Community Information System on Pollution by Harmful
Substances At Sea
Official Title: Council Decision 86/85/EEC establishing a Community information system for the
control and reduction of pollution caused by the spillage of hydrocarbons and other harmful
substances at sea or in major inland waters (OJ L 77, 22.3.86), as amended by Council Decision
88/346/EEC (OJ L 158, 25.6.88)
TAIEX Ref. No.: 165
1
Summary of Main Aims and Provisions
The Decision aims to establish a Community Information System to make available to Member States
data which are required for the control and reduction of pollution caused by the spillage of large
quantities of hydrocarbons or other hazardous substances at sea or in major inland waters. The
services of the Commission are in a unique position to co-ordinate and disseminate information to the
Member States who are themselves responsible for responding to pollution incidents.
2
Principal Obligations of Member States
2.1
Planning
Appoint the competent authority or authorities responsible for collecting and forwarding the
information referred to in Article 1 (2) to the Commission and for receiving during the dissemination
stage a copy of all the information in the system from the Commission (Art. 2 and 3). The
information required from the Member States includes:




2.2
a list of national and joint plans for combating pollution by hydrocarbons;
an inventory of the resources available;
a guide on the characteristics of hydrocarbons present in the Member State; and
an inventory of resources for combating pollution caused by harmful substances other than
hydrocarbons.
Reporting

Forward to the Commission the information required.

Update the information in January of each year (Art. 2).

Notify the Commission at the earliest opportunity of substantial changes relating to such
information (Art. 2).
2.3
Additional Legal Instruments
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Handbook on the Implementation of EC Environmental Legislation
Decisions 86/85/EEC and 88/346/EEC
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Community Information System on Pollution by Harmful
Substances at Sea
A proposal for a Council Decision setting up a Community framework for co-operation in the field of
accidental marine pollution (COM(98) 769 Final) is under consideration and is currently expected to
come into force in January 2000. This needs to be taken in consideration when programming
implementation of this decision. The proposed Council Decision will repeal the current one when it
comes into force.
Implementation of this Decision should also be undertaken bearing in mind Council Decision
88/686/EEC on the Advisory Committee on Pollution caused by Harmful substances discharged at
sea (ACPH). The Committee is responsible, among other things for facilitating the collection of
existing information and experience related to the control and reduction of pollution caused by oil
and other harmful substances released at sea.
3
Implementation
3.1
Key Tasks
The key tasks associated with the implementation of the current and proposed Decision (as it relates
to the Community information system) are summarised in the checklist below. These tasks are
arranged in chronological order wherever possible and are grouped under key subheadings.
COMMUNITY INFORMATION SYSTEM ON POLLUTION BY HARMFUL SUBSTANCES AT SEA – KEY
IMPLEMENTATION TASKS
1
Planning
1.1
Establish or designate the competent authority to be responsible for implementing the decision.
2
Reporting
2.1
Establish a reporting system to ensure that the data required under the decision are collected by the competent authority
from the public and private sector.
2.2
Submit the information required under Article 1 of the decision and the Annexes to the Commission (current Council
Decision).
2.3
Update the information annually and forward this to the Commission (current Council Decision).
2.4
Notify the Commission as soon as possible of any changes relating to such information (current Council Decision).
2.5
Prepare the National Home Page for the Internet database and update it as soon as changes occur or at least annually
every January (proposed Council Decision).
2.6
Provide information on operational emergency management to the Commission for incorporation into the Community
operational loose-leaf booklet and notify the Commission at the earliest opportunity of any changes related to the
information (proposed Council Decision).
3.2
Phasing considerations
This Council Decision will be repealed on the entry into force of the proposed Council Decision
setting up a Community framework for co-operation in the field of accidental marine pollution
(COM(98) 769 Final). The proposed Council Decision is currently expected to come into force in
2000. Consequently Candidate Countries need to focus on implementing the provisions of the new
Council Decision.
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Handbook on the Implementation of EC Environmental Legislation
Decisions 86/85/EEC and 88/346/EEC
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Community Information System on Pollution by Harmful
Substances at Sea
4
Implementation Guidance
The idea for a Community Information System on marine pollution was developed following a
number of pollution incidents in the late 1970s. The creation of the Community Information System
was established by Council Decision 86/85/EEC, and was subsequently amended (Council Decision
88/346/EEC) to apply to major inland waterways, in particular to international waterways. In this
way the Commission provides a role in co-ordinating and disseminating information to Member
States for use in combating pollution at sea. Member States still bear the responsibility for
responding to pollution events.
The Community Information System exists as a document which is subdivided into three parts:

Part I - Resources of Response. This contains operational information designed to permit expert
advice and spillage response equipment to be located quickly and easily.

