ARTICLE VIII The coordinating authorities may conclude or amend technical appendices or area-specific annexes to the Plan to facilitate prompt and effective measures in response to polluting incidents. In Canada, the appendices and annexes will be concluded or amended by agreement with the jurisdictions listed in Appendix I, Section 5. (2) Either Party may give notice of its intention to terminate this M.O.U. The M.O.U. shall terminate six months after such notification. The Canada-United States of America Joint Pollution Contingency Plan provides an organization for cooperative responses to transborder polluting incidents. The purpose of the Plan is to establish cooperative measures to deal with polluting incidents by coordinating the federal, state, provincial and regional contingency plans of both countries. (a) to establish appropriate measures for reporting of polluting incidents along the inland international border; 4. 5. (b) (c) to establish measures and procedures for responding promptly to such polluting incidents so as to eliminate or minimize any threat to the environment, and to the public health, property or welfare; and to identify the resources required for coordinated responses to polluting incidents. PROCEDURES The coordinating authority for each Party will divide its territory into planning areas (provinces, regions, states) and will provide annexes to the Plan that, among other matters, will define the jurisdiction, roles and response procedures of regulatory and support agencies within the specific areas of each country. The Plan will provide for a federal Joint Response Team (JRT) to advise and assist area On-Scene Coordinators/Commanders (OSC) and Advisory and Liaison Coordinators (ALC). The Plan will also provide for alerting and reporting procedures, command structures, clean-up and post clean-up requirements, and arrangements for assuming the responsibility for the cost of clean-up operations. ANNEXES TO THE PLAN In Canada, annexes to the Plan will be developed and maintained by agreement with the following jurisdictions: • Alberta • British Columbia • Manitoba • New Brunswick • Ontario • Québec • Saskatchewan • Yukon and in cooperation with the following federal departments and agencies: • Department of Energy, Mines and Resources • Department of Fisheries and Oceans • Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development • Department of National Health and Welfare • Department of Transport • Canadian Oil and Gas Lands Administration • Canadian Transport Commission In the United States of America, annexes to the Plan will be developed and maintained by agreement with the following departments and agencies: 6. 7. and in accord with the plans listed below: • National Oil and Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan • Regional Contingency Plans • Region 1-Boston • Region 2-New York • Region 5-Chicago • Region 8-Denver • Region 10 Seattle and appropriate authorities thereof. JOINT RESPONSE TEAM (JRT) The coordinating authority for each Party will designate its Co-Chairman and its members on the JRT and will inform the other Party of its choices. The JRT will meet as necessary and as determined by the Co-Chairmen. The U.S. Co-Chairman will preside at meetings held in the U.S.A., the Canadian Co-Chairman will preside at meetings in Canada. On receipt of reports of polluting incidents along the inland international border, the Co-Chairmen of the JRT, following consultation with the OSC, will decide if a joint response is required and if so, will advise the appropriate authorities in each country of the time and place for the initiation and the termination of such a response. During a joint response, the primary functions and responsibilities of the JRT are to: provide an Advisory and Liaison Coordinator (ALC) at the scene of the polluting incident for liaison between the OSC and the JRT, and to advise the OSC on JRT matters; ⚫ provide environmental, technical, logistic, legal, customs, immigration, financial and public information/media-relations advice and assistance requested or needed by the OSC and ALC. (Neither the JRT nor the ALC has operational control over the OSC); ⚫ coordinate all reporting on the status of the polluting incident to the respective national authorities; evaluate actions taken by the OSC and make recommendations for additional measures needed to respond to the incident; take measures to coordinate the provision and maximum use of the resources that agencies or persons of Canada, or of the United States of America, or of a third party can contribute to support the ALC and the OSC in their respective coordination and operational roles; and ⚫ consider the daily logs and reports of the OSC and ALC, and prepare recommendations for improvements needed in the Plan and in any supporting contingency plans. ON-SCENE COORDINATOR/COMMANDER (OSC) OSCs will be appointed by an agency of the federal or other level of government having direct jurisdiction over the parties involved in the polluting incident in the province, region or state concerned. The coordinating authority for each Party will divide its territory into planning areas (provinces, regions, states), and will appoint Advisory and Liaison Coordinators (ALCs) to assist the On-Scene Coordinator/Commander for the province, region or state concerned. Each ALC will be an ex-officio member of the Joint Response Team (JRT). The OSC will integrate and coordinate the federal/provincial/state/regional contingency plans for his/her area of responsibility to ensure that alerting, reporting and response are in place for polluting incidents along the border area. The OSC, assisted by the ALC, is responsible for ensuring that alerting and situation reports are made promptly to the appropriate agency and to the Co-Chairmen of the JRT on any polluting incident that requires or may require the initiation of a joint response. The OSC is responsible for recommending the initiation and the termination of a joint response to the Co-Chairmen of the JRT. If response action is required in the territories of both parties, the OSCs of both Parties will coordinate the measures to be adopted through the collaboration of both ALCS. The OSC is responsible for determining all facts relevant to a polluting incident, including: ⚫ the identity of the polluter; ⚫ the nature, quantity, location and probable migration of the pollutant; ⚫ the available resources and the additional resources required to deal with the incident; ⚫ the potential effects on public health and welfare, on property or on the environment; and • priorities for protection in an action plan. The OSC is the final authority for all decisions related to response and countermeasures operations. In exercising this authority, the OSC will be guided by national and domestic laws and policies, and good environmental practices in such matters as, for example, the use of chemical dispersants or neutralizers. The OSC will maintain a daily log of events that occur during the response operation and will communicate this daily log, along with periodic situation reports (SITREPs) to the JRT. On completion of the response operation, the OSC, assisted by the ALC, will submit to the JRT a final report that includes but is not limited to recommendations for improving contingency plans and response operations. OSCs on both sides of the border will develop and maintain video, graphic or other records of sensitive areas that are to be given a high priority for protection in the event of a polluting incident. The OSCs, with the assistance of ALCs and the JRT, will ensure that special customs, immigration and other emergency authorisation procedures are in place and understood by area authorities. Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste, Ottawa, 1986 Done at Ottawa 28 October 1986 Primary source citation: TIAS 11099 AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA CONCERNING THE TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENT OF HAZARDOUS WASTE The Government of the United States of America (the United States), and the Government of Canada (Canada), hereinafter called "The Parties": RECOGNIZING that severe health and environmental damage may result from the improper treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste; SEEKING to ensure that the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste are conducted so as to reduce the risks to public health, property, and environmental quality; RECOGNIZING that the close trading relationship and the long common border between the United States and Canada engender opportunities for a generator of hazardous waste to benefit from using the nearest appropriate disposal facility, which may involve the transboundary shipment of hazardous waste; RECOGNIZING further that the most effective and efficient means of achieving environmentally sound management procedures for hazardous waste crossing the United States-Canada border is through cooperative efforts and coordinated regulatory schemes; BELIEVING that a bilateral agreement is needed to facilitate the control of transboundary shipments of hazardous waste between the United States and Canada; REAFFIRMING Principle 21 of the 1972 Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment adopted at Stockholm, which asserts that states have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental policies and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other states or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction; |