TO ALL CONSULTEES (See List of Consultees at Appendix A)
Dear Colleague
SHIP TO SHIP TRANSFERS IN THE FIRTH OF FORTH
I am writing to invite your comments on the revised and amplified oil spill contingency plan submitted to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) by Forth Ports Plc and on the supporting information from Forth Ports and Scottish Natural Heritage.
The revision and amplification of the plan has been prompted by proposals that ship-to-ship transfer of oil carried as cargo should take place within Forth Ports’ harbour authority area. The plan has been submitted to the MCA under the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998. In accordance with those Regulations, the MCA must consider Forth Ports proposed amendments to the plan: it must either approve the plan or, if the plan is not compatible with the National Contingency Plan or is not appropriate for dealing with oil pollution incidents which may occur in the area in which Forth Ports has jurisdiction, it may direct that the oil spill contingency plan be altered.
It should be noted that ship-to-ship transfer is a lawful activity, and already takes place within harbour authority areas in the UK at Scapa Flow, Sullom Voe Oil Terminal and Nigg.
The aim of the consultation is to assess the implications of Forth Ports’ revised and amplified plan for designated nature conservation sites in the Firth of Forth (in view of their conservation objectives) with a view to ascertaining whether the plan will adversely affect the integrity of the sites concerned.
If you are receiving this letter by post you will find enclosed a CD containing the following documents(1) which together make up the consultation package:
If you are receiving this by email you will find the relevant documents at the following link: http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-guidance-regulation/mcga-consultations.htm
Comments are invited on all these documents.
In addition, for information only, a copy of the existing Clearwater Forth oil spill contingency plan can be found at: www.forthports.co.uk/ftns/index.htm
Details of the relevant nature conservation sites can be found at section 1, pages 46-52 and Appendices F and G of the ‘Ship to Ship Transfers in the Firth of Forth’ oil spill contingency plan and at para 4.8.3 of the Environmental Impact Assessment. The locations and conditions under which the proposed transfers are to take place are set out in section 1, pages 17-20 of the oil spill contingency plan and from para 3.1 of the Environmental Impact Assessment.
How to Respond
The consultation period began on 16 February 2006 and will run until 11 May 2006. Please ensure that your response reaches us by that date. If you would like further copies of this consultation document it can be found at:
http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-guidance-regulation/mcga-consultations.htm
or you can contact us at the address below, to which consultation responses should also be sent:
Daniel Hunt Maritime and Coastguard Agency Bay 1/9 Spring Place 105 Commercial Road Southampton SO15 1EG
Tel: 02380 329448 Fax: 02380 329485 Email: daniel.hunt@mcga.gov.uk
When responding please state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation. If responding on behalf of a larger organisation please make it clear who the organisation represents, and where applicable, how the views of members were assembled.
A list of those consulted is attached at Appendix A. If you have any suggestions of others who may wish to be involved in this process please let us know.
The information you send us may need to be passed to colleagues within the MCA and Department for Transport (DfT), and will be published in a summary of responses received for this consultation.
Additionally, information provided in response to this consultation, including any personal information, may also be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes. These are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
If there are particular reasons why you would not wish your comments to be published or disclosed, please let us know. Your wishes in this respect will be taken into account so far as possible, but cannot override any statutory requirement, for example, under the access to information regimes, to disclose. Please note that any automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not be regarded as binding on the MCA.
What will happen next
After the consultation period has ended, time will be required for the analysis and presentation of the results. Some responses may also be re-circulated to consultees for further comments in the interests of natural justice.
At the end of this process, in the light of the consultation responses and taking into account the advice of Scottish Natural Heritage, the statutory nature conservation authority, the MCA will finalise its appropriate assessment and consider whether any amendments to the oil spill contingency plan are needed.
The Consultation Criteria
The consultation is being conducted in line with the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Consultation. The criteria are listed below, a full version of the criteria can be found at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/consultation/code/criteria.asp
If you feel that this consultation does not fulfil these criteria please contact
Matt Giacomini Maritime and Coastguard Agency Bay 3/26 Spring Place 105 Commercial Road Southampton SO15 1EG
Fax: 02380 329122 Email: matt.giacomini@mcga.gov.uk
Yours Sincerely,
Toby Stone Head of Counter Pollution & Response Maritime and Coastguard Agency
(1) A paper copy of the documents can be provided, if required. Please apply to Daniel Hunt, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Bay 1/9 Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG
Appendix A
List of Consultees
Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea Aquatera BP BP Grangemouth Briggs Environmental Services Ltd British Ports Association Clackmannanshire Council Convention of Scottish Local Authorities Dalgety Bay Hillend Community Council DfT Ports Division DfT Shipping Policy East Lothain Council East Lothian Council Emergency Planning East Lothian Council Environmental and Community Services Edinburgh Council Edinburgh Council Environmental Health Falkirk Council Fife Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Ltd Fife Council Fife Council Emergency Planning Forth Estuary Forum Forth Ports plc Friends of the Earth KIMO Kinghorn Harbour Residents Environmental Group Largo Area Community Council Longniddry Community Council Marine Conservation Society Melbourne Marine Services North Berwick Community Council OBC Shipping Perth & Kinross Council RSPB Scottish Environment Link Scottish Environment Protection Agency Scottish Executive Scottish Green Party (East Lothian) Scottish Parliament Scottish Wildlife Trust Shell UK Ltd Stirling Council UK Chamber of Shipping UK Harbour Masters Association UK Major Ports Group UK Spill Association West Lothian Council West Lothian Council Emergency Planning World Wildlife Fund
Anne Moffat MP Anne Picking MP Eric Joyce MP Gavin Strang MP Gordon Brown MP John Barrett MP John McDougall MP Mark Lazarowicz MP Menzies Campbell CBE MP Michael Connarty MP
Adam Ingram MSP Alasdair Morgan MSP Alex Neil MSP Andrew Arbuckle MSP Brian Monteith MSP Bruce Crawford MSP Carolyn Leckie MSP Cathy Peattie MSP Chris Ballance MSP Christine Grahame MSP Christine May MSP Colin Fox MSP Dennis Canavan MSP Derek Brownlee MSP Donald Gorrie MSP Fiona Hyslop MSP George Reid MSP Helen Eadie MSP Iain Smith MSP John Home Robertson MSP John Swinburn MSP Kenny MacAskill MSP Linda Fabiani MSP Lord James Douglas Hamilton MSP Malcolm Chisholm MSP Margaret Mitchell MSP Margaret Smith MSP Margo MacDonald MSP Marilyn Livingstone MSP Mark Ballard MSP Mark Ruskell MSP Mary Mulligan MSP Michael Matheson MSP Murdo Fraser MSP Phil Gallie MSP Robin Harper MSP Rosemary Byrne MSP Scott Barrie MSP Susan Deacon MSP Ted Brocklebank MSP Tricia Marwick MSP
Alex Taylor Amanda Burns Captain Douglas Harvey Charles Kennedy Dr A Davison Dr Dan O'Connor Dr Nikki MacLeod Edith Swinley James Bowman Kate Kelman Mary Douglas Mr & Mrs Gray Mr & Mrs Vallis Mr E Clarke Mr I Brodie Ms I Gibson Rev & Dr Thrower Robert Graham Roger Green Rona Dunbar Sarah Wedderburn Wing Commander R M Smith R.A.F |