These Regulations are determined pursuant to Article 14, Paragraph 3 of the Marine Pollution Control Act (herein referred to as this Act
).
For the cleanup and disposal of marine environment pollution, cleanup and disposal techniques shall be assessed based on pollution conditions and the working environment, and the method that impacts the environment the least selected for use.
For those circumstances in which the pollutants that cause marine environment pollution seriously impact marine water quality, priority shall be given to the recovery of pollutants, and pollution source control and the containment of pollutants shall be adopted in order to prevent the spread of pollution; the methods and tools used shall prevent secondary pollution.
For the cleanup and disposal of chemicals that cause marine environment pollution, the disposal methods designated in the relevant Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) shall serve as a reference.
Oil dispersants may be used when the cleanup and disposal of marine environment oil pollution meets one of the following circumstances.
When there is concern of oil pollution causing damage to birds, marine organisms, ecologically sensitive areas, or beaches
When there is concern of the endangerment of coastal facilities
Other conditions for which their use has been assessed as necessary
The use of oil dispersants in the foregoing paragraph shall comply with the relevant regulations of the Environmental Agents Control Act.
When large-scale oil pollution occurs in non-turbulent waters of a marine environment and it is not possible to promptly and effectively recover the oil, the oil spill may first be contained and then be disposed of through on-site incineration in compliance with the Air Pollution Control Act and relevant regulations.
The cleanup and handling of oil pollution in intertidal zones within the marine environment, due to the special characteristics of these zones, shall, in addition to taking into consideration natural restoration methods, give priority to the following methods based on the special characteristics of the intertidal zone.
For those intertidal zones that are sand beaches:
After the oil slick has congealed, tar balls and oil-contaminated sand shall be excavated by manual or mechanical methods; excavated tar balls and oil-contaminated sand shall be properly disposed of in order to avert secondary pollution.
Sand contaminated with small quantities of oil may be rinsed with water and then such materials as oil-absorbing cotton may be used to absorb oil or oil dispersants used to disperse the oil.
The use of oil dispersants in the foregoing subparagraph shall comply with Article 5 of these Regulations.
For those intertidal zones that consist of pebbles:
The cleanup of oil pollution contaminating the upper layer of pebbles may be performed by excavation by manual or mechanical methods; excavated tar balls and oil-contaminated pebbles shall be disposed of properly in order to avert secondary pollution.
When there is concern, due to the impact of waves, of oil pollution penetrating into deeper layers of an oil-contaminated pebble beach, oil dispersants may be used for the cleanup and handling of the oil pollution between flood tide and ebb tide.
The use of oil dispersants in the foregoing subparagraph shall comply with Article 5 of these Regulations.
For those intertidal zones that are wetlands: Containment methods shall be used to prevent the oil pollution from floating into the zone, and manual labor used to remove the oil pollution or small, simple tools used to cleanup the oil pollution; large machinery that could cause damage to the wetlands and impact biological organisms in the area may not be used for cleanup.
For those intertidal zones that are estuaries: Containment methods shall be used to prevent the oil pollution from floating into the zone, and absorbent material, to be spread evenly over the pollution site, used; the absorbent material, after absorbing the oil, shall be removed manually or mechanically; the cleanup of the oil pollution may not impact biological organisms in the area.
For those intertidal zones that are coral reefs: Containment methods shall be used to prevent the oil pollution from floating into the zone, and manual methods for skimming used or absorbent material, to be spread evenly over the pollution site, used; the absorbent material shall be removed manually; after residual oil pollution has been rinsed with water, such materials as oil-absorbing cotton may be used to absorb oil; the cleanup of the oil pollution shall not impact biological organisms in the area.
The disposal of those pollutants that cause marine environment pollution and whose properties are classified as waste shall comply with the Waste Disposal Act and relevant regulations.
These Regulations shall apply, where appropriate, to the cleanup and disposal of those other marine environment pollutants that seriously impact marine water quality.
These Regulations shall take effect on the date of promulgation.
