Reporting a Spill/Release

Section 201 of CEPA 1999 requires that, when an environmental emergency occurs for any of the substances on the list established on Schedule 1 under the Environmental Emergency Regulations, any person who owns or has the charge, management or control of the substance immediately before the emergency shall, as soon as possible, notify an enforcement officer or any other person designated pursuant to the Regulations. In addition, this person must abide by a number of other requirements, such as taking all reasonable measures consistent with protection of the environment and public safety and providing a written report. The above obligations also apply to a person who causes or contributes to the emergency.

Section 9 of the Environmental Emergency Regulations, as amended in 2011, states:

"When an environmental emergency occurs in respect of a substance set out in column 1 of Schedule 1, the person who is designated for the purpose of paragraph 201(1)(a) of the Act, to be provided with a written report is the Regional Director of the Environmental Enforcement Division of the Enforcement Branch of the Department of the Environment in the region."

For the purposes of section 201 of CEPA 1999,

• a verbal notification is to be made as soon as possible under the circumstances to the authorities identified in the Release and Environmental Emergency Notification Regulations (Notification Regulations) under CEPA 1999, which provide the regulated community and the public with the telephone number of the 24-hour authorities operating for the respective province or territory to which notifications are to be made; and
• a written report should be made as soon as possible under the circumstances to the relevant authorities

Information on what a written report must include and to whom it must be sent can be found in section 9 of the E2 Regulations and in Appendix 7 of the Implementation Guidelines for the Environmental Emergency Regulations. Appendix 7 also provides a recommendation on information to be included in the verbal notification and the telephone numbers to call when a release or an environmental emergency occurs.

The person notifying Environment Canada must take all reasonable measures consistent with the protection of the environment and public safety, including preventing, mitigating or recovering from any negative effects on the environment or on human life or health. The person must make a reasonable effort to notify any member of the public who may be adversely affected by the environmental emergency.

Notification and Reporting of Environmental Emergencies

Province	Verbal Notification 24-hour telephone line	Written Report Designated person
Ontario	416-325-3000 or 1-800-268-6060*	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Ontario Region Environment Canada 845 Harrington Court Burlington ON  L7N 3P3 Fax: 905-333-3952
Quebec	514-283-2333 or 1-866-283-2333*	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Quebec Region Environment Canada 105 McGill Street, 3rd floor Montréal QC  H2Y 2E7 Fax: 514-496-2087
Nova Scotia	902-426-6030 or 1-800-565-1633*	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Atlantic Region Environment Canada Queen Square 45 Alderney Drive Dartmouth NS  B2Y 2N6 Fax: 902-426-7924
New Brunswick	902-426-6030 or 1-800-565-1633*	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Atlantic Region Environment Canada Queen Square 45 Alderney Drive Dartmouth NS  B2Y 2N6 Fax: 902-426-7924
Manitoba	204-944-4888	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Prairie and Northern Region Environment Canada Twin Atria Building 4999-98th Avenue NW, Room 200 Edmonton AB  T6B 2X3 Fax: 780-495-2451
British Columbia	1-800-663-3456	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Pacific and Yukon Region Environment Canada 201-401 Burrard Street, 4th floor Vancouver BC  V6C 3S5 Fax: 604-666-9059
Prince Edward Island	902-426-6030 or 1-800-565-1633*	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Atlantic Region Environment Canada Queen Square 45 Alderney Drive Dartmouth NS  B2Y 2N6 Fax: 902-426-7924
Saskatchewan	1-800-667-7525	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Prairie and Northern Region Environment Canada Twin Atria Building 4999-98th Avenue NW, Room 200 Edmonton AB  T6B 2X3 Fax: 780-495-2451
Alberta	780-422-4505 or 1-800-222-6514*	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Prairie and Northern Region Environment Canada Twin Atria Building 4999-98th Avenue NW, Room 200 Edmonton AB  T6B 2X3 Fax: 780-495-2451
Newfoundland and Labrador	709-772-2083 or 1-800-563-9089*	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Atlantic Region Environment Canada Queen Square 45 Alderney Drive Dartmouth NS  B2Y 2N6 Fax: 902-426-7924
Yukon	867-667-7244	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Pacific and Yukon Region Environment Canada 201-401 Burrard Street, 4th floor Vancouver BC  V6C 3S5 Fax: 604-666-9059
Northwest Territories	867-920-8130	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Prairie and Northern Region Environment Canada Twin Atria Building 4999-98th Avenue NW, Room 200 Edmonton AB  T6B 2X3 Fax: 780-495-2451
Nunavut	867-920-8130	Regional Director, Environmental Enforcement Directorate Prairie and Northern Region Environment Canada Twin Atria Building 4999-98th Avenue NW, Room 200 Edmonton AB  T6B 2X3 Fax: 780-495-2451

* Telephone number accessible only within the respective province