The Environment Authority has issued Decision 16/2026 regarding regulations for reporting oil and chemical pollution incidents on land.
Based on the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Law issued by Royal Decree 114/2001, and in accordance with the requirements of the public interest, any natural or legal person who owns a source or business area or is responsible for its operation or management should report minor or serious oil or chemical pollution incident in environmentally sensitive areas to the Authority immediately and in writing, within a maximum period of 8 hours from the time of discovering the incident.
The owner should give details of all measures and procedures taken to address the effects of the accident and reduce its risks.
The owner is obligated to follow and implement any directives issued by the Authority regarding the procedures to be taken to address an oil or chemical pollution incident and to mitigate its effects.
The owner must create a special record for each oil or chemical pollution incident reported under the provisions of this regulation, including the date of the incident, its type, the actions taken, the results of the treatment, and the final observations, if any. The owner must keep the record for a period of no less than three years from the date of the incident, and it must be presented to the Authority whenever requested.
In the event of repeated reports of oil and chemical pollution incidents during the year, the Authority may request the owner to submit improvement plans that include maintenance operations and the necessary procedures to secure the site of the incident, including identifying and addressing the causes of its occurrence and ensuring that it does not recur, within (15) fifteen days from the date of notification by the Authority.
Without prejudice to any more severe penalty stipulated by any other law, an administrative fine of not less than RO2,000 and not more than RO5,000 shall be imposed on anyone who violates the provisions of this regulation.
The fine shall be doubled in the event of a repeat violation. For the purposes of applying the provisions of this article, a similar violation shall be considered a repeat violation if committed within two years of the date of imposing the fine.
The authority may impose on anyone who makes false or misleading statements about oil or chemical pollution incidents stipulated in these regulations an administrative fine of not less than RO1,000, and not more than RO5,000.
Any leakage of petroleum materials into the terrestrial environment, including soil or groundwater, may negatively affect humans, animals, or plants, whether due to transportation operations, pipeline explosions, exploration and production operations, or other activities carried out by the facility.
Any leakage of chemicals into the terrestrial environment, including soil or groundwater, may negatively affect humans, animals, or plants, whether due to transportation, mining and production operations, or other activities carried out by the facility.
