DOCSLIB.ORG

Study on the Valuation and Restoration of Damage to Natural Resources for the Purpose of Environmental Liability

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Study on the Valuation and Restoration of Damage to Natural Resources for the Purpose of Environmental Liability EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL ENVIRONMENT STUDY ON THE VALUATION AND RESTORATION OF DAMAGE TO NATURAL RESOURCES FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY B4-3040/2000/265781/MAR/B3 FINAL REPORT BY MACALISTER ELLIOTT AND PARTNERS LTD AND THE ECONOMICS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT CONSULTANCY LTD MAY 2001 MacAlister Elliott and Partners Ltd 56 High Street Lymington Hampshire SO41 9AH United Kingdom Tel: +44 1590 679016 Fax: +44 1590 671573 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.macalister-elliott.com 1488-REG/R/03/B B4-3040/2000/265781/MAR/B3 1488-REG/R/03/B TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART A: EVALUATION METHODOLOGIES 1 STUDY BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES....................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES................................................................................................... 2 1.3 SCOPE............................................................................................................................. 2 2 OVERVIEW AND APPROACH TO THE ISSUES................................................ 3 2.1 MONETARY COMPENSATION BASED ON THE VALUE OF DAMAGE.................................. 3 2.2 RESOURCE COMPENSATION............................................................................................ 4 2.3 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT........................................................................................... 4 3 NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND RESTORATION..... 7 3.1 PRE-INCIDENT RESOURCE STATUS ................................................................................. 7 3.2 DETERMINING THE SCALE AND ‘SIGNIFICANCE’ OF DAMAGE ...................................... 10 3.2.1 Scale of Damage.................................................................................................. 10 3.2.2 Significance of Damage ...................................................................................... 11 3.2.3 Establishing Conservation Objectives ................................................................ 13 3.3 APPLYING NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT IN PRACTICE......................... 20 4 PRIMARY RESTORATION OPTIONS................................................................ 23 4.1 SETTING PRIMARY RESTORATION TARGETS................................................................. 24 4.2 IDENTIFICATION AND CATEGORISATION OF TECHNICAL OPTIONS FOR PRIMARY RESTORATION............................................................................................................... 28 4.3 CATEGORISATION AND SELECTION OF RESTORATION OPTIONS.................................... 29 4.3.1 Categorisation of Restoration Options ............................................................... 30 4.3.2 Selection of Restoration Options......................................................................... 33 4.4 ESTIMATION OF INTERIM LOSSES ................................................................................. 36 4.5 ROLE OF COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS .............................................................................. 36 5 COMPENSATORY RESTORATION OPTIONS................................................. 38 5.1 IDENTIFY THE OBJECTIVES OF COMPENSATORY MEASURES......................................... 38 5.2 RESOURCE COMPENSATION.......................................................................................... 41 5.2.1 Identifying Compensatory Restoration Projects ................................................. 41 5.2.2 Classifying and Selecting Compensatory Restoration Projects.......................... 42 5.2.3 Scaling Restoration Options ............................................................................... 43 5.2.4 Implications for Monetary Value of Liability...................................................... 47 5.3 MONETARY COMPENSATION ........................................................................................ 47 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................. 48 Final Report MEP and EFTEC B4-3040/2000/265781/MAR/B3 1488-REG/R/03/B PART B: THE CASE STUDIES 7 AZNALCÓLLAR MINE TOXIC SPILLAGE....................................................... 53 7.1 SITE DESCRIPTION........................................................................................................ 53 7.2 SITE SERVICES.............................................................................................................. 54 7.3 INCIDENT DESCRIPTION................................................................................................ 55 7.4 SCALE OF DAMAGE ...................................................................................................... 55 7.5 CASE STUDY ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGE TO THE DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK AND CORRIDOR ECOLOGICA DE RIO GUADIAMAR NATURA 2000 SITES............................... 56 7.5.1 Scope of Damage Assessment ............................................................................. 56 7.5.2 Establishing Conservation Objectives ................................................................ 56 7.5.3 Conclusion of Significance Assessment............................................................... 62 7.6 ACTUAL RESTORATION OF DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GREEN CORRIDOR ........................................................................................................ 62 7.7 COMPARISON OF ACTUAL AND POSSIBLE RESTORATION ACTIVITIES........................... 