The words and phrases defined in the Environmental Law - wherever mentioned in this Regulation - shall have the meanings stated therein, and the following words and phrases shall have the meanings indicated next to each of them unless the context requires otherwise:

Regulation: The Implementing Regulation for the controls of preparing and executing emergency preparedness and response plans for environmental emergencies and disasters.

Center: The National Center for Environmental Compliance.

Relevant Authority: Any government entity authorized by law to supervise a developmental sector, or related to responding to environmental emergencies and disasters.

Inspectors: Employees designated by a decision from the Minister or the Chairman of the Board of the Center for environmental inspection and monitoring, controlling violations of the provisions of the law and regulations, investigating them, and documenting them.

Service Provider: The person licensed by the Center to provide emergency response services for environmental emergencies and disasters.

Activity: Any project, industrial, commercial, or service facility, or works, or any other activities expected to have environmental impacts.

Response: The procedures and measures taken immediately upon the occurrence of an emergency to address it and prevent the exacerbation of environmental damage or to mitigate it.

Preparedness: The state of readiness and availability of resources, capabilities, procedures, and plans to address environmental emergencies and disasters.

Marine Vessels: Any floating marine vessel regardless of its form, whether stationary or moving.

Environmental Incident: An event or occurrence resulting from natural or operational factors within any activity, facility, or marine vessel, which has caused or may cause damage resulting in the spillage or leakage of harmful substances into the environment.

Environmental Emergencies: An environmental incident that poses an immediate threat causing or threatening significant environmental damage; or threatening human life; or destroying ecosystems or habitats of living organisms, requiring urgent intervention to prevent the situation from worsening and turning into a disaster.

National Plans: A set of measures and procedures that define the roles and responsibilities of relevant authorities to prepare for and respond efficiently and effectively to environmental emergencies and disasters at the national level.

Self-Plans: A set of measures for managing internal environmental emergencies of the activity or facility; including preparedness and readiness procedures to deal with environmental risks threatening the activity or facility, and post-emergency and disaster procedures, including rehabilitation of affected areas.

Sensitive Receptors: Receptors that may be significantly affected by the activity due to their geographic proximity or their sensitive nature, including: environmental components, living organisms, archaeological, cultural, and religious sites, and community groups; (for example, endangered species, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, residential complexes, and others).

Environmentally Sensitive Areas: Areas of environmental importance that, if degraded, lead to negative environmental repercussions, including: protected areas, parks, forests, wetlands, areas of importance for birds, mangroves, sites of scenic beauty, water fall and gathering areas and their flow, sea shores, waterways, groundwater layers, or any area/areas designated or declared by the state, ministry, or national environmental centers as environmentally sensitive areas.

Oil Spill: The leakage or discharge of hydrocarbon materials in any form and in any quantity that poses a threat to the environment as determined by the Center.

Harmful Substances: Any substance whose introduction, spillage, or leakage causes damage to the environment or alters the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of the receiving environment.

The provisions of this Regulation apply to all persons, including maritime intermediaries, within the territory of the Kingdom, and include internal waters; the territorial sea; the contiguous zone; the exclusive economic zone; and the continental shelf.

The center is responsible for organizing and managing tasks related to emergency preparedness and response operations for environmental disasters within its jurisdiction, and for this purpose, it has the following responsibilities:

1- Preparing and reviewing national plans, and implementing them - in coordination with relevant authorities - after their approval in accordance with applicable regulations.

2- Leading and managing response operations in coordination with relevant authorities.

3- Defining the controls and requirements related to the preparation of self-plans.

4- Classifying risk levels and potential emergency situations and environmental disasters according to the best global practices, and coordinating this with relevant authorities.

5- Reviewing the plans prepared by government entities to implement their tasks related to national plans, ensuring the integration of roles among entities to implement the plans, and recommending any necessary amendments.

6- Monitoring, evaluating, and managing environmental risks, announcing levels of danger, affected locations, notifying and obligating the responsible party to take necessary actions, and recommending what is required regarding the declaration of emergencies.

7- Preparing - in coordination with relevant authorities - reporting and coordination mechanisms regarding incidents, emergencies, and environmental disasters.

8- Establishing and equipping one or more operation centers to receive reports of incidents, emergencies, and environmental disasters, and dealing with them as needed.

9- Requesting data, equipment, and resources available from all entities regarding preparedness and readiness to respond to emergencies and environmental disasters.

10- Establishing a national database related to preparedness and readiness to respond to emergencies and environmental disasters, which includes at least human resources, equipment and machinery, including maintenance programs, capabilities and competencies, and following up on updates, and assessing needs, in coordination with relevant authorities.

11- Preparing periodic reports on the Kingdom's readiness to respond to potential emergencies and environmental disasters - in coordination with the relevant authority - and submitting appropriate proposals and recommendations.

12- Establishing rules, standards, controls, and procedures related to service providers for emergency preparedness and response to environmental disasters.

13- Conducting investigations related to emergencies and environmental disasters with individuals, and approving the specific rules and models for that.

14- Inspecting, monitoring, and controlling violations of the regulation in accordance with the controls of the implementing regulation for environmental inspection and auditing of the system, and coordinating - when necessary - with the relevant authority in the Ministry of Interior regarding the enforcement actions against violators.

