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Frequently Asked Questions

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Environmental Oil Spill Risk Assessment Project

Canada's Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime

General

Environmental Oil Spill Risk Assessment Project

1. What were the key findings of the risk assessment project?

While we recognize that we cannot perfectly predict when an oil spill will occur, one of the key findings of the risk assessment project indicates that the most probable area for a spill is in inner Placentia Bay and a spill in the range of up to 10,000 barrels or 1,590 tonnes is estimated to occur once every 27 to 33 years there.  Based on previous national studies and analysis, this risk has decreased over the years, primarily due to increased preventative measures that have been implemented, including the phase-in of double-hulled tankers, the requirement to have contracts with response organizations and increased monitoring and inspections.  The findings also note that while Placentia Bay may be among the busiest ports in Canadian terms, the vessel traffic density is low relative to other areas of the world. 

The Eastern Canada Response Corporation (ECRC) has sufficient equipment in Newfoundland and Labrador to respond to an oil spill of 2,500 tonnes, while the Canadian Coast Guard has sufficient equipment strategically located in various areas of the Province to respond to a spill of over 10,000 tonnes.  Given that the findings estimate that the most probable spill would be in the range of 1,590 tonnes, it is important to recognize that there is response equipment here capable of responding to a spill of that volume. 

For comparison purposes as well, it should be noted that for recent significant worldwide spills, volumes of oil involved were much greater than the 1,590 tonnes estimated as the most probable to occur in Placentia Bay. The 2002 Prestige spill in Spain involved 64,000 tonnes, while the 2007 spill in South Korea has been estimated at 66,000 tonnes. A spill of this size may occur once every 2,000 years in Inner Placentia Bay.

2. Does this mean that Transport Canada is satisfied with the response and will not be changing the Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime?

The intent of the risk assessment project was to provide Transport Canada with necessary concrete data.  The broad range of information collected will be reviewed and all aspects of the response regime will be examined relative to this information.  Phase II of this project involves determining if changes will improve the existing response regime or if the current regime is effective as is.   Factors that will be examined include, for example, determining the appropriateness of bringing response equipment closer to the areas at greatest risk; establishing or revising pollution prevention and emergency response regulations under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001; and adjusting Canada's Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime as required to ensure its continued effectiveness.  Transport Canada is committed to moving forward as expeditiously as possible in developing this action plan.

3. This risk assessment project was planned for many years. Why has there been such a long delay in starting the risk assessment and delivering the results?

With a project as important as this to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the complex nature of the shipping and oil industry, it was important to take the necessary time to ensure that the terms of reference for the study were well developed.

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) initiated this study when they were responsible for the Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime. They put a great deal of effort into developing the terms of reference for the study to ensure that a proper risk assessment would be conducted and stakeholders such as Natural Resources Canada, Environment Canada and Transport Canada were informed of the project and were in agreement with its structure. 

The regime was transferred from DFO/CCG to Transport Canada in December 2003. Transport Canada worked with DFO/CCG to prepare and finalize the logistics required for this project (i.e., determining the availability of technical expertise, financial resources, and the priority of the project in relation to other high priority projects).

Transport Canada is the lead federal agency responsible for Canada's Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime while DFO/CCG remains responsible for managing responses to ship source oil spills and for ensuring that the response is appropriate.

4. What was the purpose of the project and the area that was studied?

The purpose of the risk assessment project was to assess and quantify the risk facing the south coast of Newfoundland over the next 10 years from  the transportation of oil and oil products either as cargo or fuel by commercial vessels. The project has provided Transport Canada with valuable information for its role of governance of the Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime.

The area studied was the entire south coast of Newfoundland, from Cape St Francis (east near St. John's) to Cape Ray (west near Port aux Basques), including Placentia Bay to the 50-mile limit.

5. What was taken into consideration with respect to risk? Did it include terrorism?

The project focused on the risk of an oil spill posed by the marine activity and not on security issues.  Data on marine traffic in the area, oil spill frequency and event scenarios, environmental and economic impact, as well as area-specific factors and future trends has been included in the analysis.

6. Will Transport Canada conduct a risk assessment in other regions of Canada? If not, why not?

Key marine activity indicators such as the number of oil loadings and unloadings by port, marine traffic, offshore oil production, and the ongoing exploration for hydrocarbons on the east coast of Canada suggest the need to assess the potential risk of spills in the specific area defined for the project. While the study focused on the east coast, Transport Canada intends to use the results of the study to evaluate risks elsewhere in the country as required.

7.  Wouldn't it have made more sense to focus on minimizing the risk first, and then assessing the response program?

When the Regime was developed in the early 1990s, Transport Canada and others embarked on a series of changes in the area of prevention and response to identify and minimize risk and, in the unlikely event of an oil spill, to respond to and minimize the impact on the environment.  For example, the enhancement of prevention measures such as the double hulling of tankers and more frequent inspections. Many of these programs have been phased in over many years but are showing definite signs of success as noted in the reduced frequency of spills. 

Transport Canada continues to evaluate marine safety and preventive measures and implement initiatives in an effort to reduce incidents. Recent measures to prevent incidents include the coming into force of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 and associated regulations that, among other things, increased the penalties for violations and the restoration of environmental damage. The National Aerial Surveillance program (NASP) has been enhanced with new detection equipment, more aircraft and greater coverage.

8.  If Transport Canada determines that Canada's Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime requires significant enhancements to adequately respond to a major oil spill, will there be sufficient funding available to do so?

The Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime provides a substantial preparedness capacity in Newfoundland and Labrador and across Canada. However, if it is determined on the basis of this risk assessment project that adjustments are required, Transport Canada will develop the necessary strategies and consult with stakeholders prior to making any changes. Funding options could also be pursued.

Canada's Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime

9.  Who is responsible for the regime?

Transport Canada is the lead agency responsible for Canada's Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime. The regime was established in 1995 requiring industry to respond to its own oil spills of up to 10,000 tonnes within the prescribed time standards and operating environments, for Canadian waters south of 60 degrees north latitude. The regime is built upon a partnership between government and industry. It sets rigorous standards for response organizations and oil handling facilities, and establishes the requirements for a national preparedness capacity.

10.  Who is responsible for responding to oil spills off Canada's coasts?

While Transport Canada is the lead federal agency responsible for Canada's Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, namely the Canadian Coast Guard, is responsible for managing responses to ship source oil spills and for ensuring that the response is appropriate.

Certain vessels and oil handling facilities are required to have emergency plans and to implement these plans in the event of a spill.

11.  Who would pay for such a response?

Canada's Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime is built upon the polluter-pay principle, which makes the polluter liable for all response costs associated with an oil pollution incident.  There are various compensation regimes available to pay for cleanup costs, such as ships' insurance and national and international funds.

A protection and indemnity association of shipowners and operators known as the International Group of Public and Indemnity Clubs offers insurance coverage to shipowners and charterers against third-party liabilities encountered in their commercial operations. In addition to this, there are currently three funds to assist in paying for clean-up costs:

Under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, the Ship-source Ocean Pollution Fund (SSOP) Fund is liable to pay claims for oil pollution damage or anticipated damage at any place in Canada, or in Canadian waters including the exclusive economic zone, caused by the discharge of oil from a ship. It is Canada's national Fund.

The SSOP Fund is intended to pay claims regarding oil spills from ships of all classes and is not limited to sea-going tankers.  In addition to persistent oil, it covers petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse and oil mixed with wastes.

The 1992 International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPC Fund) and the 1992 Civil Liability Convention (CLC) provide the international liability and compensation regime for pollution damage resulting from spills of persistent oil from tankers, whether carried on board as cargo or in bunkers. Under the CLC regime the owners of a tanker are liable to pay compensation up to a certain limit for oil pollution damage following an escape of persistent oil from their ship. If that amount does not cover all the admissible claims, further compensation is available from the IOPC Fund if the damage occurs in a contracting state. The IOPC Fund is financed by levies paid by entities that receive certain types of oil in the ports of a contracting state.

12.  What happens if / when a major spill occurs and there are not enough resources in Newfoundland and Labrador to handle the incident?

Newfoundland and Labrador, and Canada as a nation, are part of a worldwide effort to prepare for spills when they occur, as well as the prevention of incidents. Within Canada, there are a series of response organizations (ROs) that are funded by industry to be prepared to respond to spills up to 10,000 tonnes in each region.  This capability can be cascaded from across the country to bolster local resources if needed. These ROs are required by Canadian legislation and monitored by Transport Canada.  In addition, the Canadian Coast Guard is responsible for being prepared to manage spills in Canada should it be necessary.  In this role the CCG maintains stocks of equipment with trained and experienced responders at strategic locations across the country. These resources can also be called upon if required.

Also, Canada has acceded to the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness Response and Co-operation (1990) that allows us to call upon other nations that are party to this Convention for assistance. 

Therefore, there is a significant capability that can be brought to bear on an incident if necessary.

General

13.  Following the Prestige oil spill off the coast of Spain a few years ago, media reported on the disastrous effects that an oil spill can have on fisheries.  What assurances can you provide that Canada's marine safety and oil spill response systems can prevent or properly address such a catastrophe on Canada's coasts, especially with oil and gas activity increasing?

Prevention of oil spills is a priority for Transport Canada and the Department has focused much effort in this area over the years. Canada's national system of oil spill preparedness and response is built upon a successful partnership between government and industry. The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) is the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating responses to all ship-source spills in waters under Canadian jurisdiction and mystery spills south of 60° north latitude. 

Oil spill response plans are in place, and there are regular exercises between Transport Canada certified response organizations and other organizations, as well as CCG exercises with the US Coast Guard. Transport Canada has an inspection process in place to ensure that ships entering Canadian waters meet applicable safety standards.

DFO scientists have conducted specific studies on samples of hydrocarbons from our offshore oil and gas reserves to ensure that we have appropriate information for response plans. DFO scientists are on Regional Environmental Emergency Teams (REET) to ensure oil spill response decisions have minimal impacts on our fisheries and fishers habitat. DFO also has several research programs underway to develop and evaluate oil spill countermeasure technologies, in addition to their laboratory facilities and expertise to monitor the impact of oil spilled in the marine environment.

14.  Do Transport Canada and the industry response organizations have the capacity to deal with large oil spills such as the Prestige incident?  What kinds of resources are available?

The Canadian Coast Guard and response organizations have significant response resources strategically placed throughout the country. The Canadian regime is built on the principle of cascading resources.  This means that the resources noted in Question 13 (response organizations, CCG and international) could be called upon in the event of such an incident.

It should be remembered that the risk assessment and prediction models indicate that an incident the size of the Prestige (64,000 tonnes) may occur once every 2,000 years in Inner Placentia Bay.

15.  How many oil tankers are there in Canadian waters each year and where can most of them be found?   

There are approximately 20,000 oil tanker passages off the coasts of Canada each year.  Of these, a total of approximately 17,000 are on the east coast of Canada.

Date modified:
2010-11-02