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What is Marine Debris?
Marine Debris is trash or other discarded material that has found its way into the marine environment. It may be wood, metal, glass, rubber, plastic, cloth, paper, or any other material that was not made by nature.
Marine Debris poses a serious, often fatal, hazard for fish, birds, marine mammals, sea turtles and other animals. It also may cause costly delays and repairs for commercial shipping or boating interests, and it detracts from the pleasure of both the ocean and beach environment.
With plastics and other materials that biodegrade slowly, we cannot expect the ocean to clean up the debris on its own. However, clean-up operations are expensive, time-consuming, and not always effective: in many cases, marine debris is accessible only when it washes on shore, leaving many tons of material in the world's oceans.
The only viable answer to the Marine Debris problem is prevention.
That's where this training program comes in. Marine Debris Awareness and Prevention is your best tool for marine debris prevention and full regulatory compliance.
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Is Marine Debris training required?
Yes. Training is required for all offshore employees, every year.
This annual training on marine debris awareness and prevention is required by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Even experienced offshore personnel must receive this training once a year.
See BSEE NTL No. 2015-G03 for the full text of the rule including complete training and recordkeeping requirements.
Marine Debris Awareness and Prevention, available as computer-based training or on DVD, provides the training your employees require. It's the most complete, up-to-date training on marine debris available for offshore employees today, and best of all, it will help you to verify, track, and document the training, so you won't be left scrambling for records to show BSEE that the training occurred.
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Is training required for contractors?
Yes. Everyone who works offshore, including all operator personnel and contractors, must be trained on marine debris prevention every year.
Marine Debris Awareness and Prevention is a great choice for companies or individual employees as it can be taken by a large group or a single worker, and accessed either online or on DVD.
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How do I document marine debris training?
The government does not simply require marine debris prevention training – it requires that marine debris training is certified with up-do-date records and an annual report.
By January 31st of each year, companies must provide the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) with a report certifying that all of its employees have completed the annual marine debris training program. Accurate, up-to-date records that support this report must be on hand and readily available for BSEE inspection. See BSEE NTL No. 2015-G03 for recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
There's no sense in scrambling at the last minute to provide the required data – or locate records under the stress of a BSEE inspection.
Marine Debris Awareness and Prevention simplifies reporting and provides reliable data.
For computer-based training, reporting is automatic with accurate records stored in the system to be retrieved in an instant. This includes course completion records, as well as records of program quizzes to verify that trainees have mastered course content.
The DVD version provides print-based quizzes and other interactive exercises to verify mastery of content.
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What else is required besides training?
Marine Trash and Debris placards are also required. These must be placed in prominent locations on all fixed and floating production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico with sleeping quarters or food preparation facilities. They should be displayed at or near boat landings and heliports, in mess areas, and in recreation, training, or orientation areas.
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What regulations apply to Marine Debris for offshore operators?
BSEE NTL No. 2015-G03 is based on federal legislation and regulations, and international conventions.
30 CFR 250.300(a) and (b)(6) prohibit offshore personnel from deliberately discharging materials such as containers, trash, and debris into the marine environment. 30 CFR 250.300(c) and (d) require durable identification marks on equipment, tools, containers, drums and other materials to identify the source of marine debris. This law further requires the reporting of items lost overboard to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
Marine Debris and overboard dumping of trash and other materials is also subject to international conventions against marine pollution such as MARPOL – Annex V and additional United States laws, including the Marine Plastic Pollution Control Act and regulations imposed by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Violations of Marine Debris law may result in fines for companies and fines or imprisonment for individuals, as well as civil liabilities.
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What comes with the training program?
The training is available as computer-based training or on DVD. In either version, it is a full training package, including:
Student and instructor course manuals
Interactive exercises, quizzes and proficiency demonstrations
A glossary, to help trainees with unfamiliar terms
Learning objectives that let trainees trace their progress
A Course Completion Certificate
The program also simplifies required recordkeeping.
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