15- Coordinating with other national environmental centers whenever emergencies and environmental disasters relate to their jurisdiction or authority.

16- Preparing national exercise and hypothesis programs - in coordination with the relevant authority - to enhance readiness for emergency preparedness and response to potential environmental disasters, and supervising their implementation.

17- Establishing criteria for escalating or reducing the level of response to emergencies and environmental disasters in accordance with the standards specified in the national framework for risk and emergency management and business continuity.

18- Working towards achieving the organized expansion of the infrastructure for emergency preparedness and response operations for environmental disasters, and encouraging investment in providing related services and equipment.

19- Issuing and renewing the necessary licenses for service providers for emergency preparedness and response to environmental disasters.

20- Supervising service providers for emergency preparedness and response to environmental disasters.

21- Establishing training and qualification programs for personnel working in the fields of emergency preparedness and response to environmental disasters, and accrediting training programs and certifying bodies according to the controls and requirements set by the center.

22- Following up on the implementation of international and regional agreements related to emergency preparedness and response to environmental disasters in which the Kingdom is a party.

1- The center shall coordinate with the supervising authority to determine the activities that require participation in the hypothetical or operational exercises organized by the center, to test their readiness to face emergencies and environmental disasters.

2- The activities - as determined by the center according to the mechanism outlined in paragraph (1) of this article - are obligated to participate in the hypothetical or operational exercises organized by the center.

3- Individuals and service providers must submit a request for approval from the center before implementing any of the programs or plans related to hypothetical or operational exercises concerning preparedness and response to emergencies and environmental disasters. The request must include at a minimum the following:

• A- Objectives.

• B- Specification of the timeline and geographical scope.

• C- Participating entities and personnel, and the equipment, machinery, devices, and materials used.

• D- Scenarios and procedures for the hypothetical and operational exercises.

• E- Any other data or information requested by the center, which may prepare and approve a standardized request form.

1- The center shall determine the mechanisms and means of reporting and publish them on its website in accordance with the procedures followed by government entities.

2- Individuals, including operators of marine media, must report to the center and the relevant authorities according to the reporting mechanism mentioned in paragraph (1) of this article as soon as they become aware of any environmental incident, regardless of its size or type.

1- Individuals, including operators of marine media, are required to activate the measures related to the situation upon becoming aware of an incident, disaster, or environmental emergency, in accordance with the approved self-plan or the national plan.

2- Individuals must adhere to the measures and plans established by the center regarding the handling of emergency situations and environmental disasters.

3- It is prohibited for individuals, including operators of marine media, to obstruct the work of environmental inspectors, and to prevent their entry to activity sites or boarding marine media while they are addressing emergency situations and environmental disasters.

4- Individuals and service providers must comply with the emergency response plans and the equipment, tools, and devices approved for them by the center, and coordinate with the center in this regard.

5- Individuals are obligated to provide trained and qualified human resources, as well as the necessary equipment and devices to implement the self-preparedness and response plan for potential environmental emergencies and disasters.

1- Individuals, including operators of marine media and critical and sensitive facilities, are required to prepare a technical report after the conclusion of the emergency situation or environmental disaster - in accordance with the regulations and requirements of the center - including at a minimum the following information:

• A- A general description of the emergency situation or environmental disaster.

• B- The source of the emergency situation or environmental disaster and its cause (root cause analysis).

• C- A description of the procedures that were taken in response to the emergency situation or environmental disaster and the lessons learned.

• D- Data and results of environmental monitoring of pollution levels during and after the emergency situation or environmental disaster.

• E- Details of the damages resulting from the emergency situation or environmental disaster.

• F- Costs of damage remediation.

• G- The corrective actions required, including updating the self-preparedness and response plan for emergencies and environmental disasters.

2- Individuals, including operators of marine media, must prepare a work plan to implement the corrective actions resulting from the emergency situation or environmental disaster within a period not exceeding (30) working days from the date of the conclusion of the emergency situation or environmental disaster, provided that the work plan includes the following information:

• A- A summary of the emergency situation or environmental disaster and an analysis of the root causes of its occurrence, and how it was managed.

• B- Shortcomings regarding preparedness and response to the environmental emergency.

• C- Proposed actions to address the identified shortcomings, including their costs and the time frame for their implementation.

• D- Requirements for environmental rehabilitation of the areas affected by the incident or disaster, according to the implementing regulation of the relevant system.

• E- Any other relevant data requested by the center.

3- The center, in accordance with its competencies, may issue comments on the work plan for implementing the corrective actions, and individuals must comply with amending the work plan within a maximum of (30) working days, or as determined by the center.

4- The center is responsible for calculating compensations and rehabilitating the affected areas according to the relevant implementing regulation.

1- The center has the authority to conduct the necessary investigations regarding the incident, emergency situation, or environmental disaster, and to compel the responsible party to bear the liability for the damages caused by pollution or environmental degradation resulting from it. It may also request bank guarantees that cover those costs.

2- The center may summon individuals who may be related to the incident, emergency situation, or environmental disaster and investigate them, and coordinate - when necessary - with the relevant authorities. It has the authority to monitor pollution sources, collect samples, and notarize by any means, including photographic documentation.