63 7.8 OUTCOME OF SETTLEMENT .......................................................................................... 65 8 SEA EMPRESS OIL SPILL .................................................................................... 66 8.1 SITE DESCRIPTION........................................................................................................ 66 8.2 SITE SERVICES.............................................................................................................. 67 8.3 INCIDENT DESCRIPTION................................................................................................ 68 8.4 SCALE OF DAMAGE ...................................................................................................... 68 8.5 IMPACT ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................... 69 8.6 CONCLUSION OF DAMAGE ASSESSMENT ...................................................................... 71 8.7 ACTUAL RESTORATION OF PEMBROKESHIRE MARINE AND CARMARTHEN BAY AND ESTUARIES NATURA 200 SITES .................................................................................... 72 8.8 COMPARISON OF ACTUAL AND POSSIBLE RESTORATION ACTIVITIES........................... 72 8.9 OUTCOME OF SETTLEMENT .......................................................................................... 74 9 EXXON VALDEZ OIL SPILL................................................................................ 76 9.1 SITE DESCRIPTION........................................................................................................ 76 9.2 SITE SERVICES.............................................................................................................. 76 9.3 INCIDENT DESCRIPTION................................................................................................ 76 9.4 SCALE OF DAMAGE ...................................................................................................... 77 9.5 CLEAN-UP ACTIVITIES.................................................................................................. 77 9.6 IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR NATURAL RESOURCES........................................................ 77 9.7 RECOVERY OBJECTIVES FOR HUMAN SERVICES........................................................... 78 9.8 OUTCOME OF SETTLEMENT .......................................................................................... 78 9.9 RISK AND UNCERTAINTY – IMPLICATIONS FOR LIABILITY ........................................... 79 9.10 COMPARISON OF EXXON VALDEZ AND SEA EMPRESS OIL SPILLS................................ 79 Final Report MEP and EFTEC B4-3040/2000/265781/MAR/B3 1488-REG/R/03/B FIGURES, TABLES AND BOXES Figures FIGURE 2-1: DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND CHOOSING THE RESTORATION OPTIONS..................................................5 FIGURE 3-1: WETLAND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND SOURCES OF VALUE .............................................................10 FIGURE 4-1: PRIMARY RESTORATION PROCESS PATHWAYS ..................................................................................23 FIGURE 5-1: CHOOSING COMPENSATORY RESTORATION OPTIONS ........................................................................39 FIGURE 5-2: DAMAGE, INTERIM LOSSES AND RESTORATION OPTIONS..................................................................40 FIGURE 5-3: PRIMARY AND COMPENSATORY RESTORATION SCALING COMPONENTS OF PANTHER CREEK...........46 FIGURE 7-1: LOCATION OF DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK ..........................................................................................53 FIGURE 8-1: PROTECTED AREAS OF SOUTH-WEST WALES......................................................................................66 Tables TABLE 3-1: IMPACTS ON LAGOONS OF MINERAL EXTRACTION AGAINST CSAC CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES .....16 TABLE 3-2: MATRIX FOR ASSESSING SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACTS ON NATURA 2000 SITES AGAINST CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................17
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Crisis-Induced Learning and Issue Politicization in the Eu: the Braer, Sea Empress, Erika,Andprestige Oil Spill Disasters
    doi: 10.1111/padm.12170 CRISIS-INDUCED LEARNING AND ISSUE POLITICIZATION IN THE EU: THE BRAER, SEA EMPRESS, ERIKA,ANDPRESTIGE OIL SPILL DISASTERS WOUT BROEKEMA This article explores the relation between issue politicization and crisis-induced learning by the EU. We performed a political claims analysis on the political response to the four major oil spill disasters that have occurred in European waters since 1993. Political claims that we observed in three arenas (mass media, national parliaments, and the European Parliament) were compared with recommen- dations in post-crisis evaluation reports and the EU’s legislative responses. For all three political arenas our findings indicate that politicization of issues either promotes or impedes crisis-induced EU learning, which points to the existence of determining intervening factors. EU legislation that is adopted in response to oil spill disasters appears to a large extent grounded in crisis evaluation reports. Characteristics of crisis evaluation reports, especially the degree of international focus, seem to offer a more plausible explanation for variance in crisis-induced learning outcomes than politi- cization. INTRODUCTION On 15 January 1996, the Liberian-registered oil tanker Sea Empress ran aground on the rocks at the entrance to Milford Haven, releasing 72,000 tonnes of oil into the sea in the following days. Only three years later, on 12 December 1999, a very similar accident occurred in the European Atlantic when the Maltese-registered tanker Erika sank due to rough weather conditions off the Brittany coast, causing an oil spill of 20,000 tonnes. Both accidents had a dramatic long-term environmental, social, and economical transboundary impact (EMSA 2004; Wene 2005).
