Environmental Emergency Planning, Spill Response & Pollution Control
Course Format
Virtual Course – These courses are run using the Zoom platform as a fully interactive course, just as our live courses are. We have had great feedback from delegates on these courses.
Overview
Environmental incidents can develop quickly. A leaking oil tank, chemical spill, firewater runoff, drainage failure, damaged IBC or contractor error can move beyond the immediate work area and affect surface water, groundwater, land, neighbouring property or sensitive habitats. Effective response therefore depends on preparation before an incident occurs.
This one-day course provides a practical framework for preventing, preparing for and responding to environmental emergencies. It explains how to identify credible pollution scenarios, understand site drainage and environmental receptors, establish suitable containment arrangements and prepare an effective pollution incident response plan.
The course covers spill response, secondary containment, drain protection, emergency equipment, contractor responsibilities, escalation, regulator notification, contaminated firewater, waste arising from incidents and post-incident investigation. Attention is given to the first actions taken when a spill occurs: protecting people, stopping the source where this can be done safely, preventing pollution from spreading, protecting drains and watercourses and escalating the incident appropriately.
Practical exercises are used throughout the day, culminating in an environmental emergency scenario and site improvement plan.
Why this course is important
Pollution incidents frequently arise from relatively routine activities such as deliveries, storage, waste handling, maintenance and transfer of liquids.
The Environment Agency advises businesses handling materials capable of causing pollution to prepare a pollution incident response plan. For environmentally permitted sites in England, the management system must include arrangements for potential accidents and events that could cause pollution or non-compliance, including their prevention, mitigation, investigation and response.
Environmental emergency arrangements need to reflect the actual site. Managers should understand where surface-water and foul drains lead, what materials are stored, where spill equipment and drain covers are located, what sensitive receptors are nearby and who has authority to make decisions during an incident.
Storage arrangements are equally important. Organisations also need to recognise when an incident must be reported to a regulator and when specialist clean-up or remediation is required.
The course shows delegates how to combine prevention, physical controls, emergency planning, competent response and post-incident learning into a practical pollution-control system.
Who should attend?
This course is suitable for those responsible for environmental risk, premises or operational emergency arrangements, including:
- Environmental managers and advisers
- HSE and HSEQ managers
- Facilities and estates managers
- Health and safety managers
- Operations managers
- Compliance managers
- Engineering and maintenance managers
- Site managers
- Warehouse and logistics managers
- Waste and recycling managers
- Emergency coordinators
- Contract managers
- Those responsible for chemical, oil or waste storage
- ISO 14001 environmental management system coordinators
What you'll learn:
On completion of the course, attendees will:
Course Programme:
09:15–09:30hrs | Registration
09:30–09:45hrs | Welcome & Introduction
• Welcome, introductions and course objectives
• Overview of environmental emergency management and pollution prevention
• Roles and responsibilities for site environmental protection
09:45–10:45hrs | Environmental Emergencies & Pollution Risks
• Recognising environmental incidents: spills, leaks, loss of containment and drainage failures
• Common incident causes: tank failures, overfilling, deliveries, waste storage and accidental damage
• Fire, contaminated firewater, flooding and extreme weather incidents
• Pollution risks to land, surface water, groundwater and air
• Environmental Protection Act, water-pollution controls and Environmental Permitting Regulations
• Environmental Damage regime, oil-storage requirements and environmental permit conditions
• Distinguishing legal duties, permit conditions and good practice, including UK jurisdictional differences
• Identifying sensitive receptors: watercourses, drains, groundwater, drinking-water sources, habitats and neighbouring properties
• Practical exercise: identifying pollution pathways from a model site
10:45–11:00hrs | Break 1
11:00–12:00hrs | Pollution Prevention, Drainage & Containment
• Applying the source–pathway–receptor approach to pollution prevention
• Understanding surface-water, foul and combined drainage systems
• Interceptors, separators, soakaways, outfalls and drainage isolation
• Preparing and maintaining accurate site drainage plans
• Identifying discharge points, vulnerable areas and sensitive receptors
• Safe storage of oils, chemicals and other potentially polluting materials
• Secondary containment: bunds, spill pallets and drip trays
• Inspecting tanks, IBCs, drums, pipework, hoses and valves
• Preventing leaks, vehicle damage, incompatible storage and overfilling
• Managing tanker deliveries, unloading areas, temporary storage and waste containment
• Inspection, maintenance and early detection of containment failures
• Practical exercise: pollution-prevention inspection of a model site
12:00–13:00hrs | Lunch Break
13:00–14:00hrs | Environmental Emergency Planning & Spill Response
• Developing an environmental emergency plan based on credible incident scenarios
• Assessing incident likelihood, consequences and preventive controls
• Emergency roles: incident controllers, employees, contractors, security and specialist responders
• Emergency contacts, site plans, chemical inventories and safety data sheets
• Spill-response priorities: protect people, raise the alarm, identify the material and assess hazards
• Stopping the source where safe, containing releases and protecting drains and watercourses
• Spill-response equipment: absorbents, socks, booms, drain covers, barriers and pumps
• Selecting equipment according to material properties, compatibility and site hazards
• Understanding the limitations of spill kits and when specialist assistance is required
• Recognising dangerous spills that untrained personnel must not attempt to control
• Practical exercise: selecting appropriate responses to different spill scenarios
14:00–14:45hrs | Firewater, Major Incidents & Escalation
• Environmental consequences of fires, contaminated firewater, foam and runoff
• Identifying firewater escape routes, site gradients and vulnerable drainage systems
• Firewater containment: drain isolation, penstocks, shut-off valves and retention areas
• Liaising with fire and rescue services while prioritising life safety
• Managing major losses of containment and pollution beyond site boundaries
• Establishing escalation criteria, withdrawal decisions and specialist contractor support
• Regulator notification, Environment Agency incident reporting and UK jurisdictional differences
• Environmental permit reporting duties and Environmental Damage responsibilities
• Notifications to water companies, affected third parties and management
• Recording incident details, decisions, communications and notifications
• COMAH requirements and emergency-planning interfaces where applicable
• Practical exercise: escalation decisions during a major spill and firewater incident
14:45–15:00hrs | Break 2
15:00–15:30hrs | Recovery, Clean-up & Incident Investigation
• Moving from emergency containment to safe recovery and remediation
• Preventing secondary pollution during clean-up operations
• Managing contaminated soil, water, oil, chemical residues and damaged containers
• Classifying incident waste, including hazardous-waste requirements
• Safe temporary storage, authorised waste contractors and disposal documentation
• Reinstating drainage protection, containment systems and spill-response equipment
• Investigating immediate and underlying causes of environmental incidents
• Identifying failures in maintenance, storage, procedures, supervision and contractor control
• Corrective actions, management reporting and updating emergency plans
15:30–16:00hrs | Emergency Exercise, Audit & Action Planning
• Scenario exercise: loss of containment during a delivery with a surface-water drain at risk
• Assessing immediate actions, personnel safety and whether the release can safely be stopped
• Selecting containment measures and protecting drainage systems
• Managing incomplete drainage information and contractor interfaces
• Deciding when to escalate to management, regulators and specialist responders
• Planning clean-up, waste management, evidence collection and incident records
• Testing emergency arrangements through tabletop and practical spill exercises
• Auditing spill kits, emergency contacts, drainage plans and response equipment
• Identifying lessons and preparing a site pollution-prevention improvement plan
• Questions, course review and action planning
16:00hrs | End of Course
