National Oil Spill Contingency Plan For Barbados.

The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan articulates organizational and decision-making frameworks, coordinates the procurement and deployment of essential resources, and leverages available expertise to ensure an effective response to oil pollution incidents or potential threats thereof. This Plan delineates the national preparedness and response system, encompassing both public and private resources, for incidents and emergencies that result in or could result in oil spillage into terrestrial or marine environments. The Plan aspires to prevent, or where prevention is unfeasible, mitigate and minimize the adverse environmental impacts of oil pollution.
The Plan pertains to discharges or releases of oil into the marine environment within Barbados' exclusive economic zone, its adjacent shorelines, and the high seas where there is a threat to Barbados' waters, shore-face, or shelf-bottom. It also covers discharges or releases of oil into the terrestrial environment of Barbados, including releases into inland water bodies. It provides for: (i) the establishment of national organizations for the planning, management, coordination, and implementation of an efficient and effective response to oil discharges and releases; (ii) the involvement of various individuals and agencies at national, regional, and international levels to provide necessary assistance and resources for response actions; (iii) the execution of response and removal actions in the event of an actual or potential oil discharge, including procedures for the use of dispersants; and (iv) the compilation of an administrative record for response actions.
A National Oil Spill Response Committee will be established to be responsible for providing advice on strategic policymaking related to the Plan. The functions of the Response Committee include but not limited to: provide advice to the Environmental Protection Department and the Ministry of Environment and Drainage on the development and maintenance of co‐operative arrangements for oil spill preparedness and response; evaluate preparedness for response to an oil spill incident; and provide strategic oversight and direction for the effectiveness and efficiency of the National Plan. The Ministry of Environment and Drainage holds responsibility for the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan and other related matters. The Environmental Protection Department, serving as the Lead Agency for the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, is tasked with the upkeep and maintenance of the National Plan.