EROCIPS 2003
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
TO
COASTAL OIL, CHEMICAL AND INERT POLLUTION FROM SHIPPING
BACKGROUND
In recognition of the challenges posed to local authorities, statutory agencies
and non-governmental organisations by pollution from shipping incidents,
Devon County Council Emergency Planning Service is developing a project,
with potential European Partners, to provide a timely response to coastal oil,
chemical and inert pollution incidents from shipping.
The Atlantic Arc Region of the European Union has been the scene of a
number of well-known shipping incidents over the last thirty years. These
include the Amoco Cadiz, Betelgeuse, Aegean Sea, Sea Empress, Erika and
Prestige. Each incident has demonstrated the strain that can be placed on
resources and management structures as responders attempt to limit the
impact caused by the pollution on the assets of a coastal area. Although
damaging, each of these events has also provided those involved with
experience of how to deal with an incident. The local authorities, statutory
agencies and non-government organisations of the Atlantic Arc are now well
placed to build on this experience.
The goal of the project is the formulation of a transferable methodology that
communicates relevant information to responders and decision-makers
involved in shoreline counter pollution operations following a shipping
incident. The project will also examine the need for ‘capacity building’ to put in
place specific procedures to prevent shipping incidents at sensitive locations
in the future.
THE CHALLENGE
The response to oil, chemical and inert pollution from shipping accidents
represents one of the greatest resource and management challenges likely to
be faced by local government, statutory agencies and non-governmental
groups involved in the sustainable use of coastal assets.
Pollutants pose a direct threat to coastal assets such as conservation sites,
recreational beaches, shellfish beds, marinas/ harbours and wildlife. The
indirect consequences of a pollution incident can be equally damaging with
the loss of tourism confidence and income from fisheries undermining the
economy of the polluted coast.
THE RESPONSE
In order to meet the challenge, responding local authorities, statutory
agencies and non-governmental organisations have a structured response,
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Emergency Planning Service
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EROCIPS 2003
usually as part of joint national and local contingency plans. These
arrangements are based around:
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Prevention;
Protection of Coastal Assets (estuaries, harbours, aquaculture, etc),
usually by booms;
Beach Clean-up;
Wildlife Response;
Waste transportation, and;
Temporary Waste Storage.
Underlining all these activities is the need to ensure the safety of those
carrying out the response and the public. In certain circumstances, toxic or
explosion risk for example, there may also be a need for mass evacuation of
local communities.
The response can be undermined by the use of inappropriate techniques,
insufficient resources and inadequate capacity in management structures.
The key to ensure that a response is effective is the provision of up to date
information to responders via a focused management structure.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO COASTAL OIL, CHEMICAL AND INERT
POLLUTION FROM SHIPPING PROJECT
The Emergency Response to Coastal Oil, Chemical and Inert Pollution from
Shipping Project (EROCIPS) consists of a series of work packages designed
to provide responders with the necessary information to ensure a targeted
counter pollution response. Devon County Council Emergency Planning
Service is developing the project. The intention is to provide a procedure that
can be applied elsewhere in the coastal regions of Europe.
The Goal of EROCIPS is: the formulation of a transferable methodology that
communicates relevant information to responders and decision-makers
involved in shoreline counter pollution operations following a shipping
incident.
In this context, a shipping incident is considered to be the large-scale
accidental discharge of hydrocarbons, chemicals, or inert material (timber,
plastics, etc) carried as cargo, into the coastal marine environment. The
incident may result in contamination of coastal habitats and/ or pollution
damage to the natural, human and built resources they support.
The communication of information should take place at three stages:
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Pre-pollution incident (contingency planning and prevention);
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During a pollution incident, and;
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Post- pollution incident.
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Emergency Planning Service
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EROCIPS 2003
OBJECTIVES
There are four objectives to achieve the project goal. These are:
1.
To provide partners with information and experience concerning
the emergency response to coastal pollution in respect to:
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2.
Determine information requirements, with regards to:
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Prevention;
Pollution Threats;
Shoreline Sensitivity and Response Techniques;
Booming and the Protection of Shorelines;
Waste Management and Storage requirements;
Available counter pollution resources, and;
Inshore Oil Spill Modelling.
Develop protocols and guidance to feedback information on the
impact of a coastal shipping pollution incident with regards to:
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4.
Using estuary and coastal profiles to determine natural, human and
built environment resources potentially at risk;
An assessment of the sensitivity of coasts and estuaries to oil,
chemical and inert pollution;
The use of management frameworks to ensure a sustainable
response, and;
Identification of response targets for beach cleaning, booming and
waste storage.
Informing decision-makers, stakeholders and the public;
Environmental baseline and monitoring of contamination levels;
Future Contamination Monitoring, and;
Determine Pollution Damage.
Protocols and methodologies should be readily transferable to
other European coastal locations
WORK PACKAGES
Twelve work packages have been defined to achieve the objectives. The
following section provides a brief description of each work package.
