BASES Concludes Release to the River Notification Project
Members of BASES’ Emergency Management Committee recently concluded an 8-month project reviewing the industry notification process used in the event of a release to the St. Clair River, known internally to emergency responders as a CODE 10. Through the primary objectives of gaining a better understanding of regulatory requirements and stakeholder roles in response to an event, the team was able to identify opportunities for improvement and provide recommendations to ensure an efficient and coordinated response to events involving the St. Clair River.
The project team consisted of industry stakeholders and municipal Emergency Managers, with input from environmental agencies and regulatory bodies from both sides of the river, including Lambton Public Health, Spills Action Centre (SAC), Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), and the Canadian & US Coast Guards.
The work of the project team also identified an opportunity to raise public awareness of the notification process used in the event of a release to the St. Clair River and educate area residents on how they would be notified of such an event and what to do if public action is required.
In the event of an industrial release to the St. Clair River, initial public notification would go out to subscribers of industrial facilities through the community notification system, Sarnia-Lambton Alerts. If public action were to be required, such as a boil water advisory, subsequent communication would be sent by the impacted municipality through Sarnia-Lambton Alerts and local media outlets. The Canadian Coast Guard would also be engaged to reach any recreational users of the St. Clair River, such as boaters, anglers, and swimmers.
The image above shows the parties involved and notification process used in the event of a release to the St. Clair River.
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