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EIANZ FEIANZ ForumShip Groundings & Oil SpillsDERM & GBRMPA Perspective

Mike ShortChief Advisor Incident ManagementMarch 2012

DERM Stakeholder Responsibilities under QCCAP for Marine Pollution Incidents

1. Environmental and Scientific Support & Advice

2. Oiled Wildlife Response

3. Traditional Owner Liaison

4. Shoreline Assessment Support

5. Waste Management Advice

6. GIS Support

7. Statutory authority for land based oil spills

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GBRMPA Stakeholder Responsibilities under QCCAP for Marine Pollution Incidents

1. Statutory agency for marine pollution events within the GBRMP

2. Environmental and Scientific Support & Advice

Environmental Management & Ship Groundings

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What are the challengers of ship grounding events?

1. Ship groundings historically do not receive the same level of attention as oil spills

Challengers

2. Outside of Queensland there is minimal understanding of what ship groundings mean for the marine environment

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Challengers

3. Outside of Queensland there is not a clear understanding of how to remediate marine environments from the impacts of ship grounding events

Challengers

4. The current marine pollution response systems nationally and internationally are not designed to deal with the impacts of ship grounding events

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What happens to the marine environment as a result of ship grounding events

Direct loss of species and marine environments through physical compaction and crushing

Impacts

Direct loss of habitat through physical flattening

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Impacts

Direct loss of species through anti-foulant chemical contamination (direct & indirect effects)

Impacts

Reduced colonisation of crustose coralline algaes

Reduced coral recruitment

Reduced survival of coral recruits

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Impacts

Instability of the benthos

Reduced rates of recovery

Hard Coral Cover - Peacock (Video)

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%H

CC

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Impacts

Reduced colonisation of fishes due to loss of 3-D habitats

Possible contamination of food resources (real & perceived)

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What is the spatial scale of ship grounding events?

Most direct crushing impacts are to an area a little greater than the ships footprint

Some groundings extend to hectares of damage

What is the temporal scale of ship grounding events?

Non remediated sitesHard Coral Cover - Peacock (Video)

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Decades to Centuries

Remediated sites

Within a few years0

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Hard Coral Cover - Bunga Teratai Satu (Video)

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What are the best environmental practices for ship grounding incidents:

1. Detailed impact assessments

Mapping the extent and type of physical damage

Sediment testing for chemical contamination

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Comparisons of the impact site to controls

Species diversity (benthic & fish spp)

% Cover benthic communities

Best Practices

2. Remediation – toolbox options

Vacuuming and removal of contaminants

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Remediation

Returning 3-D habitat

Using existing damaged structure

Artificially

Remediation

Stabilising the benthos

Cementing

Promoting calcification

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Remediation

Transplanting benthic species to promote colonisation and stability

Summary

1. Ship groundings can cause significant environmental damagep g g g g

2. Spatially and temporally ship grounding impacts can be major

3. Remediation of ship grounding sites have been shown to be effective

4. National and state contingency planning systems need to identify ship groundings as an environmental threat and support their associated response and recovery actions

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Environmental Management & Oil Spills

What are the environmental challengers for oil spills generally?

Having a voice to adequately represent the environment

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Challengers

Getting the environmental voice heard and considered as a part of the response process

Rena Oil Spill NZ 2011 -300T HFO

Challengers

Getting the message through to responders involved in containment & clean up operations that their activities are cleaning up the environment

Pacific Adventurer – 2009 – 270T HFO

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Challengers

Making responders aware of the need to protect the environment during operational activities and not make the situation worse

Pacific Adventurer: Hard and Fast versus Smart, Hard andFast versus Smart, Hard and Fast

What are the potential implications of not involving environmental input to oil spill response processes?

Having greater environmental impact than if nothing was done

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Potential Implications

Having to deal with response impacts

Potential Implications

Longer and more expensive “Response” and “Recovery”Response and Recovery phases

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Potential Implications

Greater impacts on the environment generally

What are the best environmental management practices for oil spills?

Training of oil spill environmental specialists

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Best Practices

Exercising oil spill scenarios with an environmental focus

Best Practices

Gaining formal environmental representation as a key stakeholder to response planning and operations through National and State contingency planning systems

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Best Practices

The opportunity to review oil spill incident action plans from an environmental perspective during responses

Best Practices

The lead combat agencies being open and willing to consider environmental input to the response processes

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The Queensland system for environmental matters for oil spills

1. The “National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and yOther Noxious and Hazardous Substances” clearly identifies the environmental role for oil spill response Nationally

2. Nationally AMSA support the environmental role for oil spill response through training and workshop opportunities

3. QCCAP identifies DERM & GBRMPA as stakeholders for environmental input to the oil spill response process

4. DERM & GBRMPA provides specialised training to its p p genvironmental representatives for oil spills

5. MSQ regularly delivers oil spill response training that is offered to DERM & GBRMPA personnel

6. MSQ routinely run oil spill exercises with a focus on environmental matters

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7. MSQ expect direct environmental input to response planning p p p p gand operations during oil spill incidents