A field guide to oil spill response on freshwater shorelines

List of figures
Figure 1.1
Spill control objectives
Figure 1.2
Shoreline response and decision framework (revised from ECCC 2016)
Figure 3.1
River-stream cross-section
Figure 3.2
Lake trophic states
Figure 3.3
Long-term annual average water levels for Lake Superior, 1918-2018 (revised from US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District)
Figure 3.4
Daily average water level variations in Lake Superior with the seasonal high and low envelopes (revised from US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District)
Figure 3.5
Water level data (in metres) measured at six gauging stations on the north shore of Lake Erie during a seiche event (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Government of Canada)
Figure 3.6 A
Minimum total ice concentration, March 2016 for the Great Lakes (Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada)
Figure 3.6 B
Minimum total ice concentration, March 2016 (top panel) and maximum total ice concentration, March 2019 (bottom panel) for the Great Lakes (Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada)
Figure 3.7
Select high gradient channel forms: clockwise from top left – pool, straight glide, riffle, rapids (from ECCC 2012)
Figure 3.8
Large low gradient channel forms/types
Figure 3.9
Observed discharge for the North Saskatchewan River near Deer Creek (AB), 2016 (Water Office, Government of Canada)
Figure 3.10
August 2018 record for the Pitt River near Port Coquitlam (BC) illustrating diurnal changes in water level due to tidal influence (Water Office, Government of Canada)
Figure 3.11
Two-week record for the North Saskatchewan River near Rocky Mountain House (AB) illustrating diurnal changes in water levels due to water releases from the Big Horn Dam, October 2018 (Water Office, Government of Canada)
Figure 3.12
Ice jam under bridge at Acadie River (Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2021)
Figure 4.1
Main weathering processes affecting the fate and behaviour of oil on water
Figure 4.2
Fragmented oil on lake water surface, Lake Wabamun, AB (2005)
Figure 4.3
Oil drifting and spreading on river water surface, Chaudière River, QC (2013)
Figure 4.4
Ice and snow on freshwater shorelines: ice ‘fastened’ to shoreline (top panel); frozen wave splash (middle panel); ice ridges visible during spring thaw (bottom panel)
Figure 4.5
Ice limits oil movement
Figure 4.6
Oil and freshwater ice interaction processes
Figure 4.7
Oil surfacing through a lead in a lake
Figure 5.1
Time-space schematic for spills in different environments (from Owens 2017)
Figure 5.2
An example of primary segmentation for shoreline
Figure 5.3
Segmentation at rivers and streams
Figure 5.4
Single-channel stream or creek KP segmentation
Figure 5.5
Single-channel river segmentation with sub-segments
Figure 5.6
Multiple-channel river segmentation with one primary (“A”) and multiple secondary channels (“B” and “C”)
Figure 6.1
Natural collection areas along a channel (top panel) and accumulated woody material (bottom panel)
Figure 6.2
Typical waste management logistics models
Figure 7.1
Oil (weathered crude – left panel; unweathered heavy crude – right panel) stranded during a falling water level
Figure 7.2
Oil deposited on a flood plain during a flood event
Figure 7.3
Typical boom failures often caused by fast current speed
Figure 7.4
Typical river flow patterns and boom deployments
Figure 7.5
Example of booming strategy in a channel
Figure 7.6
Line of woody material stranded at former high-water level
Figure 7.7
Beaver activity site: feed pile
Figure 7.8
Oil stranding on shoreline
Figure 7.9
Cobble beach on which emulsified oil has penetrated > 1 m before reaching an impermeable hard sand layer
Figure 7.10
Oiled debris and sediments located approx. 5-10 cm below the sediment surface
Figure 7.11
Submerged and sunken oil
Figure 7.12
Sunken oil in shallow, nearshore freshwater environments
Figure 7.13
Shallow water/shore-based options for sunken oil detection and delineation
Figure 7.14
Sunken oil recovery options in shallow water with good visibility
Figure 7.15
Oil Detection Canine (ODC) team conducting search of wide mud flat with vegetation
Figure 7.16
Shoreline Oiling Aerial Reconnaissance (SOAR) Form
Figure 8.1
View onshore of stakes (with tape flagging) and natural marker (dead tree in backshore) for monitoring location
Figure 8.2
Monitoring location showing: shoreline oiling with mobile product on water surface in late July (left panel); no mobile oil on water surface in mid August (middle panel); erosion and slumping of bank with no oil observed in mid September (right panel)
List of tables
Table 2.1
Potential hazards/risk factors and corresponding preventative measures
Table 3.1
Comparative definitions of shoreline zones based on inundation times
Table 3.2
Swash zone shoreline types
Table 3.3
Active channel margin shoreline types
Table 3.4
Small or intermediate (high gradient) channels (revised from Petts and Calow 1996; Goudie 2014)
Table 3.5
Large (low gradient) channels (revised from Church 1992)
Table 4.1
Typical physical properties of oil types and freshwater (from Emergencies Science Division of Environmental Science and Technology Centre, Oil Properties Database; Fingas 2001; ITOPF 2011)
Table 5.1
Overview of methodologies for conducting a formal Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA)
Table 5.2
Lake shoreline segment naming hierarchy
Table 5.3
River system incident-specific segment naming hierarchy
Table 5.4
River system pre-incident segment naming hierarchy
Table 5.5
Broad categories of information provided for each Spill Management Points (SMP) and Tactical Control Points (TCP)
Table 6.1
Specialized equipment by freshwater environment
Table 6.2
Information sources
Table 6.3
Shoreline protection tactics
Table 6.4
Freshwater substrate types
Table 6.5
Relative potential effects of treatment tactics
Table 6.6
Shoreline treatment tactics
Table 6.7
Operational parameters to consider when recommending treatment techniques
Table 6.8
Oily waste types (percentages are indicative: revised from IPIECA 2014)
Table 7.1
River speed and recommended boom angle and length
Table 7.2
Comparison of the attributes of accepted existing and developing (or potential) technologies for detection and delineation of subsurface oil (revised from API 2014)
Table 7.3
Sunken oil detection and delineation options (revised from API 2016)
Table 7.4
Sunken oil recovery options (revised from API 2016)
Table 7.5
Applications of an oil detection canine team to support SCAT field surveys
Table 7.6
Current sUAS platforms available to support SCAT field surveys
Table 8.1
Shoreline treatment criteria for Lake Wabamun, AB (Section 9.1.4)
Table 8.2
Shoreline treatment criteria for Lemon Creek, BC (Section 9.1.8)
Table 9.1
Freshwater spills – key lessons learned from case studies

