need to be included in their response plans but should be described in area response plans.

In the case of the procedures that will be used to protect and treat areas of environmental and socioeconomic sensitivities within an affected operating environment, the response plan or the area response plans may reference other documents or manuals.

Response organizations' response plans should include or refer to:

Procedures to identify areas of environmental and/or socio-economic sensitivities; and
Resources in place to protect and treat areas of environmental and/or socio-economic sensitivities within an affected operating environment, including but not limited to pre-planning procedures such as:
- Protection booming;
- Diversion;
- Deflection;
- Equipment;
- Methodology on determination of quantity of equipment; and
- Logistical considerations.

As mentioned above, specific information on sensitivities and/or available resources in the GAR might be best positioned in area response plans, databases, or documentation as they are developed.

Specialized resources that may be available for use should be identified in relation to the areas in which they might be put into use.

4.12.2 Procedures, equipment, resources and measures for bird hazing

Birds are often the most impacted of all animals when oil is present in the marine environment. The ERR are intended to ensure ROs are equipped and trained to conduct bird hazing as a preventative measure in protecting this wildlife resource. Response organizations may be requested by the polluter to develop and/or support the implementation of wildlife management plans if those requirements are imposed on the polluter by the lead agency or an authority with this type of jurisdiction.

As noted in the ERR, ROs must describe in their plans:

A list of the equipment, procedures, and resources for scaring off birds from an oil spill location
- A description of what the ROs have at their disposal, and that they are able to sustain, in terms of the necessary equipment and qualified personnel to carry out bird hazing.
Measures to be made available in support of other bird and wildlife activities of other parties
- This could include accommodating logistics or logistical supplies such as PPE, capture boxes, providing staging areas and facilities as requested but not to be kept in inventory.
- ROs should provide a list of the organizations that will provide wildlife-related rescue and rehabilitation activities within the GAR and possible centers for rescued and rehabilitated wildlife.

Permits or licensing from provincial and federal governments may be required to conduct bird hazing. Response organizations should ensure that they have procedures in place to quickly obtain these authorizations or ensure that the contractors listed for this type of operation have the permissions in place.

The RO would work closely with ECCC and the Science Table during an incident to determine which resources are needed and the location to conduct bird hazing.

4.12.3 Submerged oil

The underwater environment, poor visibility, and irregular behavior of submerged oils present significant response challenges to the oil spill response community in comparison to surface-oriented oil spills. Standard response techniques such as containment and skimming operations, have been proven to be inadequate and are difficult to apply for an oil spill where most of the oil is submerged below the surface or has sunk to the bottom, termed submerged oil.

In their response plan, ROs should:

Describe response strategies for the treatment of submerged oil;
Describe the resources required to implement response strategies for submerged oil; and
Describe how the RO will implement those response strategies.

4.12.4 Incident management system

An incident management system (IMS), such as ICS, provides a tool for command, control, and coordination of a response and provides a means to coordinate the efforts of individual agencies as they work toward the common goal of stabilizing the incident and protecting life, property, and the environment. The Incident Command System, for example uses principles that have been proven to improve efficiency and effectiveness in a business setting and applies the principles to emergency response.

Many incidents require a response from a number of different agencies. Regardless of the size of the incident or the number of agencies involved in the response, all incidents require a coordinated effort to ensure an effective response and the efficient, safe use of resources.

The IMS is built around five major components:

Command
Planning
Operations
Logistics
Finance/Administration

These five major components are the foundation upon which the incident management organization develops.

To coordinate the effective use of all of the available resources, ROs should use a formalized management structure that lends consistency, fosters efficiency, and provides direction during a response.

4.13 Transport Canada notification of response activation

Response organizations are often requested to assist or respond to pollution incidents that fall outside the scope of CSA 2001, such as spills from land-based facilities, offshore drilling operations or other incidents that do not involve prescribed vessels.

