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What We Heard

Community: Arnold's Cove

Directed stakeholder and town hall meetings took place in the community of Arnold's Cove on July 5, 2006, with approximately 25 participants in total.

Directed Stakeholder Meeting

The following groups were invited to the directed stakeholder meetings:

• Municipality of Arnold's Cove
• Municipality of Come by Chance
• North Atlantic Refinery
• Newfoundland Transshipment Limited
• Woody Island Resort
• Aquaculture representatives
• Placentia Bay Integrated Management Committee.

After formal presentations by Transport Canada and RMRI, the following questions/issues were addressed:

• Concern was expressed about the potential increased level of marine traffic with plans for several new developments (refinery, LNG terminal, Voisey's Bay Nickle in Long Harbour).
• It was suggested that North Atlantic Refinery may be able to provide data and information on the environment from its monitoring programs.
• Newfoundland Transshipment Limited (NTL) stated that it would provide a copy of a recent study examining the characteristics of Hibernia and Terra Nova crude in relation to such conditions as wave action, currents, etc. NTL also has several years of monitoring data (lobster fishery, raptor surveys and otter surveys) that it can provide.
• Concern was expressed because the marine traffic station in Argentia is being downsized.
• Concern was expressed because most of the oil spill equipment is stationed in Donovan's Industrial Park in Mount Pearl, not near where most of the marine traffic is located. The area experiences frequent stormy conditions, and in a severe blizzard the roads would be closed, making it impossible to transport the oil spill response equipment.

• The following questions were also raised:
  • Why is the study not getting into mitigation or recommendations?
  • Will someone be determining if there is enough infrastructure in place to respond to a major oil spill?
  • Will the study determine what risk is acceptable?

Public Consultation

After formal presentations by Transport Canada and RMRI, the following questions/issues were addressed:

• All vessels entering Placentia Bay must report to the marine traffic centre. It was suggested that this be expanded so all vessels entering within 50 miles of Canada's coast must report in.
• A question was raised on the effectiveness of the current Automatic Identification System (AIS) equipment onboard ships. The following points were noted:
  • Under the auspices of the Eastern Traffic Zone Regulations, vessels are tracked using AIS within the 12-mile limit;
  • Every foreign vessel has a VHF transponder on board that is used to track the ships between 30 to 50 nautical miles from shore;
  • The current AIS system will be enhanced in the coming year with the installation of 70 AIS receiving stations onshore to track ships along the south coast's main shipping corridor; and,
  • These will be installed in 17 sites around the province by 2008.
• Concern was expressed because there appears to be a reliance on booms for recovering oil, but they are ineffective in poor weather conditions. Investments should be made in booms that will work in poor weather.
• Oil from the 1979 Kurdistan spill and the later San Angela spill traveled considerable distances over years. Will a spill consequence analysis be undertaken examining historical oil spills?
• It was suggested that the fines for oil spills are not adequate. It was also suggested that the justice system must be educated on the severe impacts of an oil spill.
• It was pointed out that, although the traffic lanes into Placentia Bay are well known and indicated on nautical charts, some companies choose to take an alternate route between Cape St. Mary's and the Quays. It was suggested that this area be closed to vessels and that the study should consider these sailing patterns.
• Vessels appear to be navigating closer to the shoreline and not using the shipping lane. It was suggested that this be monitored and that all vessels be required to keep a minimum distance from the shore when in Placentia Bay.
• While not the focus of the study, designating ports of refuge is an important issue that must be addressed. This is an ongoing initiative by the departments of Transport, Fisheries and Oceans, and Environment. Officials are developing a discussion document that they plan to share with industry. The IMO standard on ports of refuge is being used as a basis for this document. (See Appendix A.)
• When discussing the region's potential new refinery, it was suggested that the study estimate the number of potential tankers by looking at comparable refineries elsewhere in the world.
• In response to a question on what would happen if there was a spill in Placentia Bay and what would be the timeline for response, the following was noted:
  • When a spill is reported, containment must be achieved within one hour and recovery must begin within six hours.
  • ECRC has 150 tonnes of equipment at its Arnold's Cove location and trained responders in the immediate area.
  • In St. John's, both ECRC and Fisheries and Oceans Canada have equipment that is road-ready for immediate deployment in the event of a spill. This equipment must get to the spill site within six hours.
  • Research and development is ongoing to develop better booms and skimmers that are more effective in higher winds and rougher seas.
  • Each vessel must have a shipboard oil pollution plan and be able to go into recovery mode in the event of a spill.
  • If a port handles in excess of 500,000 tonnes of product per year, it becomes a Designated Port by Transport Canada. As such, it must have on-site equipment to respond to a spill. In the area of the study, St. John's, Come-by-Chance and Holyrood have been designated.

• The following questions were also raised:
  • Why has there not been more success in charging vessels for mystery spills? Is this because of breakdown in inter-departmental procedures? Are the appropriate departments working together to address this serious issue?
  • Will the study compare the size and number of tankers, the volumes of oil and the number of escort vessels in Sullom Voe, Prince William Sound with Placentia Bay because of their regional similarities?
  • Weather conditions affect risk and the control of risk. This should be considered in the assessment because the region frequently experiences severe fog and/or winter weather conditions. Are weather patterns and their ability to increase risk being considered in the assessment methodology?
  • As the volume of oil being moved in the bay increases does the amount of response equipment increase?

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