Acknowledgements

The Management of Emergencies Science and Technology Section would like to acknowledge the team of shoreline experts whose contributions made a Field Guide to Oil Spill Response on Freshwater Shorelines possible. The Guide was written by Edward Owens (Owens Coastal Consultants), Leanne Zrum (Triox Environmental Emergencies Inc.) and by Doug Reimer (Environmental Mapping Ltd.), with technical input from Shannon MacDonald, and Stephane Grenon (Triox Environmental Emergencies Inc.), and Mark Brown (ECRC-SIMEC). From Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Emergencies Science and Technology Section and the National Environmental Emergencies Centre were Sonia Laforest, Project Manager and Technical Authority; Natalie Jones; Patrick Lambert; Michael Goldthorp; Kevin Watson; Yuan Yao; Merlo Gauvreau and Ayumi Therrien, who provided detailed scientific reviews.

Executive summary

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has developed a series of field guides to provide technical support tools for decisions regarding the evaluation of freshwater and marine shorelines and treatment options during an oil spill response. The new freshwater shoreline response Guide is aligned with and complements the most recent editions of the ECCC Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) Manual (ECCC, 2018) and the ECCC Field Guide to Oil Spill Response on Marine Shorelines (ECCC, 2016). ECCC is engaged to provide science-based information to the spill response community and develop an expertise in spill response.

The purpose of the freshwater shoreline response Field Guide is to provide advice and guidance on the protection and treatment of freshwater shorelines threatened or affected by an oil spill. This Field Guide focuses on conventional tactics normally available to responders and appropriate for freshwater shoreline environments. The content of the Field Guide is organized to describe key elements of:

This Field Guide includes stand-alone “Shoreline Information Technical Sheets” for shoreline protection tactics, different types of freshwater shoreline substrates, and shoreline treatment tactics. These information sheets have been developed as a quick reference for planners and field responders, and to provide a visual reference for the range of tactics that may be considered during an oil spill response.

Key learnings from inland oil spill responses that occurred in the last 25 years and the freshwater environment expertise of the project team were important sources of knowledge used to develop this Field Guide.

Acronyms

ALARP
As Low As Reasonably Practicable*
API
American Petroleum Institute
ATV
All-Terrain Vehicle
BMP
Best Management Practice
BTEX
Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylenes
ECCC
Environment and Climate Change Canada
EU
Environmental Unit
EUL
Environmental Unit Leader
FOSC
Federal On-Scene Coordinator*
GIS
Geographical Information System
GPS
Global Positioning System
GRP
Geographic Response Plan
IAP
Incident Action Plan*
ICP
Incident Command Post
ICS
Incident Command System*
IMS
Incident Management System
IMT
Incident Management Team
JSA
Job Safety Analysis
K9-SCAT
Canine Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique
LC50
Lethal Concentration that will kill 50% of the test species
NEB
Net Environmental Benefit
NEBA
Net Environmental Benefit Analysis
NFT
No Further Treatment
NOAA
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOO
No Observed Oil
PAH
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
PPE
Personal Protective Equipment
PTA
Post Treatment Assessment
QA/QC
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
RO
Response Organization
SCA-TS
Shoreline Cleanup Assessment –
SCAT
Technical Specialist Shoreline Cleanup
SIR
Assessment Technique Shoreline (or Segment)
SOS
Inspection Report Shoreline Oiling
SRP
Summary Shoreline Response Plan
SSC
Scientific Support Coordinator
STR
Shoreline Treatment Recommendation
TAG
Technical Advisory Group
TL
Team Lead
TPH
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons
TWG
Technical Working Group
UAS
Unmanned Aerial System
UAV
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UTV
Utility Task Vehicle

* Incident Command System terms: for further information on ICS terminology, see USCG (2014)

For additional information

Environment and Climate Change Canada
Public Inquiries Centre
12th Floor, Fontaine Building
200 Sacré-Coeur Boulevard
Gatineau, QC K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-938-3860
Toll Free: 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only)

Email: enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca

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