In the event of an incident at an energy facility under the Energy Facility Siting Council's jurisdiction, the certificate holder is required to report the incident to ODOE.
Reporting Requirements
Certificate holders are required to report incidents that occur at their facilities. Notwithstanding other conditions that may be incorporated into a site certificate, the following types of incidents must be reported by all facilities within 72 hours:
- There is an attempt by anyone to interfere with its safe operation.
- There is a significant natural event such as a fire, earthquake, flood, tsunami or tornado, or human-caused event such as a fire or explosion.
- There is any fatal injury at the facility.
In addition, certificate holders should also be aware that there are requirements in Division 29 that require reporting whenever they become aware of conditions or circumstances that may violate the terms or conditions of a site certificate or the terms or conditions of any order of the Council. In those cases, the responsible party must:
- As soon as reasonably possible, notify the Department of the conditions or circumstances that may constitute a violation, giving all pertinent facts including an estimate of how long the conditions or circumstances have existed, how long they are expected to continue before they can be corrected, and whether the conditions or circumstances were discovered as a result of a regularly scheduled compliance audit.
- As soon as reasonably possible, initiate and complete appropriate action to correct the conditions or circumstances and to minimize the possibility of recurrence.
- Submit to the Department a written report within 30 days of discovery. The report must contain:
- A discussion of the cause of the reported conditions or circumstances;
- The date of discovery of the conditions or circumstances by the responsible party;
- A description of immediate actions taken to correct the reported conditions or circumstances;
- A description of actions taken or planned to minimize the possibility of recurrence; and
- For conditions or circumstances that may violate the terms or conditions of a site certificate, an assessment of the impact on the resources considered under the standards of divisions 22 and 24 of this chapter as a result of the reported conditions or circumstances.
How to Report
To report an incident (Division 26) or other potential issue (Division 29), the certificate holder should send an email to EFSC.COMPLIANCE@energy.oregon.gov and Cc the Department's Compliance Officer: Duane.KILSDONK@energy.oregon.gov. While written notification by email is highly recommended, you may also call the Compliance Officer at 503-983-6484.
In addition to the information included with your initial notification, the Department requests the following additional information be submitted as soon as reasonably possible:
- Injuries
- Damaged or out of service equipment
- If a spill:
- Substance spilled
- Quantity
- Has it been reported to DEQ?
- If a land fire:
- Has the fire been extinguished? If no, what is the containment status?
- How many acres burned?
- Operating status of the facility
A Department Compliance Officer will respond to acknowledge receipt of the report and to notify the certificate holder of other follow-up actions that are required.
The Department encourages responsible parties to follow the format outlined in Division 29 for all incident reporting (see #3 above).