(This statement is not part of the regulations.)

Issue and objectives

Provincial, territorial and federal laws require, in most cases, notification of the same events involving a release or a deposit of a substance into the environment. To avoid duplication of effort, Environment Canada has negotiated proposed Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreements with Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan, as well as with the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Under these proposed Notification Agreements, one organization for each province and territory would receive environmental occurrences notifications on behalf of Environment Canada. Environment Canada is thus required to designate and prescribe, respectively, the persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service for the organizations operating for the provinces and territories, enabling them to receive notifications under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) and under the Fisheries Act (hereinafter collectively referred to as the Acts).

The objective of the proposed Release and Environmental Emergency Notification Regulations and the proposed Deposit Out of the Normal Course of Events Notification Regulations (hereinafter collectively referred to as the proposed Notification Regulations) is to designate and prescribe, respectively, the persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service for the relevant province or territory. These persons would receive notifications that would otherwise have to be made directly to Environment Canada. The proposed Notification Regulations would come into force on the day on which they are registered.

The proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Fisheries Act (the proposed Amendments) would remove the current notification requirements in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER) and the Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations (PPER), thereby preventing a duplication of these requirements. The proposed Amendments would come into force on the same day the proposed Deposit Out of the Normal Course of Events Notification Regulations come into force.

Description and rationale

In the event or the likelihood of a release of a substance into the environment in contravention of regulations referred to in section 95, 169, 179 or 212 of CEPA 1999, or in the event of an environmental emergency under section 201 of CEPA 1999, any person described therein is obligated, as soon as possible in the circumstances, to notify an enforcement officer or any other person designated by regulation.

Similarly, in the event of a deposit of a deleterious substance out of the normal course of events or a serious and imminent danger thereof, subsection 38(4) of the Fisheries Act obligates any person described therein to report such occurrence to an inspector or such other person or authority as is prescribed by regulation.

The proposed Release and Environmental Emergency Notification Regulations would designate the persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service to receive, on behalf of Environment Canada, notification of a release of a substance, the likelihood of such a release or an environmental emergency under paragraph 95(1)(a), 169(1)(a), 179(1)(a), 201(1)(a) or 212(1)(a) of CEPA 1999.

The proposed Deposit Out of the Normal Course of Events Notification Regulations would prescribe the persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service to receive, on behalf of Environment Canada, notification of a deposit of a deleterious substance out of the normal course of events or a serious and imminent danger thereof under subsection 38(4) of the Fisheries Act.

The proposed Notification Regulations would also provide the appropriate office name and telephone number of the organization operating for each province and territory to which notifications are to be made. In the majority of jurisdictions, an organization within the respective provincial or territorial government would provide this service. In the Atlantic Provinces, the Canadian Coast Guard would serve in this capacity, and, in Nunavut, the Government of the Northwest Territories would do so. In Quebec, Environment Canada would receive notifications directly from the regulated community and the public.

The proposed Amendments would remove from the MMER and the PPER existing requirements for notification. These proposed Amendments would ensure that there is no duplication with the new requirements of the proposed Notification Regulations. In addition, the proposed Amendments would update the existing Schedules in the MMER and the PPER which prescribe persons to whom written reports regarding deposits out of the normal course of events must be submitted, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

All notification requirements under sections 95, 169, 179, 201 and 212 of CEPA 1999, and subsection 38(4) of the Fisheries Act (including notification requirements under the MMER and the PPER), would be addressed by the proposed Notification Regulations.

Alternatives

A number of alternatives were considered; below is a description of these alternatives and a rationale for rejecting or selecting from them.

Status quo

Environment Canada has negotiated proposed Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreements with Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan, as well as with the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Environment Canada is thus required to designate and prescribe the persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service for the organizations operating for these provinces and territories to receive notifications under the Acts. The proposed Notification Agreements could not designate and prescribe these persons, since notifications are to be made to an enforcement officer or any other person designated by regulation, under CEPA 1999, and to an inspector or such other person or authority as is prescribed by regulation, under the Fisheries Act.

Since notification requirements under the Acts would be addressed by the proposed Notification Regulations, not amending the MMER and the PPER would lead to an unnecessary duplication of these requirements, with the potential to result in confusion amongst the regulated community and the public.

For the above reasons, keeping the status quo has been rejected as a viable option.

Administrative approach

The persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service for the provinces and territories would be designated by the Minister of the Environment as enforcement officers and prescribed by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans as inspectors, for the purpose of receiving notifications on behalf of Environment Canada.

