Canadian Coast Guard Marine Spills Contingency Plan

The Environmental Response Branch of the Canadian Coast Guard is the custodian of the Canadian Coast Guard Marine Spills Contingency Plan. The plan is divided into the following three sections:

• National Response Plan, which establishes the Canadian Coast Guard policy for the conduct and the procedure for monitoring a polluter-led response or responding to a marine pollution incident  for which is lead agency or where it supports another agency leading the response;
• Regional Response Plan, that corresponds to the Canadian Coast Guard regional geographic areas of responsibility and which translates policy direction into operational measures appropriate to the geographic area;
• Area Response Plan, that are local level plans pursuant to the Regional Contingency Chapter.

The Marine Spills Contingency Plan is developed with the intention of responding to marine spill incidents in waters of Canadian interest. The plan must be able to direct the response effort by answering the Who, What, Where, When and How questions involved in performing an efficient and effective marine pollution response operation. It defines the roles and responsibilities of the Canadian Coast Guard (when responding to a marine spill incident as the lead agency or where its supports another agency leading the response), various government and industry agencies and outlines the operational framework through which a response would be conducted.

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