To control and prevent risks to the environment, the National Council for the Environment created several rules, including CONAMA Resolution 306. This guideline establishes the minimum requirements for companies with services in facilities such as ports, offshore platforms, refineries, etc.
Among the requirements are organizations with waste generation, effluent release, leaks, spills and other processes that may compromise the quality of the ocean.
An oil platform can be used in two ways, on land it is called an “on-shore” platform and at sea it is called an “off-shore” platform.
Platforms can be for drilling, for production, when you can extract oil and separate oil, water and gas, or have both functions. In each field, analysis of the conditions is carried out to find the most suitable type of platform. On the platforms we find engineers, technicians of various specialties, hotel and nursing professionals, safety technicians, divers, among others (Petrobras, 2015).
Port activity directly impacts the environment in which it operates. In the port, both the construction and expansion of the area, as well as the operational activities, cause environmental impacts. The environmental demands on the port system are immense, due to inherited liabilities (environmental, cultural, structural) and continually created assets. Both cases generate nonconformities, which must be addressed so that compliances can be achieved, ensuring the full functioning of the ports without economic and socio-environmental damages.
CONAMA Resolution No. 306 (2002) aims to establish the minimum requirements and the reference term for carrying out environmental audits. Regulates article 9 of Federal Law No. 9,966 of April 2000, which prohibits the release of oily waste into Brazilian jurisdictional waters. The purpose of this resolution is to evaluate the environmental management and control systems in ports and port facilities, platforms and their support facilities and refineries, being the main instrument for assessing compliance with current environmental legislation and environmental licensing.
According to CONAMA Resolution No. 306/02, environmental management is the conduct, direction and control of the use of natural resources, environmental risks and emissions to the environment, through the implementation of an environmental management system. This system is part of an overall management that includes organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources to develop, implement, achieve, review and maintain the facility’s environmental policy.
In summary, compliance with this standard boils down to the following aspects:
• Organizations that are characterized as organized ports and port facilities (maritime and river), platforms, support facilities and refineries are subject to this resolution;
• Audits must take place every 2 years from the start of operations;
• The audit team must be independent and have at least one accredited auditor;
• Action plans must be prepared for the findings and presented to the environmental agency together with the audit report.
It is expected that with these rules and regulations, as is the case of CONAMA Resolution nº 306/02, it will be possible to have coastal zones where port activity is no longer indicated as the cause of enormous conflicts and socio-environmental damage, in view, mainly, of management measures that are currently being adopted.