Transport Canada is responsible for ensuring that the preparedness capacity defined in CSA 2001 remains available at all times. Whenever an RO is activated, a notification should be sent to TC as soon as feasible. However, it is understood that the information might be sensitive or might not be readily available in the early stages of an oil pollution incident. Information should be provided when it becomes available.

Transport Canada must be notified anytime that an RO has been activated to:

a ship-source oil pollution incident; or,
a non-ship-source oil pollution incident that impacts equipment or resources listed in the RO's oil pollution response plan and that could potentially affect their response capacity.

The TC regional office should be notified by email no later than 6 hours after the RO is being activated, if feasible. Transport Canada is aware that not all the information might be available during the initial notification.

This notification must occur as soon as feasible and the information should include, if available:

the date, time and location of the pollution incident;
the identity of the polluter involved;
the nature of the pollution incident, including the type and estimated quantity of oil involved if known;
a description of the response actions underway or to be taken;
list of resources deployed or to be deployed by the RO;
on-scene conditions; and
any other relevant information.

Transport Canada is fully aware that some information might be confidential, as per non-disclosure agreements with industry, and could not be shared with TC. However, TC should be made aware of all other relevant information.

For a response to an oil pollution incident outside of the CSA 2001, the RO should confirm that their response capacity has not been impacted with respect to the 10,000-tonne requirements. If the RO no longer meets their level of certification, a written confirmation should be sent to TC regional office and Headquarters to further explain the extent to which they are not meeting the requirements and the actions proposed to return to a state of compliance.

4.1.4 Time standards (activation and response)

4.14.1 Two hours activation

Activation begins when an RO has been requested to respond to an oil pollution incident on the request of a vessel or the operator of an OHF with which the RO has an arrangement, as described in 171(e) of the CSA 2001. Verification of an arrangement has to be validated by the RO before the activation period commences.

An activation period includes the initial actions the RO would take to notify and mobilize personnel, equipment, and resources to be transported to the incident site. For all response tiers and areas of response, an RO will be expected to complete this activation or ‘initial mobilization' of personnel, equipment, and resources within the first two hours of the associated time standards described in section 24 of the ERR.

An RO would need to demonstrate to TC that they have the planning and procedures to activate the organization to initiate the response to an oil pollution incident within two hours of being activated. Elements of activation should include, but not limited to:

notification of personnel;
initial assessment;
equipment planning; and
initial safety considerations and potential hazards.

4.14.2 Deployment and delivery of equipment and resources

Time Standards and operating environments were incorporated into the ERR to ensure ROs have equipment suitable for all types of conditions (up to and including Beaufort Force 4) and positioned throughout a GAR in manner that allows for them to deliver response capability to the scene of an incident in a timely manner.

These time standards were created for planning purposes only. Actual events are impossible to predict; however, an RO should be able to demonstrate in their response plan that they are able to deliver services to the defined sections of the GAR within the parameters outlined in the Standards. Response organizations should plan to deliver resources in an effective and efficient manner using a "cascading" or tiered response structure, based on the time elapsed from activation.

For planning purposes, the RO needs to describe in their response plan how the equipment and resources will be deployed or delivered to the affected operating environment within the time standards defined in 24 of the ERR.

In their response plans, ROs should develop scenarios explaining how they will deploy/deliver the capacity assigned to each subdivision of their GAR (designated port, PAR, ERA). These scenarios should consider the position of the equipment, and the travel time required to get to the incident site. Information in their response plans could be displayed using tables, scenarios or text.

These scenarios should be based on the calculations described in section 4.5.4 of the Standards. Information provided should include but not limited to:

Amount of boom to meet regulatory requirements;
Number of recovery devices and their derated capacity needed to meet regulatory requirements;
Primary and secondary storage capacity to ensure uninterrupted on water recovery operations;
Travel time from the equipment location to the oil pollution incident location;
Number of vessels and trained responders as required; and
Information should be specific for each operating environment.

The RO may cascade these resources from anywhere as long as the capacity can be delivered or deployed within the time standards required for each section of their GAR.

