Chemical Spills

Legislation

Key Legislation

Offshore Installations (Emergency Pollution Control) Regulations 2002

These Regulations give the Government power to intervene in the event of an incident involving an offshore installation where there is, or may be a risk of significant pollution, or where an operator has failed to implement proper control and preventative measures. These Regulations apply to chemical and oil spills.

These Regulations require all use and discharge of chemicals at offshore oil and gas installations to be covered under a permit system. Exceedance of discharge limits must be reported.

Amendments to the Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002, made under Schedule 2 of the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 (OPPC) increase the powers of DECC inspectors to investigate non-compliances and risk of significant pollution from chemical discharges, including the issue of prohibition or enforcement notices.

The amendment regulations came into force on 30 March 2011 and clarify the status of accidental releases and the reporting procedure for PON1s. See Pending Legislation for a description of key changes to the legislation.

Supporting Legislation

These Regulations implement EU Directive 2005/35/EEC in ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringement, through amendment of the 1996 NLS Regulations and the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The Regulations limit the defences available to the master or owner of a ship involved in an oil spill or chemical spill and extend liability for the discharge to others such as charterers and classification societies. This closed a loop hole in the existing legislation where some large spills were not open to prosecution under MARPOL. An EU amendment Directive has been published (see Pending Legislation), which introduce criminal offences.

Guidance

Guidance on the Petroleum Operations Notice No 1

Provides guidance on oil and chemical spill reporting as well as a pro forma for spill reports.

New Offshore Chemical Regulations Guidance (pdf file) are published on the DECC website. Note: revisions to the guidance are not yet incorporated in this website, and will be included at the next quarterly review.

Consent Needed and How to Obtain It

Consent Needed	Not applicable
How to Apply	Not applicable
Who to Apply to	Not applicable
When to Apply	Not applicable

Performance Standards

CEFAS Ranked List

It is essential that the same name as given in the CEFAS Ranked List or the relevant PON15 permit is used when reporting chemical spills, where applicable.

Where a chemical is not on the CEFAS Ranked List or the PON15 because it is exempt from the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002, this should still be reported as a chemical spill. However, if this is a largely oil based chemical, it should be reported as an oil spill not a chemical spill.

Reporting of Accidental Chemical spills

All accidental chemical spills should be reported to DECC and HM Coastguard using a PON 1. Guidance on the use and completion of the PON1 is available on the DECC website. Note that there is a separate box on the revised PON1 for chemical spills.

A decision on whether to report a spill as an oil spill or chemical spill can be made depending on whether the substance spilt has been permitted under the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002 (e.g. drilling fluids), in which case it should be reported as a chemical spill, or not (e.g. reservoir hydrocarbons, lube oils, diesel etc.), in which case it should be reported as an oil spill.

When the spill is large/significant/ongoing then the earliest possible notification is required as per the PON1 guidance. Where only a small spill has occurred, a fax report is required, and this should be submitted within 6 hours of the spill.

Where there is a risk of significant pollution from a chemical spill incident, DECC will inform the Secretary of State Representative (SOSREP). The SOSREP has powers of intervention and may issue directions to contain or remove the pollution risk. If any directions issued have not been effective, the SOSREP can take any further action he feels necessary, including sinking or destroying all or part of an offshore installation or taking control of the installation.

The PON1 is currently under revision as part of an ongoing consultation excercise on the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002 and OPPC Regulations 2005 (see Pending Legislation). A copy of the proposed revised PON1 is available as part of the consultation package on the DECC Website.

Reporting of excursion to Chemical Permit

Unscheduled operational discharge of chemicals or a discharge that is not undertaken in accordance with the conditions detailed in the permit application or a discharge that is undertaken for the purpose of securing the safety of any person (force majeure), should not be reported on the PON1.

In these cases, the DECC Permit Condition non-compliance Notification Form is to be used for reporting any identified non-compliances against Chemical Permit Conditions issued under the provisions of the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002.

Sampling/Monitoring Requirements

Post spill monitoring

Monitoring or sampling requirements may be imposed in the event of a major spill.

Reporting Requirements

What to Report	See Performance Standards for more information on the requirements of the PON1 reporting.
Who to Report to	See Above
When to Report	See Above

Non Compliance

Offshore Inspection	The DECC Environmental Inspectorate Enforcement Policy sets out the general principles that Inspectors shall follow in relation to enforcement including prosecution.
Non Compliance with permits	Under the Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002 it is an offence to discharge chemicals above the permitted quantities or type of chemical. Any chemical excursion must be reported to DECC.
Failure to report a Spill	Failure to report an accidental spill is an offence.
Failure to comply with a Direction	Failure to comply with a direction given by the SOSREP under the Offshore Installations (Emergency Pollution Control) Regulations 2002 is an offence liable to a fine of £50,000 on summary conviction or on indictment to a fine.

Renewal and Variation

Renewal

Not applicable

Pending Legislation

Offshore Chemicals (Amendment) Regulations 2011

New Amendment Regulations came into force on 30 March 2011. Revised DECC Guidance will be available soon on the DECC Website. In the meantime, the key changes to the regulations are

Clearer distinction and definition between intentional (operational) discharges and accidental releases. This will for example, clarify treatment of leaks, particularly in relation to "open" hydraulic fluid systems and the use of leak detection and leak sealant chemicals
A new Regulation 3A is included which prohibits any person from releasing an offshore chemical or allowing such a release to coninute and to make the contravention of this provision an offence under Regulation 18 of the 2002 Regulations.
The Regulations widen the circumstances in which a person can be prosecuted for emitting an offshore chemical so that an intentional emission (i.e. a discharge) will only be lawful if made within the terms and conditions attached to a permit, and any other emission (i.e. a release) will be unlawful.
Regulation 7(b) amends Regulation 5(2)(d) so that conditions of permits can require necessary measure to be taken to prevent or limit the consequences of any incidents affecting the environment, not merely those arising by accident.
Regulations 9(b) and 10(b)(ii) remove the requirements to consult the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, the Fisheries Research Service and states who are party to the OSPAR Convention in relation to the renewal or variation of a permit.
Regulation 12 inserts a new Regulation 12a to establish a process for the transfer of a permit from one holder to another.
Regulation 15 extends the circumstances in which a person may be required to provide information to the Secretary of State about the emission and use of offshore chemicals.
Regulations 17 and 18 extend the circumstances in which enforcement and prohibition notices can be served to include any release of an offshore chemical or its use or discharge without a permit. Changes are also made to the period within which remedial steps are to be taken under an enforcement or prohibition notice. This aligns enforcement processes for OCR and OPPC (e.g. powers to prevent releases, enforcement notices, prohibition notices and offences).
Regulation 20 amends provision in relation to offences and makes a number of qualifications regarding defences.

Directive 2009/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009

Directive 2009/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 amending Directive 2005/35/EC on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements

This amendment Directive supplements the 2005 Directive by making illicit ship-source discharges of polluting substances criminal offences as long as they have been committed with intent, recklessly or with serious negligence and result in deterioration in the quality of water.

Snippets

None at present