On April 3, 2026, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) published the Tar-balls Management Rules, 2026 under the Environment (Protection Act), 1986. Under these rules, Tar-balls are defined as weathered products of oil spills resulting from offshore oil exploration activities, vessel accidents, oil-well blowouts, pipeline leakages, and natural oil seepage. These rules provide a regulatory framework for the environmentally sound management of tar-balls. These rules apply to all individuals and entities that generate, collect, receive, store, transport, treat, dispose of, or handle tar-balls, including oil extraction and exploration facilities, ships, oil tankers, and oil facility owners.
Key Responsibilities:
The rules delineate specific responsibilities for various stakeholders to ensure effective prevention and management:
- Oil Facility Owners: Must take all preventive measures to avoid oil spills and adhere to the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) promulgated by the Indian Coast Guard.
- State Governments and District Administration: The State level crisis management groups under the NOSDCP shall establish a centralised reporting system for reporting of tar-balls sightings by the general public. The State governments shall ensure the collection of tar balls and the cleaning of the shoreline. The district administration shall be responsible for collecting, handling and transportation of tar-balls along the district shoreline and ensure that the District Disaster Management Plan includes tar-ball management. The State governments shall ensure the collection, temporary storage and transportation of tar-balls to the Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF), in an environmentally sound manner through the concerned district administration. State Governments are also required to declare coastal pollution caused by tar-balls as a State disaster and take action under the Disaster Management Act.
- Indian Coast Guard: The Indian Coast Guard is tasked with implementation of the NOSDCP to effectively manage oil spill management and tar-balls formation. The Indian Coast Guard shall conduct regular aerial and surface surveillance for oil spills in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and shall utilize advanced technologies like remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for detection and management of underwater oil plumes in the event of a spill. The Indian Coast Guard shall also be responsible for sending immediate emergency alerts on offshore oil spill events (if any). The Indian Coast Guard shall provide quarterly oil leakage or spill incident reports beyond territorial water to nearby coastal state governments including the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) or Pollution Control Committees (PCC).
- Pollution Control Boards (CPCB/SPCB): The CPCB shall render technical assistance to State government and union territories through the SPCB or PCC to ensure implementation of the rules. The SPCB and PCC shall maintain a database on tar-ball incidents in the State or union territory including data on the area affected by tar-balls, quantity of tar balls collected and processed and disposal outcomes in the format prescribed by the CPCB. The CPCB and the concerned SPCB shall publish a list of authorized disposal/ treatment facilities for tar-balls in the state or union territory and shall develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for management of tar-balls including its collection and cleaning of shorelines.
Treatment, storage and disposal of Tar-Balls:
State Governments, occupiers, facility operators, or associations are jointly or severally responsible for identifying sites to establish TSDFs. Operators or occupiers of captive facilities must design and set up these facilities according to the technical guidelines issued by the CPCB and obtain layout and design approval from the SPCB. The SPCB will conduct quarterly inspections of the facility’s operations. Operators are responsible for the safe and environmentally sound operation, closure, and post-closure phases of the facility as per CPCB guidelines. Existing hazardous waste TSDFs may also be utilized for tar-ball disposal, subject to their specific operating conditions.
Collection, Packaging, labelling and transport of tar-balls:
The District Administration shall oversee the collection, handling, and transportation of tar-balls deposited along shorelines. They must maintain a local response team for clean-ups and ensure all deployed personnel receive proper training and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including gloves, boots, face masks, and protective clothing. Clean-up activities must be overseen by a designated field officer who will maintain a logbook recording the date, time, location coordinates, volume collected, and equipment deployed. The District Administration must obtain authorization from the concerned SPCB for these activities and hand over the collected tar-balls to authorized persons for further processing or disposal. They are also required to submit quarterly reports to the SPCB/PCC detailing the clean-up activities and challenges faced.
Transportation of Tar-balls:
Transportation of tar-balls shall be in accordance with the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Occupiers must provide transporters with relevant information regarding the hazardous nature of tar-balls and emergency measures and ensure containers are labelled. Furthermore, tar-balls must be packaged suitably for safe handling and labelled with weather-proof, easily visible materials. If tar-balls are transported to another State for final disposal, the sender must obtain a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the SPCBs of both the originating and receiving States. For utilization or co-processing, the sender must intimate both SPCBs and the receiving unit prior to handing over the consignment. If the transport routes through a third State, the sender must obtain specified routes equipped with emergency response units and provide prior intimation to the transit State’s SPCB. The responsibility for safe transport lies with the party arranging the transport (sender or receiver), who must hold the necessary SPCB authorization. This responsibility must be clearly indicated in the manifest.
Authorization and Handling Procedures:
Any entity engaged in the handling, collection, storage, transportation, or disposal of tar-balls must obtain prior authorization from the relevant State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). This authorization is valid for a period of five years. The SPCB may, suspend the authorisation issued if in its opinion, the holder of the authorisation has failed to comply with any of the conditions of the authorisation or with any provisions of the Act or these rules and after giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard and after recording reasons thereof in writing cancel or suspend the authorisation issued.
Environmental Compensation:
The rules enforce the “polluter pays” principle. If an oil facility owner, occupier, transporter, or operator fails to manage tar-balls in an environmentally sound manner, thereby resulting in environmental damage or injury to public health, they are liable to pay environmental compensation. The funds collected from these penalties will be utilized by the District Administration to cover the costs of collection, storage, transportation, and disposal of tar-balls.
Conclusion:
The Tar‑balls Management Rules, 2026, represent a systematic shift from ad‑hoc beach‑cleaning drives to a rights‑based, rule‑based regime for marine‑oil pollution control. By institutionalising monitoring, fixing liability on polluters, and aligning with national disaster and coastal‑protection laws, the framework could significantly reduce the ecological and socio‑economic damage caused by recurring tar‑ball events along India’s shores.