How the Canadian Coast Guard is protecting our oceans against pollution
A hover craft used for environmental response, waits in Richmond at the Canadian Coast Guard base.
Photo Credit: Greg Swift
published. February 6, 2020
last updated. March 5, 2020
by. Janelle Swift
The largest oil spill in British Columbia, within the last five years, happened back in October 2016. A Texas-based company spilled 110,000 litres of diesel and other heavy oils off the coast of English Bay. The Canadian Coast Guard’s environmental response team spent weeks cleaning up the aftermath.
“We provide environmental response, mitigation, and law regulations to help protect the environment,” says Greg Swift, senior response officer for the environmental response unit.
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The environmental response unit is the lead agency for any on-water pollution that is from a mystery source or vessel. There are over 400 vessels currently under the Coast Guard’s radar, mostly consisting of derelict boats— abandoned vessels, says Swift.
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Full disclosure, Greg Swift is a family member of the reporter.
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“Marine traffic has been increasing considerably over the past few decades but marine incidents have gone down drastically. We’re getting safer and getting better,” says Lance Davidson, an environmental response specialist. The unit is only made up of four environmental response specialists, dedicated to on-scene clean up.
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Calls can be received from British Columbia, stretching across to Manitoba, and the west coast environmental response unit is responsible for either monitoring the situation or acting upon the location, says Swift.
In the early 1970’s, an Ocean Protection Plan was set in place by the government. Major oil companies were mandated to put money aside as a contingency plan, Davidson said. If the owner of a vessel is unable or unwilling to pay for the cost of damages, the environmental response team is able to put in a request to use these funds. SOPF, Ships Oil Pollution Fund, will then go after the polluter themselves on the Coast Guard’s behalf, says Davidson.
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The polluter pays principle, but if they are unable or unwilling, the Coast Guard steps in and acts on their behalf for the response. If you own a vessel you are 100-per-cent responsible for all damages or pollution it may cause, says Swift.
"That’s when
it helps to have
public education
on this matter,"
says Lance Davidson.
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"The purpose of the Ocean Protection Plan is to help diminish the impact to the environment” says Davidson. "We really need to start focusing on the other side of things, like the industries that create the pollution.”
Overall, as a society, we need to start looking at the front end of the problem, more prevention and less reaction, Davidson says.
A water sheen is a reflecting light that is considered ‘shiny.' The most common calls are reports of rainbow sheens, says Swift. When the public sees a water sheen, they assume the water pollutant is far worse than what it actually is. The environmental response unit says this is a heavy misconception because small amounts of product can cover vastly large areas, says Swift.
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When dealing with a spill of either gasoline, diesel, oil, or other products, the first priority is to contain the lost product and then to try and stop the source. From there, the team will begin the removal process, Davidson said.
“Think of our cleaning process as an empty cup and the water begins to flow inwards,” says Davidson. “That’s how a water skimmer works to clean up the waste.”
Depending on the type of product, it’s nearly impossible to have a successful clean. Within the first five minutes of the spill, the product dissipates into the atmosphere, says Swift. The longer the event carries out, the less product there is to clean. Also, in certain instances, acting upon the damage causes more harm than leaving it alone, Swift said.
“The public wants to see us doing something, it’s a heavy balance between net environmental gain and showing the public that something is being done," says Davidson. That’s when it helps to have public education on this matter.
Eelgrass is an example of a highly sensitive marine plant. Having crews stomp all over it creates more damage than leaving it alone. Walking over the grass only pushes the pollution down into the root system and can cause more drastic damage, says Swift. By natural process, nature is able to recover itself in most cases.
When it comes to major environmental damages, Environment Canada will step in and monitor the natural process to ensure no further damage is created. As well as, they try to learn from every situation. The Coast Guard will monitor the situation until Environment Canada feels that nothing else can or should be done. In most scenarios, this process usually takes about six months, says Davidson.
In terms of waste management, most products are incinerated. However, in some instances, as long as the product doesn’t contain a lot of water it can be turned into biodiesel and be reused. It’s common for waste to be incinerated because it’s usually contaminated, says Davidson.
“We have to think about basic health concerns as well, a lot of these products carry long-term health effects,” says Davidson.
The Coast Guard also relies heavily on evaporation. “The theory behind that is because it’s purpose was to go into the atmosphere anyways, it’s just taking a different path,” says Swift. The environmental response team receives over 1000 calls a year. In turn, a third of those calls are irrelevant. This boils down to a lack of basic public education, they’re unaware of what to call in and what not to, says Swift.