CELEX: 51983PC0520
Language: en
Date: 1983-09-21
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE DRAWING UP OF CONTINGENCY PLANS TO COMBAT ACCIDENTAL OILS SPILLS AT SEA

12.10.83                              Official Journal of the European Communities                           N o C 273/3
                                                             II
                                                     (Preparatory Acts)
                                               COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Directive on the drawing up of contingency plans to combat
                                                 accidental oil spills at sea
                                                    COM(83) 520 final
                          (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 27 September 1983)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                                       Whereas the existence of national contingency plans
COMMUNITIES,                                                      in each Member State would help to speed up and
                                                                  improve operations to combat accidental oil spills at
                                                                  sea and thus make them more effective;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community, and in particular
                                                                  Whereas it is necessary to fix the minimum
Article 235 thereof,
                                                                  components of the national contingency plans in
                                                                  order to orientate the efforts of Member States
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                towards common objectives;
                                                                  Whereas it is useful to foresee periodic trials, in the
Having regard to the opinion of the European                      form of simulation exercises, to determine the
Parliament,                                                       effectiveness of the contingency plans and to test the
                                                                  oil combating capability;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                  Whereas several Member States may have a common
Social Committee,                                                 interest in certain maritime areas exposed to pollution
                                                                  by accidental oil spills and may therefore be called on
                                                                  to take joint action to combat such pollution should
Whereas the Council resolution of 26 June 1978
                                                                  accidents occur;
setting up an action programme of the European
Communities on the control and reduction of
                                                                  Whereas the conditions for such joint action could be
pollution caused by hydrocarbons discharged at
                                                                  significantly    improved    by implementing       joint
sea (') provided for the Commission to undertake
                                                                  contingency plans worked out in advance;
preliminary studies of the need for measures to
enhance the cooperation between and effectiveness of
                                                                  Whereas, even in the absence of such joint
the emergency teams which have been, or which are
                                                                  contingency plans, each Member State should warn
to be, set up in the Member States;
                                                                  any others at risk as a result of an accident or the
                                                                  presence of an oil slick;
Whereas the studies have helped to pinpoint a
number of measures to ensure better-coordinated                   Whereas it is therefore important for each State
utilization of the means of combating pollution;                  clearly to understand the instructions and procedures
                                                                  employed by the other State or States;
Whereas      Council     Decision      81/971/EEC        of       Whereas Member States should take steps to allow
3 December 1981 establishing a Community infor-                   other Community or non-Community countries to
mation system for the control and reduction of                    send observers to the scene of the clean-up operations
pollution caused by hydrocarbons discharged at                    with a view to facilitating the cooperation sought by
sea (2) provides for an up-to-date inventory of the               the competent authorities in the country affected by
means — staff, equipment and products — for                       the pollution;
combating pollution of the sea by hydrocarbons;
                                                                  Whereas the obligations imposed by this Directive are
                                                                   compatible with those incumbent on certain Member
                                                                   States, which are Contracting Parties to the
O O J N o C 162,8.7. 1978, p. 1.                                  Agreement for Cooperation in dealing with Pollution
(2) OJ No L 355, 10. 12. 1981, p. 52.                              of the North Sea by Oil (1969 Bonn Agreement), to
 ---pagebreak---  N o C 273/4                         Official Journal of the European Communities                             12. 10. 83
the Convention        on the Protection          of the         presence of an oil slick in maritime areas of common
Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (1976 Barcelona             interest which constitutes a threat to the shoreline or
Convention) and to the Convention on the Protection             allied interests of one or more other Member States,
of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area                it shall inform the other Member State or Member
(1974 Helsinki Convention);                                     States concerned without delay.