4.15 Procedures for response measures approvals

In working on behalf of the polluter, an RO should have knowledge of the permits or approvals necessary to conduct the response activities that are described in their response plan as possible measures that might be employed during any response to a pollution incident.

In many cases it may be the polluter's responsibility to undertake the request to obtain these types of approvals, however ROs should have knowledge on the process to obtain and execute the required permissions or approvals.

Response organizations should have knowledge of the responsible agencies, their information requirements, application forms, etc.

Examples might include but not limited to permits, approvals to:

Use equipment or procedures necessary for bird-hazing or support wildlife rehabilitation;
Set up staging areas;
Beach Alteration permits;
Access to private property;
Transport and storage of recovered products; and
Wide load permits.

4.16 Area response plans

An area response plan is an informational resource to help expedite a response. Details on the procedures, equipment and resources, including personnel, that would be used to control, contain, and recover an oil discharge in a specific geographic area should be identified.

Area response plans are intended to subdivide the GAR into smaller areas and be more specific in terms of the sensitivities and characteristics of the area and consider procedures, strategies and tactics that might be applied to those resources at risk.

Area planning is intended to enhance an RO's ability to respond to pollution incidents by pre-identifying equipment caches, environmental sensitivities, resources, specific challenges, access routes, facilities, or other characteristics of their GAR through the subdivision of the overall area into smaller defined geographic areas. Procedures, equipment and resources should be identified in each plan, including specific response strategies that might be employed to each operating environment. Each plan should also include a description of sensitivities located within the geographic area of the plan. Specific internal documents or other pertinent information relevant to each area could be referenced in the area plan to avoid duplication of information.

In addition to the requirements found in section 19 of the ERR, other elements of an area response plan may include, but not limited to:

Description of Shoreline type and shoreline segmentation, if available;
Resources available such as launch ramps, docks, marinas, community halls;
Availability of logistical support: Suppliers, rental agencies, accommodations, restaurants;
OSH support - Clinics, hospitals, ambulance,etc;
List of possible trained responders near the area;
Details of any known bird or mammal colonies including seasonality; and
Best available routes for delivery of equipment and resources.

Transport Canada recognizes that these types of assessments are ongoing and defined areas may change as time passes and more data is collected, or new risks are identified.

The ERR are meant to be flexible enough to allow ROs to define how their GAR will be subdivided based on their own methodology which they view as practical and the best way to optimize overall effectiveness.

An RO must have an area response plan(s) and corresponding maps covering its entire area of response—the number of areas and content of the plan will be up to the discretion of an RO. The ERR do not set limits with respect to size or shape of the defined areas. Response organizations will decide the most practical and efficient way to divide their GAR.

For example, an RO may choose to cover their entire GAR by sub-dividing the overall area into three area response plans as a start. As time passes and more information is gathered, those three plans might be subdivided into six plans if the areas have distinct challenges or sensitivities that would require differing response strategies or tactics.

In each area response plan in the PAR, an RO should describe the location of equipment and resources in the area, how they would meet time standards requirements, description of the equipment dedicated to this area (if applicable) and how resources might be transported to the area to meet the time standard. Furthermore, the RO should list the vessels and contractors located in each area that are available to an oil pollution incident.

The area plans do not have to be included in the response plan. Response organizations are expected to explain how the areas were created by listing the number of plans and identifying the areas of each defined area response plan. This is most likely best achieved by providing a map of the overall GAR showing the border limits of each area plan in their response plans. Reference to individual plans may be made throughout the document if it helps to give context to any material in the response plan.

Area response plans themselves can reference other documents and operating procedures, rather than having to repeat content that exist elsewhere (e.g., manuals and external guidance such as ECCC's SCAT Manual. There is no need to repeat information that is included in the response plan as well. Reference can be made to the RO's documents to further clarify any information in the area plan.

