COMDTINST 16460.5
b.
In accordance with reference (b) factors to be considered by the OSC in making the
determination of "substantial harm" or "threat of substantial harm" include, but are
not limited to, the size of the discharge, the character of the discharge, and the nature
of the threat to public health or welfare of the United States. As discussed in the
preamble to reference (b), in evaluating the size of the discharge the OSC should
consider factors such as the quantity discharged, the quantity threatened to be
discharged, and the rate of discharge. In considering the character of the discharge
the OSC should, as appropriate, consider the toxicity of the discharge, the potential
for explosion or fire, and the rate at which the discharged quantity is likely to spread
and dissipate considering weather and water conditions. In considering the public
health or welfare, the OSC should, as appropriate, consider the threat of serious,
irreparable, or immediate harm or damage to human populations, drinking water and
food supplies (including subsistence resources), and proximity to environmentally
sensitive areas, including fish and wildlife and their habitats (including breeding
areas, feeding grounds, nurseries, wetlands, significant concentrations of birds,
mammals, threatened or endangered species, and other living resources).
c.
It is expected that most discharges, or threatened discharges, will be of a "routine"
nature and not be identified by OSCs as substantial threats to public health or
welfare. Invoking the provisions of reference (a) should be the exception, rather
than the rule. Generally speaking, a discharge, or a threatened discharge, of oil or
hazardous substance may not pose a substantial threat, or may not result in
substantial harm, if:
* it does not impact, or threaten to impact, the intertidal zone (including public and
private shoreline), sensitive natural resources, or other critical marine habitat; or
* it dissipates, or is likely to dissipate, sufficiently through weathering (photo-
degradation, bio-degradation, dissolution, evaporation, etc.) that the actual, or
likely, impact volume is less than that which would threaten, or result in, substantial
harm to the environment; or
* will not result in irreparable, or irrecoverable, damage to natural, scenic, or
economic resources; or
* can be prevented, or largely mitigated, by available resources, either contracted or
publicly owned, without bypassing the normal procurement process as described in
the FAR.
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