Part II - Background Data. This contains information about the physical and chemical properties
of various oil types and a concise description of the available knowledge concerning the
biological effects of oil spills.

Part III - Information Sources. This section deals with databases and models in use in Member
States and provides a comprehensive summary of selected publications and a bibliography.
The need to have an easily updatable source of information has prompted the move to modernise and
simplify the Community Information System as described in the proposed Council Decision (COM
(98) 769 Final). The revised Community Information System will have two components:


an Internet site with a Community Home Page containing general background information and
National Home Pages which will include data on the national intervention resources available;
a printed document in the form of a Community operational loose-leaf booklet containing
information on emergency management in each Member States.
In addition to the revised Community information system, the proposed Council Decision also aims
to establish a three-year rolling plan to implement individual actions under the framework for coordination. The maximum percentage of the Community contribution and total amount ceiling (when
relevant) are set in Annex II for each type of individual actions considered. These can be actions in
training and information, actions for improving techniques and methods of response and
rehabilitation (pilot projects), support and information actions and mobilisation of expertise.
Individual actions will selected on the following criteria:

contribution to providing information and preparing those responsible for, and involved in,
dealing with accidental marine pollution and operational spills;

contribution to improving techniques and methods of response and rehabilitation after
emergencies; and

contribution to providing operational support, by mobilising experts mainly belonging to the
Community Task Force, in emergency situations to Member States and to disseminating
experience from such situations among Member States. The Community Task Force is a group
of experts from the Member States who are called on to provide practical assistance in case of
accidental marine pollution.
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Handbook on the Implementation of EC Environmental Legislation
Decisions 86/85/EEC and 88/346/EEC
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Community Information System on Pollution by Harmful
Substances at Sea
A number of general observations and suggestions for implementing the existing and proposed
Council Decisions (as they refer to the Community Information System) are presented below.
Planning

Under the proposed Council Decision, the Commission will open a web site for the purpose of
accessing the Community Information System together with a Community page, while each
Member State will be responsible for preparing its own Home Page and material for the
Community operational booklet.

The competent authority responsible for implementing the Council Decision in a Member State is
a government body with responsibility for controlling marine pollution at sea. There may be one
or more such bodies within a country, and it could be necessary to appoint several bodies as the
competent authorities which will need to liaise with the other bodies and private sector.

The competent authority for the implementation of this Council Decision is also represented on
the Advisory Committee on Pollution caused by oil and other Harmful substances discharged sea
(ACPH) - see Council Decision 86/85/EEC.
Data Collection

Article 1(2) and Annexes I, II, III, and IV of the Council Decision detail the data to be included in
the Community Information System as follows:
 national and joint plans for combating pollution, including brief descriptions of the
content of plans and the authorities responsible for them;
 an inventory of resources available for combating pollution at sea by hydrocarbons;
 a compendium of hydrocarbon properties and their impacts on marine fauna and flora, as
well as methods of treatment and end uses of recovered hydrocarbons;
 an inventory of resources for intervention in the event of a spillage at sea of harmful
substances other than hydrocarbons; and
 an inventory of resources available to the competent authorities of the Member States in
the event of spillage in inland waters, and, particularly, in international waterways.

Under the proposed Council Decision, a Member State will have to provide the following
information on its National Home Page:
 a concise view of national structures and of the links between national authorities in the
field of accidental marine pollution;
 an inventory of the main means for emergency response and clean-up from public and
private sectors;
 the location of stockpiles of equipment; and
 the conditions for offering assistance to other Member States.
Reporting

Under both the existing and proposed Council Decisions, Member States have to update the
information relating to their country as soon as (significant) changes occur, or annually. In the
past, Member States have failed to update the Community Information System with such
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Handbook on the Implementation of EC Environmental Legislation
Decisions 86/85/EEC and 88/346/EEC
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Community Information System on Pollution by Harmful
Substances at Sea
regularity for a variety of reasons, for example lack of feedback from affected parties, difficulties
in obtaining information from the private sector, and lack of administrative resources. In previous
years the Commission has appointed consultants to collect information from the private sector.

5
In order to be able to update the Community Information System, the competent authority will
have to set up a system for collating information during the year from a wide range of parties in
the public and private sectors.
Costs
The costs to Member States of implementing this Decision relate to the initial period of data
collection and periodic revision of information for the database. The initial data collection may
require a relatively short input by staff at the competent authority to collect information held by
government bodies. However the collection of information from private organisations is more time
consuming. Maintaining the information and reporting annually to the Commission should involve a
relatively small amount of resources to be allocated to this task, albeit on an ongoing basis.
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Handbook on the Implementation of EC Environmental Legislation
Decisions 86/85/EEC and 88/346/EEC
21
Community Information System on Pollution by Harmful
Substances at Sea