These area response plans will not be reviewed as part of certification. The only regulatory requirement that will be considered during the certification process will be the requirement to have such plans and to include a description on the process to develop such plans in the response plan. Transport Canada ER-MSIs will verify adherence to this regulation during inspections conducted over the course of the 3-year certification period. Plans should be made available upon request by a TC ER-MSI.

As noted above, there is no specific requirements how area plans should be delimited. However, each area plan should include the requirements defined in the ERR.

Response organizations should work as much as possible with other federal, provincial and municipal authorities, First Nations and coastal communities and any other groups to develop their area response plans. Regional knowledge should be taken into consideration when developing the plans to identify specific elements, such as environmental sensitivities and available resources.

4.17 Training

Training is an important element of responder development essential to improve preparedness in responding to pollution incidents. Training should be offered to personnel, contractors and short-notice hires.

An RO's response plan should include a description of the training program highlighting the skills and knowledge that are necessary to undertake responsibilities during an oil pollution incident. This could include management training, specific training on equipment, and any other appropriate training.

Response Organizations are well versed in determining what are the training requirements for each role a responder could play during a response. There are no requirements in the ERR that will identify trainings and courses that specific responder must take. Instead, it is up to the ROs to provide a list of trainings to prepare a responder to undertake their roles during an oil pollution incident.

4.17.1 Record of training

The RO shall, in its response plan:

Provide a training plan for RO personnel and contractors that covers the duration of the certificate of designation that includes:
- a list of the courses, including any refresher courses for retraining, and the period of validity for each course;
- a description of the type and level of training that is required for each response activity;
- a list of the classes of persons who are scheduled to take the training and the level of training to be provided for each class of persons consistent with the responsibilities that they might be requested to undertake in a response to an oil pollution incident; and
- in the case of a support vessel used in on-water recovery, a description of the type and characteristics of the support vessel of opportunity used in the response operations, including, if applicable, a description of the training in respect of response equipment.
A general description of the training that the RO provides to /arranges for short notice hires with respect to response operations.

4.17.2 Record of training

In delivering its training program, an RO must:

maintain a record of the training delivered including the course dates and names of the persons who have received the training; and
provide schedules of training for the classes of persons, including any schedule of retraining.

This information does not need to be included in the response plan; however, the information must be maintained and provided to the Minister upon request.

Inspectors may review training records during an inspection or the NRB may request a copy of training records during the certification process. Response organizations should keep the training records for a minimum of three years. If a type of training is valid for more than three years, the expiry date should be included in the training record.

4.18 Exercise program

4.18.1 Notification simulation and oil pollution incident simulation exercise requirements

The RO exercise program is intended to demonstrate response preparedness capabilities and confirm the functionality of various plans, processes, policies, and procedures. Response organizations should endeavour to conduct exercises with Members (prescribed vessels and/or OHFs), TC, CCG, and other government and/or external agencies. Response organizations must consider the participation of Indigenous groups and other stakeholders, e.g., industry, contractors, other levels of government, and other agencies involved in oil pollution response when available and pertinent to the exercise objectives.

Key objectives of the exercise program are to:

Demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of the operational capability of RO procedures, equipment, and resources;
Support the development of RO personnel, contractors, and trained responders through participation in simulated response scenarios;
Identify areas within the IMS, training programs, and response protocols that can be improved; and
Maintain levels of competence of trained staff/contractors responders in preparation for real events.

4.18.2 Oil pollution incident simulation exercises

An RO exercise program must include, but not limited to, the following elements:

Scenarios that are always related to a CSA-type oil pollution event (discharge from a prescribed vessel or discharge from an OHF during loading/unloading operations);
A minimum of eight exercises per each PAR must be conducted;
At least one exercise for each of the quantities listed in sub-paragraph 26(2)(a) of the ERR over the certification cycle including:
- At least 120 tonnes of oil
- At least 800 tonnes of oil
- At least 2,000 tonnes of oil
- At least 8,000 tonnes of oil (this level is required once every three years in the GAR); and
A minimum of one exercise per ERA must be conducted per certification cycle (where applicable). Response organizations will decide which capacity level will be exercised in the ERA. Transport Canada will accept this exercise as an equivalent to one of exercises required to be completed within the nearest PAR of the same level.

