Polluter/responsible parties liable for all costs, damages due to oil spill – National Oil Spill Plan

– stakeholders to play major role in execution of Plan

The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan is seen as a major step in safeguarding Guyana from oil spills and other negative environmental impacts as the country moves full steam ahead in ramping up oil production.

Following a thorough consultative process with the various stakeholders, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) completed and handed over the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan to the Government on Friday.
The plan recognises that exploration, production, transporting, utilisation and storage of oil, gas and petroleum products in inland waters, land territory and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), increase the probability of spills occurring which can impact Guyana’s land and marine ecosystems.
It also acknowledges that effective management of any spill requires a high level of planning, preparation, and equipment. Therefore, collaboration and coordination with clearly outlined roles and responsibilities amongst key Government Ministries and departments, Private Sector, civil society, non-governmental organisations, international partners, and petroleum companies are paramount to the successful implementation and execution of this Plan.
Based on the Plan, coordination of the operations to respond to land and marine pollution as a consequence of oil spills lies within the remit of the Competent National Authority (CNA).
In the event of an oil spill in Guyana, all concerned Government agencies, all oil companies, shipping companies and other involved parties are required to follow the procedures established in the document. Among other things, the Plan lays out in detail, the course of action which should be taken following an oil spill of any magnitude.
It also states clearly the obligation of the responsible party/polluter, which is to undertake all necessary actions and expenditures and in any event be held liable for all costs and damages arising from or connected with the spill.
According to the Plan, the party responsible for causing the spill has the following specific responsibilities:
a. Reporting the spill immediately to the National Focal Point/Lead Agency
b. Taking immediate action to control or stem the source of the spill
c. Taking immediate action to contain the spill and prevent it from spreading and
d. Co-operating fully with the Competent National Authority (CNA) in the response to the spill under the direction of the CNA.
The Plan also accounts for oil and petroleum products entering Guyana’s territorial waters from spills which occur in neighbouring states. It outlines the framework within which resources will be coordinated and deployed in Guyana for the purpose of dealing with pollution of the land and marine environment from spills of oil and petroleum products.
For the purposes of the Plan, spills are classified as Tier One (1), Two (2) and Three (3) spills. Classification is dependent upon the type and amount of spill, the resources required and the level of support both nationally, regionally, and internationally.
Other factors that can determine the tier of response required are environmental sensitivity, socio-economic impacts, and threat to public health. All oil spills over five (5) gallons shall be reported to the Competent National Authority through the NFP (MARAD – maritime, GEA – land) and the systems of notification established within this Plan. All notifications of oil spills received, regardless of amount are to be recorded systematically by the NFP.
Incidents such as groundings, collisions, fires, explosions, or other accidents should also be reported as these can often lead to the release of petroleum and petroleum products.
The Plan is effective for oil spills on land, in navigable waters, or from any other source that may migrate to or flow into the navigable waters. It is intended to organise the activities of all the responsible agencies and to provide a command structure and an established method of operations for the agencies engaged in dealing with any incident.
The Plan states that due to the proximity of Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, a spill occurring in any one country may have direct or indirect social, economic, or environmental impacts on the others. Therefore, a good working relationship is to be established among the neighbouring territories in the interest of reducing impacts of major spills that occur near the borders. Additionally, a rapid response agreement of equal rights of access must be established. This is included in section 2.8 of the Caribbean Island plan.
The Government has assigned the responsibility for the preventing, preparing and combating of all oil and noxious chemical spills within the territory of Guyana and its Exclusive Economic Zone to the Director General, Civil Defence Commission, named as the Competent National Authority (CNA) with the Director Maritime Safety, Maritime Administrative Department (MARAD) as Deputy for Maritime and the Executive Director, Guyana Energy Agency for land spills.
The Coast Guard and the Guyana Energy Agency were named as the On-Scene Commanders for maritime and land respectively.
The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan was designed to satisfy the requirements under domestic legislation and policies, as well as international conventions including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC) 1990.
Meanwhile, Director General of the CDC, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, who presented the plan to Prime Minister Mark Phillips, noted that the work on the finished plan was months in the making and involved the input of many key stakeholders including the Maritime Administrative Department (MARAD), Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).
The Plan was crafted with valuable inputs from the Guyana Marine Conservation Society, Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission, the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Shipping Association of Guyana, ExxonMobil, Tullow, GuyOil, Repsol, Shell, GAICO Construction and other stakeholders.