    [Show full text]
  • An Empirical Profile of South African Cadets and Implications for Career Awareness
    1 TABLE OF CONTENTS NO. TOPIC PAGE NO. 1 Ten Lessons in providing MET remotely by Quentin N. Cox 1 2. SAMTRA’s road to e-Learning in the South African Maritime industry by Gregory Moss 15 3. Using multimedia to understand ship design by Ashok Mulloth 29 4. Innovative manoeuvring support by simulation augmented methods – on-board and from the shore methods - on board and from shore by Knud Benedict, Michael Gluch, Sandro Fischer and Michele Schaub 36 5. The 3-D simulation of collision detection and response between ships in navigational simulator by Guan Ke-ping, Ying Shijun, Jia Dongxing and Jiang Jingnan 52 6 Application of marine simulators to bridge the gap between theory and practice in BRM teaching by Chen Jin-biao, Guan Ke-ping, Jia Dong-Xing and Zhuang Xinqing 63 7. Developing maritime theoretical education tools for a lack of seagoing exposure on the part of marine engineering students at CPUT by Derek Lambert 75 8. Looking at human factors in cases of accidents- nurturing inner-motivation and solidarity by Hitosh Sekiya, Takash Shirozu and Katsuya Matsui 82 9. Moving from training to practice- a comparison of the maritime and aviation industry crew resource management education programs by Greg Hanchrow 90 10. The conditional effect of maritime student’s demographic characteristics on career commitment at different levels of career motivation by Shaun Ruggunan and Herbert Kanengoni 99 11. Towards a career capital approach in explaining career development patterns amongst female seafarers in Durban by Slindile Mgaga 109 12. Wellness at sea: a new conceptual framework for seafarer training by Johan Smit 117 13.
    [Show full text]
  • Marine Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation: the Application and Future Development of the IMO’S Particularly Sensitive Sea Area Concept
    University of Wollongong Thesis Collections University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Year Marine environment protection and biodiversity conservation: the application and future development of the IMO’s particularly sensitive sea area concept Julian Peter Roberts University of Wollongong Roberts, Julian Peter, Marine environment protection and biodiversity conservation the appli- cation and future development of the IMO’s particularly sensitive sea area concept, PhD thesis, Centre for Maritime Policy, University of Wollongong, 2006. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/547 This paper is posted at Research Online. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/547 NOTE This online version of the thesis may have different page formatting and pagination from the paper copy held in the University of Wollongong Library. UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG COPYRIGHT WARNING You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement. A court may impose penalties and award damages in relation to offences and infringements relating to copyright material. Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2 Hazardous and Noxious Substances
    CHAPTER 2 HAZARDOUS AND NOXIOUS SUBSTANCES Introduction sea.”14 HNS encompasses thousands of products that are transported by ship around the world. Hazardous and Noxious Substances in Canada The marine transportation of HNS generally poses very little threat; hundreds of products are Hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) are safely transported, either as bulk liquids or solids moved in and out of Canadian ports every day. in specialized vessels or packaged and carried The International Maritime Organization defines among general cargo on container vessels HNS as “any substance other than oil which, if every day. A risk assessment commissioned by introduced into the marine environment, is likely Transport Canada also found that the risk posed to create hazards to human health, to harm living by select bulk HNS movements in Canadian resources and marine life, to damage amenities waters was relatively low. Notwithstanding or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the this result, and the fact that Canadian and 14 Protocol on Preparedness, Response and Co-operation to Pollution Incidents by Hazardous and Noxious Substances, 2000. International Maritime Organization, 2000. 53 international statistics generally point to a In the decades that followed the publication of low historical frequency of HNS incidents, the the Brander-Smith Panel’s report, a number of potential impacts of a release, should one occur, attempts were made to establish a Canadian could be harmful to human health (particularly in HNS preparedness and response program. populated areas) and the environment. However, these attempts have not been brought to a satisfactory conclusion. In the mid-1990s, Canada’s Ship-source Oil Spill Preparedness HNS Risk Assessment and Response Regime was implemented and, thereafter, the Canadian Coast Guard began In addition to other sources of information working on a Marine Chemical Emergency that informed our review, the results of a risk Response system for HNS releases.