The quantity of 8,000 tonnes must be exercised over a three-year period commencing on the day on which their certificate was issued by TC. This will allow TC to evaluate the response capacity of all levels during the certification cycle. The intent of this regulation is to ensure ROs can mount an adequate response at the highest level of each relevant capacity and time standard requirement.

The exercise program (planned exercises and tentative schedule) must be approved by the Minister during the certification process. Once approved, the RO must seek approval from TC to make any changes to the exercise schedule. The RO should contact the regional NRB representative to request such changes.

The RO must provide an exercise schedule for the certification cycle when submitting their response plan during certification process. The schedule should include a description of the operational, discussion-based, and notification exercises that will be conducted in each year of the certification cycle indicating the tiered level of each. Providing the capacity level(s) and type of exercise planned for each year of the three-year cycle will be sufficient during the certification process. This will allow TC to approve the exercise program, knowing that the dates might change over the course of the three years. The RO should plan a meeting with the TC ER regional office at the beginning of each year to plan their yearly exercise schedule as more firm dates are determined.

The RO should make every effort to coordinate with the persons, entities or vessels who would be involved in an oil pollution incident during their exercises to demonstrate various roles or functions they may be called upon to execute during an actual oil pollution incident. Exercises are a good tool to involve both public and private partners. Transport Canada realizes that it might be difficult to include simulated polluters during exercises due to their availability. However, invitations should be sent to various clients to request their participation in each exercise. Furthermore, invitations should be sent to federal, provincial, and municipal authorities, other agencies that play a key role during an oil pollution incident.

ROs must to the extent possible involve local Indigenous communities and local stakeholders when conducting exercises. TC recognizes that the RO cannot control who actually attends from groups outside of their own organization; however, reasonable efforts must be made to invite these local groups. This can be in the form of phone calls, emails, or other written correspondence. Records should be kept of the invitations and made available to TC upon request.

Simulated oil pollution incident exercises include table-top, discussion-based, and operations-based exercises.
Transport Canada recommends that larger scale exercises such as the 2,000 and 8,000 tonne scenarios should not be planned in the last six months of the certification period. Ideally, any lessons learned or corrective action plans will be completed prior to submission of the new response plan This will allow enough time for the RO to complete their post exercise report and to allow the Minister to provide comments on the exercise.
Alternative exercise formats, such as workshops, focused sessions, etc., may be considered in developing one of the mandatory exercises, with prior approval from the Minister. The request along with information (scenario, format of exercise, objectives, sub-objectives, participants, etc.) should be sent to the NRB regional representative early in the planning phase for consideration to allow the NRB to review the proposal.
The flexibility in the exercise program allows ROs to plan exercises anywhere in their GAR. This will ensure that the ROs can address any areas of risk or unique challenges by exercising scenarios in specific areas. This allowance is intended to increase their preparedness levels in the entire GAR.

4.18.3 Notification exercises

An RO must conduct at least four notification exercises in each PAR per year.

Notification exercises are intended to test the RO's ability to contact personnel, contractors, responders, government agencies and other possible entities to ensure timely stand up of response resources as needed.

The notification exercises should be scenario-based and responses to the call out should be tracked and reported.

Transport Canada does not need to be involved in the development of these types of exercises; however, ROs are asked to send reports to TC within 45 days of the event.

The reports should include:

Details of the scenario;
The name of the entities contacted;
Time contacted and call back time if no initial response; and
The nature of availability, such as
- The time required to arrive onsite, and
- The number of responders available.

4.18.4 Unannounced exercises

Transport Canada may request the RO to undertake exercises whose scenario, objectives and timing are unknown to the staff and responders of the organization in order to evaluate preparedness levels of the RO.

