Environmental impacts of incidents

1. Environmental impacts of incidents SPEAKER NAME SPEAKER APPOINTMENT National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

2. Topics • Oil character • Why consider the environment? • Environmental decision making • Vulnerable resources • Summary National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

3. Oil character • Oil is a general term used to describe a variety of natural substances of plant, animal and mineral origin • Oils are complex compounds containing hydrocarbon and other compounds. • Oils vary greatly in their composition and therefore behaviour • The behaviour influences environmental impacts and response strategies National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

4. Why consider the environment? Environmental characteristics of an area will determine: • What needs to be done • Response objectives • Protection/Clean-up priorities • What can be done • Practicality of response • Furthering environmental damage • UK Government legally responsible - UNCLOS - EU Habitats Directive National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

5. Environmental decision making Planning by objectives • Setting clear environmental or human health objectives that the Environment Group wants to be achieved. • Objective (First Advice) e.g. Prevent oil from impacting a particular habitat. • Strategy (Second stage advice): Use of deflection booming to divert oil away from site. • Tactic (Field): Use of shoreline protection boom deployed from point X. National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

6. Environmental decision making Prioritise • Identifying where an action will have best effect • Protection (Prevent impacts) e.g. salt-marsh have high protection priority. Sand beach has low protection priority • Clean-up (Assist with recovery) e.g. Sand beach have a high clean-up priority. Salt-marsh have a low clean-up priority National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

7. Vulnerable resources • Offshore (deep water) • Surface/breaching (diving and sea birds) • Water column/breaching (marine mammals, fish, plankton) • Inshore (shallow water) • Surface (diving and sea birds) • Water column (marine mammals, fish) • Seabed (crustacean, fish nurseries, seagrass, shell fish) • Onshore • (wading and shorebirds, marshes, marine mammals) National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

8. Environmental effects depend on… • Type of pollutant • For oil it is viscosity, toxicity, behaviour, persistence and fate of oil • Location • Different habitats and resources impacted • Time of spill • Tidal conditions (spring/neap/high/low) and season • Environmental conditions • Weather and sea state • Clean-up action • Appropriateness and aggressiveness of methods

9. Saltmarsh • High priority protection • Limited clean-up options (substrate and form dependant) • Generally slow rates of clean-up • Aggressive clean-up can delay recovery National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

10. Saltmarsh National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

11. Seagrass • High priority protection • Considerations of differences between sub-tidal and inter-tidal meadows • Shoreline stabilisation National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

12. Rocky shoreline • Low protection priority • Low sensitivity due to: • High energy • Robust organisms • Rapid rates of recovery • Consideration of different substrate types • Are all rocky shorelines high energy? National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

13. Mud shoreline • High protection priority • Clean-up can be difficult • Oil retention in anaerobic conditions • Wading/feeding birds National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

14. Sand shoreline • Low protection priority • Medium/High Clean-up priority • Associated fauna may increase/decrease the need for protection • Percolation or burial of oil National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

15. Fish • Low protection priority • Nursery grounds may be high protection priority • Detect suspended and dissolved hydrocarbons and move on. • Exceptions are benthic and territorial species National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

16. Birds • Habitat is high protection priority (eg feeding and nesting areas) • High susceptible to oil pollution: • Loss of insulation • Loss of buoyancy • Ingestion of oil • Changes in behaviour • Oiling of nests National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

17. Oiled bird rehabilitation • Varied success • Dependant upon: • Type of bird • Extent of oiling • Ease of capture • Logistics/resources • Triage • Ability to survive on release may be decreased National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

18. Cetaceans • Low protection priority • Appear not to be overly bothered by oil spills • Bit subjective • Common sense would suggest oil in breeding and nursing areas might be a problem National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

19. Marine mammals - general • Haul out and feeding areas are high protection and clean-up priority • Effects from: • Inhalation • Ingestion • Skin contact • Loss of insulation National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

20. Ecosystem • A conceptual chronology: • response in individuals then populations; • related changes in communities and ecosystems; • can result eventually in a monoculture. • Recovery commences when toxicity declines to level tolerated by most robust colonising organism; - recovery process not well understood; - ecosystem may never go back to original composition. National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

21. Summary • Effects of pollutants (including oil) on some habitats and individual species may be well known, less well known at the ecosystem level; • Effects of oil spills is wide–ranging affecting many species; • Effects can vary substantially (short-long-term and visual/non visual); • The UK government has a legal obligation to protect habitats and species. National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training

22. Role of Nature Conservation Agencies • Government advisors on environmental issues – generally; • Members of core group of SEG (chair); • Undertake ELO role; • SCAT advisors; • Environmental Impact Assessment advice. National Contingency Plan – Environment Group Training