Center proposes rules for managing environmentally hazardous tar balls, as well as space technology for monitoring and detecting oil spills

NEW DELHI: The Center has for the first time framed dedicated rules to manage tar balls – weathering products of oil spills resulting from marine pollution due to offshore oil exploration activities, tanker/ship accidents or pipeline leaks – and has proposed mandatory provisions for oil facility owners to collect, transport and dispose of tar balls in an environmentally safe manner.Tar balls cause marine pollution onshore and offshore, threatening the survival of shorebirds, sea turtles and marine life. Tar balls always affect the beaches of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Karnataka, especially during monsoons when they get washed ashore due to strong winds and ocean currents.The environment ministry notified draft rules in this regard last week, which also imposes penalties (environmental compensation) on defaulters “petroleum facility owners” under the polluter pays principle and lays out specific responsibilities of state governments, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the CPCB and the Ministry of Defense (Indian Coast Guard) for environmentally sound management of tar balls.A “petroleum facility owner” is described in the rules as a person or company that owns or controls or operates a facility/vessel that extracts, explores, uses, transports or processes petroleum (crude oil or fuel or both).The ministry, while notifying the draft rules titled “Tar Ball Management Rules, 2026”, sought comments/suggestions on the proposal from stakeholders within the next 60 days. Final rules will be notified after review of the recommendations, if any. “They (the rules) shall come into force one year from the date of publication of the final notification in the official gazette,” the ministry said in its draft proposal.Highlighting the penalty clause, it said, “If any petroleum facility owner fails to manage oil in an environmentally sound manner and results in any oil spill resulting in loss, damage or injury to the environment or public health, including the formation of tar balls, he shall be liable for environmental compensation which may be equal to such loss, damage or injury and the expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the regional governing body for the management of tar balls.”“The rule assigns responsibility to the Indian Coast Guard and states that the Ministry of Defense will implement the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP) for effective management of oil spill management and tar ball formation.“The Indian Coast Guard shall conduct regular aerial and ground surveillance of oil spills in India’s exclusive economic zone and notify relevant stakeholders to take necessary preparedness and response measures,” the draft rules said.In addition, the National Remote Sensing Agency will conduct surveillance and detection of oil spills and tar ball hot spots through satellite, aviation, drones, sensor-equipped buoys or any other means and provide support to warfighting agencies.As per regulations, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas through its offshore facilities is required to provide quarterly oil leak or spill incident reports for each facility (up to 500 meters) to the Indian Coast Guard, nearby coastal state governments, relevant state pollution control boards and CPCB.“The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas shall take all precautionary measures to control oil leakage from offshore oil exploration units/facilities,” the draft notification said.