    [Show full text]
  • UNILATERAL PORT STATE JURISDICTION Detention, Expulsion Or Request of Any Type of Information Prior to the to Attend the Public Defence Entry Into the Port
    U The capacity to act as a port state in international law is best described NILATERAL INVITATION by the specific powers exercised over foreign ships, namely inspection, UNILATERAL PORT STATE JURISDICTION detention, expulsion or request of any type of information prior to the To attend the public defence entry into the port. Many of these powers are explicitly attributed to the of my PhD thesis entitled: state in multilateral instruments, whereby the flag state consents to having its ships subject to the jurisdiction of the port state. Notwithstanding the P THE QUEST FOR UNIVERSALITY IN THE PREVENTION, consensus around the complementary nature of port state jurisdiction ORT with respect to certain obligations of the flag state, the port state is not REDUCTION AND CONTROL OF SHIP-SOURCE POLLUTION UNILATERAL PORT STATE limited to fulfil a secondary role. This is especially visible in the prevention, S JURISDICTION reduction and control of ship-source pollution, where some port states TATE have not hesitated in acting regardless of an expressed consent by the flag state to the rule or standard being applied with the support of port J By Nelson F. Coelho powers. Not only do port states use more stringent enforcement powers URISDICTION to ensure that international treaties are effective, but they also prescribe novel rules and standards upon any foreign ship that approaches the Tuesday 12 February 2019 port, often as a means of breaking an international negotiation deadlock. at 12:45 hours This study discusses the international legal basis for such unilateral jurisdiction by analysing the principles of state jurisdiction under the dichotomy parochial/cosmopolitan.
    [Show full text]
  • Alternatives Analysis for the Straits Pipelines Doc
    Alternatives Analysis for the Straits Pipelines Doc. no.: SOM-2017-01-RPT-001 Project no.: SOM-2017-01 Rev. no.: 2 Appendix A: Abbreviations Appendix A Abbreviations This appendix lists abbreviations and abbreviated measurements used in this report. Abbreviation Meaning % percent ± plus or minus < less than > greater than ≤ less than or equal to ≥ equal to or greater than ° degree 3D three-dimensional 3LPE three-layer polyethylene AAR American Association of Railways AB Alberta ADCP Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler AG The Michigan Office of Attorney General AIS Automatic Identification System AL Alabama API American Petroleum Institute AR Arkansas ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers BEA Bureau of Economic Analysis BS&W basic sediment and water CFD computational fluid dynamics CFR Code of Federal Regulations CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species CN Canadian National Railway CO Colorado CP cathodic protection CPCM cathodic protection current mapping CPM computational pipeline monitoring CS carbon steel CSA Canadian Standards Association CTE coal tar enamel CVN Charpy V-Notch CVN USE Charpy V-Notch Upper Shelf Energy DC direct current DEQ Michigan Departments of Environmental Quality DH hydraulic diameter October 26, 2017 Final Report A-1 Alternatives Analysis for the Straits Pipelines Doc. no.: SOM-2017-01-RPT-001 Project no.: SOM-2017-01 Rev. no.: 2 Appendix A: Abbreviations Abbreviation Meaning DHI DHI Water & Environment, Inc. DNR Michigan Departments of Natural Resources DNT dent DNV Det Norske Veritas DOT Department of Transportation Dynamic Risk Dynamic Risk Assessment Systems, Inc. e.g. for example EIA Energy Information Administration Enbridge Enbridge Energy Limited EPA Environmental Protection Agency ER electrical resistance ERW electric resistance welded ES environmental score ESA environmentally sensitive area ESI environmental sensitivity index et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Technical University of Crete Department of Mineral Resources Engineering Master Thesis in Petroleum Engineering