Whereas contingency plans must be drawn up in                                           Article 3
order to achieve one of the Community's objectives in
respect of the control and reduction of pollution               1.    Member States acting alone, jointly or in
caused by hydrocarbons discharged at sea; whereas               conjunction with non-Community countries shall
since the Treaty has not provided the powers                    prepare regular simulation exercises designed to test
necessary for action to this effect, recourse must be           their capability for combating pollution at sea or on
had to Article 235 of the Treaty,                               land.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:                                     2.    The exercises shall, among other things, test the
                                                                quality of communications and cooperation from the
                        Article 1                               national authorities and from the authorities of other
                                                                countries providing resources for those in charge of
1.    Member States shall take such measures as are             the anti-pollution operations.
necessary and appropriate in order to draw up
national contingency plans making it possible to                                        Article 4
organize and direct operations to combat pollution
caused by accidental oil spills at sea.                         The Member States shall communicate all relevant
                                                                information on the national contingency plans
2.    All national contingency plans shall embody at            provided for by Article 1, on the joint contingency
least the components referred to in Annex 1 to this             plans provided for by Article 2 and on the joint
Directive.                                                      contingency plans agreed with non-Community
                                                                countries, through the intermediary of the Advisory
3.    In the event of an accident posing a high risk of         Committee on the Control and Reduction of
pollution, a special assessment shall be made of the            Pollution caused by Hydrocarbons discharged at Sea
effectiveness of the contingency plan, in accordance            as set up by Commission Decision 80/686/EEC (*).
with the conditions laid down in Annex 2.
                                                                                        Article 5
                        Article 2
                                                                1.    By 1 January 1987 at the latest, Member States
1.    In order to organize and reinforce operations to          shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
combat pollution caused by accidental oil spills at sea         administrative provisions required to conform to this
in maritime areas in which two or more Member                   Directive. They shall inform the Commission thereof
States have a common interest, the States concerned             immediately.
shall draw up the necessary joint contingency plans.
These plans shall specify in particular:                        2.    Member States shall communicate to the
                                                                Commission the texts of the main provisions of
— the areas in which they apply,                                national law which they adopt in the field governed
                                                                by this Directive.
— the authority which has been designated in each
    Member State to coordinate the joint action,
                                                                                        Article 6
•— the principles, procedures and, methods of
    cooperation to be employed to combat pollution.             This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
2.    Without prejudice to paragraph 1, whenever a
Member State has knowledge of an accident or the                O OJ No L 188, 22. 7. 1980, p. 11.
 ---pagebreak--- 12.10.83                            Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s            NoC273/5
                                                              ANNEX      1
                                         Content of the national contingency plans
         1. Measures to protect sensitive areas and high-risk areas
            — Pinpoint the areas;
            — Specify the resources to be protected;
            — Set up consultation and decision-making mechanisms to establish an order of priority for
                protection of resources.
         2. Command structure for dealing with accidents
            — Designate the national and local authorities responsible;
            — Establish an alert procedure and a communications network;
            — List the skilled staff available;
            — Define in advance the role to be played by the main units responsible for preventing and
                combating the pollution and the procedure for coordinating their operations;
            — Take steps to ensure regular training for the emergency teams.
         3. Inventory of equipment available to the relevant authorities, of the conditions for its use and of the
            equipment which can be released for the use of other Member States.
         4. Survey of the scope for storing, destroying or making use of the residues recovered, including
            up-to-date information on sites for temporary storage of residues.
         5. Facilities for observers from other countries.
                                                              ANNEX      2
         Assessment of the effectiveness of the contingency plans in the event of an accident posing a high
                                                           risk of pollution
         The assessment should place particular emphasis on:
         — The speed and accuracy of the risk assessment for the areas to be protected;
         — The readiness of those in charge of operations;
         — The level of coordination between the departments involved (i.e. between the central and local
             authorities and between those in charge of the onshore and offshore operations);
         — Usefulness of the reconnaissance facilities for the purposes of directing operations;
         — Usefulness of remote sensing, where appropriate;
         — Extent to which the means deployed at the various stages of the operation — e.g. hydrocarbon
             dispersion or recovery, storage, transport, disposal or re-use of the hydrocarbons recovered,
             pinpointing of bottlenecks, supervision of operations by night — satisfy requirements;
         — Compatibility of equipment from different sources;
         — Damage caused by the use of chemical or mechanical methods;
          — Role played by the experts;
          — Relations with the public authorities responsible and flow of information to the public;
          — International cooperation.