Marine Spill Prevention Cooperative Agreement
The following Marine Spill Prevention Cooperative Agreement was signed on April 4th, 1995 in Victoria between the Minister of BC Environment, Lands and Parks and the Administrator of the Washington Office of Marine Safety. In 1997, the Office of Marine Safety merged with the Department of Ecology. (Updated: January, 2002).
MARINE SPILL PREVENTION COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Between the BC Ministry of Environment and the Washington Office of Marine Safety
WHEREAS the Province of British Columbia and the State of Washington are committed to ensuring a consistent and high-level of protection of their shared marine waters from accidental spills of oil from cargo, passenger, and tank vessels; and
WHEREAS environmental concerns and impacts from marine spills from vessels respect neither physical or political boundaries; and
WHEREAS prevention measures are the most effective approach to minimizing the environmental threat from marine spills, given the volume of oil transported by vessels, the adverse coastal conditions under which many accidents take place, and the limits of spill response and recovery technology; and
WHEREAS it is important to pursue preventative measures known to exist now, but not universally endorsed or adopted, and to engage in searching for creative incentives and opportunities to improve marine spill prevention in the future; and
WHEREAS the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (British Columbia) and the Office of Marine Safety (State of Washington) recognize the necessity to share information and undertake joint spill prevention actions to ensure the protection of our shared environment for the benefit of current and future generations; and
THEREFORE the parties agree to cooperate in establishing the best achievable protection measures to reduce the risk of spills, and agree on the necessity for tank vessel spill prevention plans and to share information about these plans. The parties also agree to foster consistent initiatives and messages when working with the public, the marine industry, and federal agencies that may also have a vested interest in marine oil spill prevention.
DATED AT Victoria, British Columbia, Canada This 4th day of April, AD 1995.
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Moe Sihota, Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks, Province of British Columbia, CANADA
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Barbara Herman, Administrator, Office of Marine Safety, State of Washington, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
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