Equivalency Agreements

CEPA 1999 Section 10 provides for Equivalency Agreements where provincial or territorial environmental legislation has provisions that are equivalent to the CEPA 1999 provisions. The intent is to eliminate the duplication of environmental regulations. Equivalency is based on the following criteria:

• equivalent regulatory standards (as determined by measurement and testing procedures and penalties and enforcement programs) and
• similar provision for citizens to request investigations.

The federal government has the responsibility to report annually to Parliament on the administration of Equivalency Agreements. Only one province, Alberta, has entered into an Equivalency Agreement with the federal government.

• An Agreement on the Equivalency of Federal and Alberta Regulations for the Control of Toxic Substances in Alberta
  
  This agreement was signed on June 1, 1994 and came into effect on December 28, 1994. The following CEPA 1999 regulations no longer apply in Alberta:
  
  
  • Pulp and Paper Mill Effluent Chlorinated Dioxins and Furans Regulations (all sections),
  • Pulp and Paper Mill Defoamer and Wood Chips Regulations (Sections 4(1), 6(2), 6(3)(b), 7 and 9),
  • Secondary Lead Smelter Release Regulations (all sections), and
  • Vinyl Chloride Release Regulations (all sections).
    
• Alberta Equivalency Order
  
  
  
• An Agreement on the Equivalency of Federal and Nova Scotia Regulations for the Control of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Electricity Producers in Nova Scotia