Under CEPA 1999, designating classes of persons is possible and would seem to be an efficient method of designating the persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service for the organizations operating for the provinces and territories. Further, the Minister of the Environment may specify limits on the powers of persons designated as enforcement officers, to the receipt of notifications.

Under the Fisheries Act, the administrative approach cannot be used to designate classes of persons as inspectors, since that Act requires that each inspector be prescribed individually, potentially creating a significant amount of administrative work. Further, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans does not have the authority under the Fisheries Act to limit the powers of the persons prescribed as inspectors providing 24-hour emergency telephone service for the provinces and territories to the receipt of notifications. For these reasons, the administrative approach has been rejected.

Regulatory approach

In the event or the likelihood of a release of a substance into the environment in contravention of regulations referred to in section 95, 169, 179 or 212 of CEPA 1999, in the event of an environmental emergency under section 201 of CEPA 1999, or in the event of a deposit of a deleterious substance out of the normal course of events or a serious and imminent danger thereof under the Fisheries Act, a notification or a report must be made. The persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service for the organizations operating for the provinces and territories would therefore be designated and prescribed to receive these notifications on behalf of Environment Canada by the proposed Notification Regulations.

Given that the proposed Notification Regulations would provide the necessary notification requirements in the event or the likelihood of a release or a deposit of a substance into the environment, not amending the MMER and the PPER to remove such information would result in an unnecessary duplication of these requirements.

For the above reasons, the regulatory approach is considered to be the best option.

Benefits and costs

Benefits

The regulated community and the public would be provided with the name and 24-hour emergency telephone number of the organization operating for each province and territory specified in the proposed Notification Regulations. The contact information for each organization would apply for all notification requirements under the Acts. Moreover, the proposed Notification Regulations would ensure that the persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service are designated and prescribed under the Acts to receive notifications from the regulated community and the public; therefore, the proposed Notification Regulations would complement and support the Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreements.

As well, the proposed Amendments would streamline the MMER and the PPER by removing unnecessary information and duplication of notification requirements.

Costs

The proposed Notification Regulations and the proposed Amendments are administrative in nature. They are not expected to result in any incremental costs to the regulated community, to any municipal, provincial or territorial government, to other federal departments, or to the public, as persons are currently required to notify, in most cases, the relevant province or territory and Environment Canada of the same events involving a release or a deposit of a substance into the environment.

In conclusion, since the proposed Notification Regulations would designate and prescribe the persons providing 24-hour emergency telephone service under the Acts while not imposing any incremental costs to Environment Canada and, since the proposed Amendments would remove duplication and provide updated contact information for written reporting, the impact of these initiatives is expected to be positive.

Consultation

In September 2006, Environment Canada consulted the provinces and territories, through the CEPA National Advisory Committee, regarding its proposal to negotiate Environmental Occurrences Notification Agreements with them. This initial consultation also involved the appropriate organizations operating for the provinces and territories. All parties concurred to proceed with the negotiations of the proposed Notification Agreements.

Subsequently, in May 2009, CEPA National Advisory Committee members were given an offer to be consulted regarding the proposed Release and Environmental Emergency Notification Regulations under CEPA 1999. No comments were received and no consultation requests were made.

Environment Canada also held interdepartmental discussions with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard regarding the proposed Notification Regulations. No concerns were raised.

As the proposed Amendments would be made to remove duplication of notification requirements and update contact information for submitting written reports, they are considered administrative in nature, with no anticipated impact on the regulated community or the public; hence, no formal consultations were held with the pulp and paper and the metal mining industries.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

As part of the implementation of these proposed Regulations and proposed Amendments, the planned compliance promotion activities are an update of Environment Canada’s existing Web site (www.ec.gc.ca/ee-ue) and an electronic mail-out to the regulated community. The goal of these activities is to maintain and augment the regulated community’s and the public’s awareness of the environmental occurrences notification systems in operation in the provinces and territories.

Lynn Provost
Head
Preparedness
Environmental Emergencies Division
Environment Canada
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-997-3053
Fax: 819-997-5029
Email: Lynn.Provost@ec.gc.ca

Markes Cormier
Senior Economist
Regulatory Analysis and Instrument Choice Division
Environment Canada
10 Wellington Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-953-5236
Fax: 819-997-2769
Email: Markes.Cormier@ec.gc.ca