Oil Spill Response Plan a priority for CDC
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d0_O6T5aq8″ width=”100%” height=”315″]
─ plan in its second draft
─ third draft to be completed by mid-2019
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, January 17, 2019
With Guyana expecting first oil in 2020, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has prioritized the development of an Oil Spill Response Plan.
During an interview on Tuesday, acting Director-General of the CDC, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that the Oil Spill Response Plan is in its second draft. He said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other key stakeholders have reviewed and provided comments on the document.
Director General (ag) of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig.
Craig also noted that the commission is currently working to further advance the Oil Spill Response Plan.
“In March, we’ll have a broad stakeholder workshop with all the key players that would have roles and responsibilities in oil spill response,” Lieutenant Colonel Craig said.
The Lieutenant Colonel said a third draft of the plan is expected to be completed by mid-2019. He added that the policy will then be tested, and challenges highlighted.
The CDC head further explained that the plan which is being developed does not only cater for offshore spills but onshore as well since the probability of an onshore oil spill is far greater than the probability of an offshore spill.
“Every day you have vessels traversing the rivers with fuels and gas, you also have large vehicles traversing our roads… so, we have to put the mechanism to deal with onshore oil spills and also offshore oil spills”
The acting CDC head emphasized that the drafting of an Oil Spill Response Plan remains one of the agency’s priorities for 2019.
The commission has been partnering with the stakeholders in the oil and gas sector for a number of years with approximately one hundred persons trained in oil spill response.
It was also highlighted that through the Ministry of Natural Resources, the CDC has procured three containers of oil spill response equipment.
Anara Khan.
Image; Giovani Gajie.