    Technical University of Crete Department of Mineral Resources Engineering Master Thesis in Petroleum Engineering Analysis of historical data of accidents in oil production and transportation and their environmental impact. Poutachidis Pavlos Supervisor Prof. Nikolaos Pasadakis Chania, 2020 Contents List of figures ....................................................................................................................................... 4 List of tables ......................................................................................................................................... 6 List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 9 1. Environmental consequences of oil spills ...................................................................................... 10 1.1 Oil type ......................................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Biological characteristics of the area ............................................................................................ 11 1.3 Seasons ......................................................................................................................................... 12 1.4 Oil cleanup decisions. ..................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Wildlife Response Preparedness
    Wildlife response preparedness Good practice guidelines for incident management and emergency response personnel The global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues 5th Floor, 209–215 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NL, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)20 7633 2388 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 7633 2389 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.ipieca.org International Association of Oil & Gas Producers London office 5th Floor, 209–215 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NL, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)20 7633 0272 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 7633 2350 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.ogp.org.uk Brussels office Boulevard du Souverain 165, 4th Floor, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium Telephone: +32 (0)2 566 9150 Facsimile: +32 (0)2 566 9159 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.ogp.org.uk OGP Report Number 516 Date of publication: October 2014 © IPIECA-OGP 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of IPIECA. Disclaimer Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, neither IPIECA, OGP nor any of their members past, present or future warrants its accuracy or will, regardless of its or their negligence, assume liability for any foreseeable or unforeseeable use made of this publication. Consequently, such use is at the recipient’s own risk on the basis that any use by the recipient constitutes agreement to the terms of this disclaimer.
    [Show full text]
  • Pollution of Marine Waters Was Realized Somewhere in the 1970S
    RESPONSE OF MACROBENTHIC COMMUNTIES TO OIL SPILLS ALONG GOA COAST Dissertation Submitted to Environmental Science Department Institute of Science, Mumbai University. Under the Guidance of Dr. Baban Ingole Scientist National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. For The Partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Master in Environmental Sciences (2006-2007). Submitted by Annie Gregory 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract CHAPTER 1 Introduction 7 CHAPTER 2 Literature Review 21 CHPATER 3 Materials and Method 29 CHAPTER 4 Results 36 CHAPTER 5 Discussion 51 CHAPTER 6 References 70 2 Acknowledgements I wish to thank Dr. V.V. Rane, Directors, Institute of Science and Dr. (Mrs.) N.P. Shetgiri, Head of Department, Environmental Sciences; for permitting me to go ahead with my dissertation. A special mention, our lectures Ms. Mamata Tendulkar and MS. Poonam Khopade. I am grateful to Dr. S.R. Shetye, Director, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa and Dr. V. Banakar for giving me the opportunity and the facilities to work at NIO. My heartfelt gratitude to my guide and mentor Dr. Baban Ingole, for finding me worthy enough for this work and for his constant guidance throughout. And also for teaching me the finer nuances of research. Thank you so much, sir. My sincere thanks to Ms. Sanitha Sivadas, without whose help and support this dissertation wouldn’t have been a possibility. I would like to thank my lab mates Sini Pavithran, Sandhya Clemente, Reshma Goltekar, Mandar Nanajkar, Karmabeer Jena, Sabyasachi Sautya, and Abhishek Nag. A special mention, Christabelle, Rouchelle, Vinod, Kishen and Anunya. I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of people to work with, it made all the difference, thank you so much… 3 Thank you my dear room mates Deepti, Mansi, Kavita and Vasundhara; my family away from home.
