The French Marine Pollution Response Organisation: from Local to State Level

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The French Marine Pollution Response
Organisation from Local to State Level
Best practice in local contingency planning 16th
December 2005, Southampton
byMichel Girin, Director of Cedre
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The experience of a number of major oil spill
incidents
Torrey Canyon, 1967, 121 000 t light
crude Bohlen, 1976, 7 000 t heavy crude Amoco
Cadiz, 1978, 227 000 t light crude Tanio,
1980, 6 000 t heavy fuel Gino, 1979, 32 000 t
carbon black Haven, 1991, 144 000 t light
crude Erika, 1999, 20 000 t heavy fuel Prestige,
2002, 64 000 t heavy fuel
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Plus some minor incidents in overseas France

• Vistabella, 1991, Saint Barthélémy wreckage of
  a barge loaded with 2000 t. of heavy fuel, 6
  Carribean islands impacted
• Adamandas, 2003, la Réunion hazards of a cargo
  vessel loaded with moist iron balls looking for a
  port or refuge

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The experience of mutual assistance

• Bilateral agreements
• Regional agreements
• European network and task force

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Public services in France

• State services (ex supervision of autonomous
  ports of national interest)
• Regional services (ex management of ports of
  regional interest)
• Departemental services (ex management of
  fishing ports)
• Communal services (ex management of small
  leisure harbors)

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The National Framework the Major Maritime
Incidents Instruction

• Published April 2001 (Erika experience)
• Concerns prevention, planning, response
• Defines scope and content of sea and land
  contingency plans
• Specific attention given to levels of
  responsibility, sea/land interface, relations
  with professionals, management of volunteers,
  international cooperation, communication

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The national rule
the Marine Pollution (Polmar) Instruction

• Last revised March 2002
• Concerns mayors and state bodies
• Applies in mainland and overseas territories
• Deals with preparedness, reponse and
  financing

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The fundamentals

• At Sea (Polmar-mer) all public services acting
  in their capacity under coordination of the
  Préfet maritime in mainland and Délégué du
  Gouvernement overseas
• On land (Polmar-terre) tiered response with 2
  response management levels (mayor and Préfet de
  département), plus 2 possible coordination
  levels (Préfet de zone de défense, National
  crisis management comittee)

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8 zonal Polmar-mer plans
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Polmar-mer the principles

• Scope
• i) response at sea and from the sea
• ii) information of land on risks for coastline
• Powers of Authority in charge
• i) to order the polluter to put an end to the
  pollution or pollution risk
• ii) to mobilise all public/private at sea
  capabilities would polluter not comply with order

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Public bodies in Polmar-mer

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Main elements of a Polmar-mer plan

• Inventory of response means
• Risk assessment and response strategies
• Pollutant drift monitoring and prediction
• Management of impacted resources/species
• Information of land authorities
• Public communication

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Support to the Polmar-mer Authority

• Central government views
  and foreign assistance Secretariat General
  of the Sea
• Response means Polmar-mer stockpile, Ceppol
  operational team, bilateral and regional
  agreements
• technical experience Cedre (pollution
  response), Météo France (slick drift prediction),
  Ifremer (impact on ecosystems), etc.

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Relations of Polmar-mer with land authorities
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Polmar- terre the tiers

• Small pollution response in hands of mayor(s)
  of commune(s). May call upon Cedre and/or
  polmar-land stockpile
• Medium pollution préfet de département may
  provide support to mayors or take over direction
  of operations through activation of plan
• Large pollution préfet de zone de défense
  takes over coordination between different
  Polmar-terre plans activitated and with Polmar-mer

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Polmar- terre the plans

• Optional intercommunal marine pollution
  response plans as part of communal emergency
  plans
• Compulsory response plan for each coastal
  département (ex Finistère), care of préfet
  de département
• Compulsory coordination plan for each zone de
  défense (ex Western area), care of préfet de
  zone de défense

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Main elements of a Polmar-terre plan

• Inventory of areas to be protected, with booming
  plans
• Inventory of public and private response means,
  including waste storage
• Inventory of experts and resource personnel
• Accomodation of responders and volunteers
• Fauna salvage plan, aquatic resources transport
  plan if needed
• Sampling and health preservation

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Polmar-terre plans revision guide and status

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Support to the Polmar-terre Authority

• Central government views
  and foreign assistance
  National Crisis Management Committee
• Response means Polmar-terre stockpiles,
  Private stockpiles
• Technical experience Cedre (pollution
  response), Environmental experts (impact on
  ecosystems, birds cleaning), etc.

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Polmar-terre an Operations Command Center in a
 département 

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Technical Information and Archive of Operations

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Regional and General Councils today

• No set role, not mentioned today in the Polmar
  directive
• In Erika mostly critical of system in force
  (Polmar Conventions), leaders of procedures
  against Total group
• In Prestige voluntary involvement in
  mobilisation of fishermen, aid to economic
  operators, restoration of touristic image...

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Regional and General Councils tomorrow

• Mentioned in the revised Polmar instruction as
  possible contributors to consequence management
• Learning best practice from the experience of
  others through Interreg projects
• Supporting infra-polmar intercommunal
  initiatives (planning and training)
• .Contributing to RD projects

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Conclusion

• Each new incident generates improved response
  planning
• The Eika generated the Communautés de communes
  infra-Polmar planning
• The Prestige opened a door to actual
  involvemenent of Régions and Départements