Transport Canada will work with the RO's senior management to develop scenarios and objectives. In order for the unannounced exercise to be effective, it will be crucial that other RO personnel are not aware of the scenario. Exact dates for the unplanned exercise will not be divulged to the RO; however, TC and the RO senior management will work together to select a short range of dates for the event to occur in order to avoid disruption of the RO's normal operations such as training and maintenance (Normally a one-week period).

TC will target 120-tonne or 800-tonne exercises in the PAR only in order to prevent excessive cost to the organization. Transport Canada may request an operational deployment of equipment as part of the objectives; however, the intent is that this type of operation would be scaled to ensure the RO could execute using their internal resources. An RO may use a contractor if they choose to for efficiency purposes. The elements described above should form part of the planning discussions between TC and RO senior management prior to the event.

The unannounced exercise will count towards one of the required exercises of the same level for the PAR in which it is conducted.

4.18.5 Development of objectives in exercises

As described in Section 29 of the ERRs, an RO must involve TC in the development of their objectives and scenarios early in the planning phase of the exercises. This is not to say that TC should be involved in the overall design of the exercise program but at the regional level, TC should be invited to exercise planning meetings early in the development phase to provide input on any objectives or procedures that they would like to see tested during the exercise.

The ERR do not mandate the format to which this involvement has to be executed; however, the RO may choose to form committee-style groups for the review of exercises or simply conduct planning meetings with TC and other entities present who may be participating in the event. As noted earlier, the RO should where possible coordinate exercises with persons, entities or vessels who might be involved during an actual pollution event.

At a minimum, TC should be notified 30 days in advance of an exercise. The notification should include key elements such as:

Exercise date, time, and location;
Tier level;
Scenario;
Objectives;
Response functions; and
Key exercise participants.

As per Section 30 of the ERR, TC will have the authority to require an RO to add objectives or amend proposed objectives to an exercise, as necessary. The intent of the regulation is to allow TC the flexibility to request certain activities be demonstrated during an exercise when a deficiency, gap or lack of clarity has been identified in plans, in previous exercises or during an actual response. The intent is not to give powers to an individual TC ER-MSI to ask for any objective to be exercised. Adding objectives to an exercise should be reviewed and approved by the NRB prior to the request to the RO to ensure consistency and fairness across regions and across the industry. A regional collaborative approach should be taken in developing these objectives. Response organizations should be given ample time to plan for the inclusion of the objective(s) in their regularly planned exercises.

4.18.6 Exercise reports

A post exercise report should be sent to the Minister of Transport following an exercise. This report must include:

The date the exercise was conducted;
A description of the exercise simulation;
A description of the objectives of the exercise, the means used to meet the objectives and an indication of whether the objectives were met; and
Any deficiencies that were identified, a description of the actions that are planned to address those deficiencies, and any possible improvements that could be made to the response plan or to future exercises.

It is also recommended that the following be included, but not limited to:

A list of participants involved in the exercise; and
Documentation can be included in the report or made available to TC upon request.

4.19 Permission for removal of designated port capacity

As defined in section 36 of the ERR, 150-tonne incident equipment capacity cannot be removed without Ministerial approval. The request should be sent to the regional ER Manager for consideration. The request should include the following information:

Location of the spill and incident details;
The quantity of equipment already deployed;
The quantity of equipment that is required from the dedicated equipment capacity; and
The explanation why the equipment is required.

Tier 1 equipment capacity (150 tonnes) is excluded from the 10,000-tonne capacity.

4.20 Response plans

4.20.1 Electronic submission

During a new certification process, the new response plan should be submitted at least 90 days before the expiry date of the current certificate of designation.

Copies of the response plan should be written in both official languages when needed, where applicable. RO and TC will work together if TC receives a request to have plans in both official languages.

Annual plan updates should be submitted to TC electronically. If no changes are needed in the plan, an email should be sent to TC stating that no changes have been made to the previous version.

