Health, Safety & Environmental Performance

Operators must maintain safe operations and protect the environment in accordance with requirements described in our Regulatory Framework section. Operators submit plans, such as a safety plan and environmental protection plan, in support of an application for authorization to conduct offshore energy activities. In these plans, health, safety and environmental performance expectations are established, which operators are then held accountable to achieve. Performance is measured against these expectations and reported on regularly.

Before we issue an authorization allowing offshore activities to commence, we make sure operators describe how they will ensure health, safety and environmental protection and that they have the necessary policies, procedures, plans, equipment and sufficiently trained and competent personnel in place to conduct their operations accordingly. We verify operators’ compliance with regulatory requirements and other commitments made through audits and inspections using a risk-based approach to identify areas of concern or potential risk. Furthermore, we monitor and follow-up on incidents. 

Renewable Energy Incident Reporting

We assist operators and other workplace parties in understanding how to meet the regulatory requirements and to describe what our expectations are.

For all reportable incidents, we verify that operators have taken the appropriate actions to determine the cause of the incident and to prevent future incidents from happening. We review available information to determine trends, common themes and to identify specific areas for improvements as required.

Our Safety Officers, specializing in occupational health and safety and operational safety, and our Conservation Officers, specializing in environmental protection, may also conduct an independent investigation into health, safety and environmental incidents that occur at offshore worksites, depending on the nature and severity of the incident.