Criterion: Environmental Emergencies and Spill Response
Spill Response Plan and Environmental Emergency Response Plans, worker training, remediation of spills and releases, and periodic auditing of hazardous waste vendors.
Full Description
ENV09 Environmental Emergencies and Spill Response
Standard Section: 7.9 Category: Environmental Scheme: Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) Standard Version: 2.0 for Piloting (effective April 30, 2025)
Overview
Spill Response Plan and Environmental Emergency Response Plans, worker training, remediation of spills and releases, and periodic auditing of hazardous waste vendors.
Requirements
The Facility shall:
- 7.9.1 Develop, document, and implement a Spill Response Plan, and Environmental Emergency Response Plan(s) as applicable based on national standards, to identify the actions to be taken to respond to environmental emergency situations and prevent and mitigate associated environmental impacts. Action plans shall include:
- 7.9.1.1 An up-to-date inventory of the types and volumes of hazardous products that have the possibility of being spilled or released;
- 7.9.1.2 Spill prevention and containment controls in place;
- 7.9.1.3 Specific procedures for workers to follow in the event of a spill or release;
- 7.9.1.4 Specific emergency equipment that must be available at the Facility to respond to spills and releases, and their required quantities;
- 7.9.1.5 The methods used to remediate impacts of spills and releases after immediate response; and
- 7.9.1.6 Requirements for training workers and conducting emergency drills and exercises for spills and releases.
- 7.9.2 Train workers and those who perform work on behalf of the organization on the Facilities spill response requirements.
- 7.9.3 Take action to remediate spills and releases where there is potential impact to soil or water bodies. This includes sampling and analysis performed by qualified professionals.
- 7.9.4 Conduct screening and periodic auditing of hazardous waste vendors responsible for remediation and disposal of contaminated materials to ensure materials are properly disposed of following a spill or environmental emergency event.
Source: RMI Facility Standard for Social, Environmental, OHS and Governance Risks, Version 2.0 for Piloting (April 2025), Section 7.9
Profiles using this criterion
Responsible Minerals Assurance Process
Conformity Alignment
Meets
Pass: Yes
Definition: "Facility has a documented Spill Response Plan and Environmental Emergency Response Plan(s), including an inventory of hazardous products, spill prevention and containment controls, specific worker response procedures, required emergency equipment, remediation methods, and training and drill requirements. Workers are trained on spill response requirements. Remediation of spills is conducted by qualified professionals with appropriate sampling and analysis. Hazardous waste vendors are screened and audited."
Partially Meets
Pass: No
Definition: "Emergency response plans exist but are incomplete: e.g., plan exists but does not cover all hazardous products on site, emergency equipment is specified but not available in required quantities, workers are not trained on spill response procedures, drills are not conducted regularly, or remediation procedures are not documented."
Remediation: 180 days
Does Not Meet
Pass: No
Definition: "No documented Spill Response Plan or Environmental Emergency Response Plan, no emergency response equipment, no worker training on spill response, or no procedure for remediating spills and environmental emergency events."
Remediation: 90 days
Priority
Pass: No
Definition: "A Priority finding is raised for actual spills or releases of chemicals or hazardous substances outside the facility that pose immediate risk to community or environmental health, in alignment with the severe environmental damage conditions in Annex I of the Operations Manual."
Remediation: 30 days
Not Applicable
Pass: Yes
Definition: "This criterion is not applicable only if the facility stores or uses no hazardous products that could result in a spill or environmental emergency, which is uncommon for processing operations."
Not Able To Assess
Pass: No
Definition: "The assessor was unable to access emergency response plans, drill records, training records, or inspect emergency response equipment and spill containment infrastructure."
Change Log
1.0.0 (2026-06-24)
Initial release.