4.20.2 Response plan reviews and updates

Section 20 of the ERR lays out certain criteria for the mandatory review and/or submission of the response plan.

There are several scenarios in which a response plan must be reviewed:

Annually with updates as necessary.
- The plan should be submitted within one year of the previous submission.
- If there are no updates, the RO must notify TC as soon as the review is complete.
If one of the following events occurs:
- If deficiencies are noted following an oil pollution incident or a simulation exercise
- If there are any changes to the information in any of paragraphs 18 (1)(i), (j) and (p) of the ERR
- If there is a change in the RO's operations that requires and increase in the quantity of equipment or resources that is currently not described in the response plan.

If a plan update is required following one of these events, the updated plan must be submitted to TC within 45 days of the occurrence of the event.

The intent of these requirements is to capture changes that are more significant in nature such as the need to add personnel or increase the quantity or the capacity of response equipment which would require changes to the response plan.

Normal movement of equipment for repair/replacement or maintenance does not require a plan update/submission.

If there are any other significant changes to the response plan such as the movement of major resources (large barges or major recovery devices for example), the RO should notify the regional TC office as soon as feasible with a brief description of the changes.

A change to personnel does not require an immediate plan update but should be identified in the annual plan review. However, a notification should be sent to TC if a change to senior management occurs.

Notification should be sent to the regional TC offices as soon as feasible if one of the following events occur:

Removal or movement of equipment that could affect RO response capacity within the PAR and ERA; or
Changes to equipment that may affect RO ability to adhere to response time standards.

As described in section 21 of the ERR, an RO must keep the records of all plan updates for a minimum period of three years. Response organizations, when submitting their annual plan update or any plan revision during the certification process, should:

Include a revision log identifying all changes to the last version; and
Highlight all changes in the new plan submission.

4.21 Certificate of designation

The certification of designation is valid for a period of three years. The three-year period starts on the date the certificate of designation is issued.

The Minister has the ability to suspend or revoke a certification of designation if the Minister believes on reasonable grounds, the RO's response plan no longer meets the requirements of the regulation/standards.

To avoid such situations, intended amendments to response plans or the use of equipment for other purposes than a ship-source oil spill incidents should be communicated in advance to TC.

During an inspection or a plan review, if an RO is deemed to be in non-compliance, TC will work with the RO to try to resolve the non-compliance issue. If an RO is not willing or able to return to a state of compliance, TC may suspend or cancel their certificate of designation.

4.22 Publication of fees

When ROs are updating their fees, the new fee proposal needs to be published to ensure that stakeholders are aware of the changes and have an opportunity to make comments on or objections to the proposal.

Response organizations are required to publish the new fee proposal in Part 1 of the Canada Gazette. The new fee proposal will not come into effect until 30 days after the notice of proposed fees has been published, as per section 170 (3) of the CSA 2001. A copy of the publication in the Canada Gazette should be sent to TC as soon as it is published.

As a stakeholder may file an objection on the proposed fees, the proposed fee publication should include information how to contact TC. Response organizations should contact the regional TC office to obtain the contact information to file an objection.

4.23 Declaration of compliance

The Minister requires an RO to provide evidence, including declarations, that the Minister considers necessary to establish that the requirements for the issuance of the certificate have been met.

Here is an example of the declaration that has to be signed by the proper signing authority:

Pursuant to Part 8, paragraph 169 (3)(a), of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, I, (Name of the person), for and on behalf of (Name of the response organization), declare that the procedures, equipment and resources referred to in the response plan are available to the response organization in conformity with the Environmental Response Regulations.
(Signed for and on behalf of the response organization) Date

Schedules

Schedule 1 – Oil handling facility declaration south of 60°N
Schedule 2 – Oil handling facility declaration north of 60°N
Schedule 3 – Notification of proposed operations or notification of change to operations
Schedule 4 – Declaration for a vessel that is in waters south of the sixtieth parallel of north latitude
Schedule 5 – Declaration for a vessel that is in waters north of the sixtieth parallel of north latitude