    [Show full text]
  • Wildlife Response Preparedness (6 March 2017)
    Wildlife response preparedness Good practice guidelines for incident management and emergency response personnel The global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues 14th Floor, City Tower, 40 Basinghall Street, London EC2V 5DE, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)20 7633 2388 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 7633 2389 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ipieca.org International Association of Oil & Gas Producers Registered office 14th Floor, City Tower, 40 Basinghall Street, London EC2V 5DE, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)20 3763 9700 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3763 9701 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.iogp.org Brussels office Boulevard du Souverain 165, 4th Floor, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium Telephone: +32 (0)2 566 9150 Facsimile: +32 (0)2 566 9159 E-mail: [email protected] Houston office 10777 Westheimer Road, Suite 1100, Houston, Texas 77042, United States Telephone: +1 (713) 470 0315 E-mail: [email protected] IOGP Report 516 Date of publication: 2014 © IPIECA-IOGP 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of IPIECA. Disclaimer While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, neither IPIECA, IOGP nor any of their members past, present or future warrants its accuracy or will, regardless of its or their negligence, assume liability for any foreseeable or unforeseeable use made of this publication. Consequently, such use is at the recipient’s own risk on the basis that any use by the recipient constitutes agreement to the terms of this disclaimer.
    [Show full text]
  • Blue Waters Final.Pmd
    Biannual July 2009 Vol X Issue 2 A Publication of the Indian Coast Guard From the Director General’s Desk Oil spill response has traditionally focused primarily on physical containment and recovery approaches. For marine oil spills, these approaches emphasize controlling and recovering spilled oil or petroleum products through the deployment of mechanical equipment, such as booms and skimmers. However, the effectiveness of mechanical response techniques is variable and highly influenced by the size, nature, and location of the spill, as well as the environmental conditions under which the response is carried out. Essentially, mechanical response works satisfactorily under a finite subset of all possible spill scenarios. To expand this suite of response capabilities, chemical dispersants have become a more accepted oil spill counter measure. As a result, there is an increased need to know when dispersants will likely be effective on different oil types to assist in the dispersant-use decision-making process. It is therefore essential, to recognize the importance of basing decisions related to dispersant application. The Indian Coast Guard has constituted a study team comprising of experts from various agencies to formulate new policies, and update the Coast Guard Guidelines on application of OSD. I hope, that this effort will help us respond to oil spills in a more efficient manner. This edition of Blue Waters accordingly deals with issues related to OSD, and is aimed at sharing information and knowledge with readers, to keep them abreast of the initiatives made for the OSD response methods, and also to provide other valuable tips on OSD, which might not get noticed in other guidelines or marine journals.
    [Show full text]
  • Scottish Environment LINK Media Release 5 January 2005 the Braer – 12 Years and Still Waiting for Better Protection Measures from Shipping Accidents
    Scottish Environment LINK Media Release 5 January 2005 The Braer – 12 Years and Still Waiting for Better Protection Measures from Shipping Accidents Almost 12 years ago to the day the Braer (1) tanker tanker carrying 85,000 tonnes of crude oil ran aground in hurricane force winds off the Shetland Islands. In the wake of the Braer oil spill, the Donaldson Inquiry (2) recommended that the most sensitive and environmentally valuable parts of our coastal seas should be identified as Marine Environment High Risk Areas (MEHRAs) in order to protect them from such disasters. It now appears that the publication of the long over due report from the Department for Transport (DfT) containing its choices of Marine Environmental High Risk Areas is finally about to happen. Scottish Environment Groups hope that the report will identify sites in UK waters and will put forward management measures that will at last give much needed protection from the threat of shipping accidents. "In 1993, the Shetland Islands got off lightly from the Braer spill, as most of the oil was swept out to sea - but we can't rely on fate alone to get us off the hook next time." said Helen McLachlan, Convener of the Scottish Environment LINK Marine Task Force (3). Although less than one per cent of the Braer's load was washed ashore, the concentration in the sea was much higher. Inshore fisheries and salmon farms were badly affected, with oil concentrations up to 20,000 times higher than normal, and the harvests were lost. Fishing in the area was suspended for several weeks.
    [Show full text]