1. Pollution Threats: The purpose of this work package is to identify and
describe the potential pollution threats to the coast posed by shipping. This
work package will require the review of historic incidents, description of
current shipping activities, potential pollution scenarios and the threat from
different pollution types.
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EROCIPS 2003
2. Prevention of Pollution from Shipping: The work package will identify
existing national, European and international instruments to prevent
shipping incidents and associated pollution. The package will also
examine what procedures can be adopted to protect specific areas (e.g.
traffic separation, avoidance, pilotage, etc.) and ‘capacity building’
requirements within existing management frameworks to put these
procedures in place.
3. Shoreline Sensitivity and Response Techniques: This work package will
be based on a compilation of information concerning shoreline sensitivity.
It will require the identification of coastal resources and assets at risk,
mapping of shoreline types and determining sensitivity of various coastal
types to different pollutants.
4. Booming and the Protection of Shorelines: The work package identifies
protection arrangements for a specific area of coast. It will determine
priority areas (estuaries, wetlands, harbours, etc.) and develop appropriate
booming plans to protect assets at risk (shellfish beds, boats, recreational
areas, wildlife sites, etc.).
5. Waste Management and Storage Requirements: The purpose of this work
package is to develop guidelines for segregation and safe transport of
waste from beach cleaning areas to storage sites. Robust criteria for the
selection of appropriate temporary waste storage sites will also be
identified. The objective of the selection criteria should be to ensure
secondary environmental damage from the storage and transport of waste
is minimised.
6. Available Counter Pollution Resources: The purpose of this work package
is to provide guidance on the management of locally available beachcleaning, waste transport and storage resources, together with an
inventory of availability within the project area.
7. Inshore Oil Spill Modelling: The movement of tidal waters close inshore is
not well understood; there are many individual inter-related factors such as
wind, tide, slope of the seabed, shape of the coast, friction within the water
and between it, the sea floor and the coast. This movement is, however,
crucial in estimating the path of spilled oil on the sea and, ultimately,
where it may come ashore. This, in turn, is a central planning element in
determining where scarce counter-pollution resources should be directed
to combat this ecological contaminant.
8. Informing Decision-Makers and Stakeholders: The purpose of this work
package is to devise methods for informing decision-makers and
stakeholders of findings from the other work packages. Decision-makers
will be those bodies (statutory agencies, communes/ local authorities, and
non-statutory organisations), who are likely to respond to an incident.
Stakeholders will be those with an interest in the protection of the coastal
zone from oil and chemical pollution. These include local people and
community representatives, commercial representatives (tourism,
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EROCIPS 2003
recreation, fisheries, etc.), interest groups (clubs, societies, and pressure
groups) and the public. In addition to decision-makers and stakeholders
there will be a further group of ‘information providers’ i.e. the media, radio
and television. This last group is likely to be involved during and post spill
when press interest will focus on an incident and its aftermath.
9. Provision of Guidance to other European coastal locations: The purpose of
this work package is to ensure transferability of project methods, protocols
and procedures to other European coastal sites at risk of pollution from
shipping incidents. It is envisaged that work on this work package will
commence at the beginning of the project and be updated as each
element is completed.
10. Environmental baseline of contamination levels: The purpose of this work
package is to establish the background contamination at key coastal and
estuary sites. Following a spill, the monitoring of these sites will act as an
‘early warning’, based upon the spill fingerprint to determine if
contamination from the spill has occurred.
11. Future Contamination Monitoring: The purpose of this work package is to
determine, based on the results of the Environmental baseline of
hydrocarbon contamination levels, future monitoring requirements to
ensure an update of baseline contamination data.
12. Determining Pollution Damage: The purpose of this work package is to
provide protocols for determining pollution damage to coastal habitats.
Protocols should reflect if pre-spill information for a site exists, and how
modification can be made where it does not.
PROJECT PARTNERS & FUNDING
Development of the EROCIPS Project should be based upon existing
European knowledge and experience in dealing with shipping incidents. It is
therefore appropriate that the Project should be taken forward by a
‘Transnational Partnership’. Devon County Council would welcome
expressions of interest from organisations that would like to become partners
within the EROCIPS Project.
If a Partnership can be established, it is anticipated that the EROCIPS project
will be submitted as a funding application under the EU Interreg III Community
Initiative. The deadlines for application will be at the beginning of 2003
(March- April) with a possible later second round (May-June).
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Emergency Planning Service
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EROCIPS 2003
FURTHER INFORMATION
Devon County Council is currently looking for additional partners to participate
in the EROCIPS Project. For additional information on the Emergency
Response to Coastal Oil, Chemical and Inert Pollution from Shipping Project
please contact:
Richard Hill
Emergency Planning Officer (Counter Pollution)
Devon County Council
Rm. L41
County Hall
Topsham Rd
Exeter
Devon
EX2 4QD
United Kingdom
Email: rwfhill@devon.gov.uk
© Devon County Council, 2002
Emergency Planning Service
Tel: +44 (0)1392 382665
Fax:+44 (0)1392 382709
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