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Oil spill contingency plans
Find out the various plans to manage and respond to oil spills, such as the Western Australian Oil Spill Contingency Plan and the National Plan for Maritime Environment Emergencies.
Oil spill management in Australia
Marine oil spill management in Australia is a shared responsibility of the Commonwealth and each state.
Western Australia is responsible for our 'state waters' - from the coastline seaward to 3 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline (TSB).
The TSB is used to define maritime boundaries. It is essentially the lowest astronomical tide line, but may also include rivers, bays and heavily indented coastlines. For more information, please go to the Geoscience Australia website.
| Geoscience Australia: Maritime boundary definitions | ||
|---|---|---|
Industry consultation guidance note
(Guidelines for consulting with Transport)
The Department of Transport has developed an Industry Guidance Note to advise petroleum operators on the preferred process for consultation with DoT and information that is likely to be required during consultation. This guidance is specifically for petroleum operators undertaking activities under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Environment) Regulations 2012, the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Environment) Regulations 2012 and the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2009.
Please download the Industry Guidance Note below.
| Offshore Petroleum Industry Guidance Note: Marine Oil Pollution - Response and Consultation Arrangements | Kb |
Shipping and Pilotage Act Ports – Port Facility Operator Guidance Note
(Guidelines for consulting with Transport)
The Department of Transport has developed a Guidance Note to inform Port Facility Operators of the Western Australian (WA) emergency management arrangements in respect to Maritime Environmental Emergency (MEE) incidents within the port limits of a Shipping & Pilotage Act 1967 (S&PA) Port (S&PA Port Waters).
The Guidance Note outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Department of Transport (DoT) and Port Facility Operators under those arrangements. This Guidance Note also informs Port Facility Operators within S&PA Port Waters of DoT’s consultation requirements during the preparation of an Oil Spill Contingency Plan (OSCP) and ongoing consultations.
| Shipping & Pilotage Act Ports Guidance Note: Port Facility Operator | Kb |
State Hazard Plan
The State Hazard Plan - Maritime Environmental Emergencies (MEE) outlines the procedures for managing oil pollution in State waters, including spill response.
The main principles of the State Hazard Plan - MEE in relation to oil spills are to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from a spill incident.
For more information, please refer to State Hazard Plan
Western Australian Oil Spill Contingency Plan
Oil spill contingency plans (OSCP) are prepared at national, state and local levels.
These plans usually include:
- Procedures to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from oil spills.
- Supporting information (such as environmental sensitivities and mapping).
- Management structure for oil spill response.
- Resources and skills that are available for containment and clean up.
For more information please download the oil spill contingency plan below. Related appendices may be obtained on request.
| Oil Spill Contingency Plan (2015) | Kb | |
Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System (AIIMS)
Both the Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments use the Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System (AIIMS) to coordinate the oils spill response efforts.
AIIMS identifies the roles and responsibilities of various agencies (e.g. Department of Transport, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation) responding to an oil spill, and allows different agencies to work together effectively by following similar procedures.