When a substance release occurs, we must determine which regulations apply and identify who is responsible for reporting the spill and how it must be reported.
We know it has been a little while since we last posted, we have had a busy summer filled with optimizing customer operations, continued regulatory engagement and functionality improvements to our application.
At WiQ, we’re committed to looking out for our customers beyond day-to-day compliance. Part of that commitment means providing continued education and sharing valuable insights on waste-related topics to help our customers stay informed, confident, and prepared.
When a substance release occurs, we must determine the applicability of each regulation and then figure out who and how we report the spill.
That is of course AFTER we take the necessary steps to safely and quickly contain the spill.
Typically, we want to know where the spill occurred, what type of material spilled, how much was released, and what are the immediate impacts to our people, the environment and to our assets. When a spill occurs, take the required steps to stop more materials from being spilled, and contain what has already been spilt, then initiate communications with the appropriate stakeholders.
Your stakeholders will change depending on the spill but may include:
Your company will probably have a spill response process or emergency response plan, and it will tell you what to do and will have a rolodex of who to call. Typically, we start with our own leadership team like a HSE manager, shift supervisor or facility manager, and they will help determine the next steps.
The next steps will vary depending on:
We may want to start with 911 in some cases. With so many materials out there being dangerous to humans or the environment, contact with emergency responders might be a good first call.
OR
If the spill is minor or low impact, we may just need to call our local environmental authority.
When we make these calls, ensure to fully cooperate and provide as much detail as possible. The who, what, where, when, why, and how become important because this information will be used to ensure the directions for the cleanup will minimize the environmental damage from the spill.
So, make sure you have as much information and context as possible about the spill to ensure the rest of the process moves forward smoothly
As a note to the reader, there are different triggers for when to report a spill that must be considered.
These triggers should already be baked into your spill or emergency response processes/procedures and should already be known by the people in charge of making any calls.
These triggers need to be known as not every spill is reportable, and we want to make sure we are actually reporting what we are required to report.
Let’s look at Alberta for an example:
Alberta Environment (AEPA) requires any spill, release or emergency that may cause, is causing or has caused an adverse effect to the environment to be immediately reported.
With an adverse effect meaning an impairment of or damage to the environment, human health or safety, or property.
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) takes this one step further and lists what kinds of releases must be reported – see Spill Reporting Triggers table below.
The regulations behind this are a bit confusing, as technically AEPA and AER regulate things separately, but they have worked to harmonize their processes to ensure a consistent approach for certain topics. Spill response being one.
We of course also must consider the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) requirements for spills and releases on top of the provincial requirements, if the release were to happen on the road.
I say this because I want everyone to understand the nuances between the regulators and their regulations, as this is usually a source of confusion for people.
To summarize things into a nice table:
We also need to know the quantity thresholds that are specified in the triggers:
I know, this is a lot of information, but we want to ensure you are equipped with the right knowledge and context as you look to dive deeper into this topic.
So now that we know what the triggers and quantity thresholds for reporting are, let’s map out a typical spill response process.
This first step is safety. Make sure everyone is safe. Next, the preliminary information gathering and material containment, which are usually done in conjunction with each other.
We need to figure out the high-level details of what spilled, in what quantity, where and when, and why and how the spill occurred while also ensuring we contain the materials, so the spill does not spread.
As much as we want to ensure the spill is contained as fast as possible, to minimize the effort and resourcing required for clean-up, we need to take a second to consider the health and safety impacts to the people in the vicinity or the people who are containing and cleaning up the spill.
The issue is that spills can range from minor surface staining to complete facility evacuations and essentially everything in between. There will be differences in the way we respond to different types of incidents and nuance is required for determining the appropriate steps
Whatever information was missed during the initial containment assessment now needs to be determined.
If we just determined what was spilled, so that we can safely stop and contain the spill, we now need to figure out how much spilled, when and where it spilled, and the initial why and the how.
Certain information like the root cause, and how we mitigate future incidents may come later after the spill has been cleaned up, but the initial information will be needed when making the appropriate calls.
Next step is usually to make some phone calls.
These calls will depend on who you are, what you are doing in relation to the spill, and the regulatory triggers we talked about for reporting a spill.
If I am a front line worker or may have happened to have a whoopsies and caused the spill myself, my first call might be to my supervisor, foreman, or the onsite health and safety person.
If I am the leader who got a call about a spill, my first call might be an internal escalation, a call to local emergency response providers, or a call to the appropriate regulatory stakeholder.
If I am a driver who had a spill on the highway, my first call will probably be 911, and then my dispatcher who will then in-turn contact the consignor of the materials to inform them of the spill.
No matter who you call, the information that you gathered, or continue to gather, is important! The person on the other end of the call will need as much detail as possible as this person will (probably) give advice on how to minimize the impacts and on other required next steps.
Of course, we will want to clean the spill up as quicky and efficiently as possible.
Ensuring all parties have the correct information is critical. Some materials out there are extremely hazardous to people and the environment, and we want to make sure the health and safety of anyone involved, or anyone who may be impacted, is top priority.
Depending on what spilled will trigger health and safety protocols that must be followed, and where the materials spilled is a large consideration for the type of cleanup that will occur.
Ensuring basic and supplementary personal protective equipment is available, the area is appropriately quarantined, and all parties have the relevant information is key.
Even though the initial call with the authorities is required, you are still not out of the woods yet.
Usually, a follow up report is required to be submitted within a certain timeframe to the appropriate authorities. The report will detail all the who/what/when/where/why/how information and any corrective actions or steps taken to prevent a similar occurrence.
Again, this may be required for both the provinces and the federal regulations depending on the details of the spill.
One note – the formatting and content for the different reports will change depending on the regulator. Usually, the regulator has a form you can use to help ensure all the correct content is available for review.
For Transport Canada, the additional reports are required if any of the following occurred:
The last piece of information we will share today are the phone numbers that typically need to be called in the event of a spill:
For other provinces the TDG numbers will stay the same, but there will be different contact and spill reporting requirements for the individual environmental regulators.
Thanks for taking the time and hopefully you learned enough to take away to review your current processes to make sure you meet all the requirements.
If you have any questions or want further information, reach out to us at support@wiqtech.com we are always happy to help where we can!
Until next time!
P.S. - Here are some links to the relevant information posted by the regulators!
AER Release Reporting Requirements Brochure
AER Directive 058 - Oilfield Waste Management Requirements for the Upstream Petroleum Industry
Alberta Environment - Release Reporting Regulation
Alberta Tier 1 Soil and Groundwater Remediation Guidelines
Alberta EDGE – Technical Publication – Reporting Requirements
Transport Canada - Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations
