Required pollution prevention plans for inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents
Official Title: Notice requiring the preparation and implementation of pollution prevention plans for inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents
- Definitions
- Person or class of persons required to prepare and implement a pollution prevention plan
- Activities in relation to which the plan is to be prepared
- Factors to be considered in preparing the plan
- Period within which the pollution prevention plan is to be prepared
- Period within which the pollution prevention plan is to be implemented
- Content of the pollution prevention plan
- Requirement to keep plan
- Declaration of preparation
- Declaration of implementation
- Filing of amended declarations
- Use of a plan prepared or implemented for another purpose
- Extension of time
- Application for waiver of factors to consider
- Additional information
- Reference code
- Declarations and forms
- Environment Canada contact information
Whereas inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents are substances specified on the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999;
Whereas the Minister of the Environment published a proposed notice requiring the preparation and implementation of pollution prevention plans for ammonia dissolved in water, inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents in the Canada Gazette, Part 1, on June 7, 2003;
Whereas persons were given the opportunity to file comments with respect to the proposed notice for a comment period of 60 days;
Whereas the Minister has considered all comments received;
Whereas this notice is issued as an instrument respecting preventive and control action in relation to inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents in application of section 92 of the act;
And whereas, the Minister has published a Guideline for the release of ammonia dissolved in water found in wastewater effluents;
The Minister of the Environment hereby requires all the persons or class of persons described in section 2 of this notice to prepare and implement a pollution prevention plan in respect of inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents.
Stéphane Dion
Minister of the Environment
- act
-
means the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA)
- effluent
-
means untreated or treated wastewater that is released from the outfall(s) of a wastewater system, excluding combined sewer overflows from the wastewater system
- representative sampling
-
means the daily measurement of total residual chlorine concentration in the effluent under normal operating conditions of the wastewater treatment facility
- surface water
-
means a lake, pond, marsh, creek, spring, stream, river, estuary or marine body of water, or other surface watercourse
- total residual chlorine
-
or TRC, means the concentration of free chlorine and combined chlorine (including inorganic chloramines), expressed as Cl
- wastewater
-
means a mixture of liquid wastes primarily composed of domestic sewage, that can also include other liquid wastes from industrial, commercial and institutional sources
- wastewater system
-
means any works for the collection or treatment and release of wastewater or any part of such works
2. Person or class of persons required to prepare and implement a pollution prevention plan
This notice applies to any person who owns a wastewater system at the time of publication of this notice where the effluent released during either 2004 or 2005 from that system to surface water is greater than or equal to 5 000 m³ per day, based on an annual average, and where the concentration of total residual chlorine in the effluent released to surface water exceeds 0.02 mg/L in any sample during either 2004 or 2005, based on representative sampling.
3. Activities in relation to which the plan is to be prepared
The Minister requires all persons subject to this notice to prepare and implement a pollution prevention plan in relation to the use of chlorine or chlorine compounds in wastewater systems and the release of chlorinated effluent to surface water.
4. Factors to be considered in preparing the plan
During the preparation of pollution prevention plans, the Minister requires all persons subject to this notice to consider the following factors:
- Following detailed scientific assessments, inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents were found to be toxic under the act. As such, these substances were added to the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the act. Persons subject to this notice shall consider that these substances are "toxic" in accordance with the criteria set out in section 64 of the act. In addition, the deposit of a deleterious substance of any type in water frequented by fish is prohibited by the Fisheries Act, under subsection 36(3), unless there is a regulation under subsection 36(5) of the Fisheries Act or under another federal law authorizing the deposit. With respect to inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents, there is no federal regulation at time of publication. Refer to section 15 of this notice for links to the Fisheries Act and Compliance and Enforcement Policies of the Fisheries Act and the act.
- "Pollution prevention", as defined in section 3 of the act, means the use of processes, practices, materials, products, substances or energy that avoid or minimize the creation of pollutants and waste and reduce the overall risk to the environment or human health. Pollution prevention planning is a means of addressing the release, to the environment, of toxic substances or other pollutants. The result of pollution prevention planning is the implementation of preventive and/or control actions. In order to achieve the risk management objective set out in section 4(3), persons subject to this Notice shall consider the following activities when preparing and implementing their pollution prevention plans:
- Conducting process audits for chlorine by June 15, 2006, and implementing actions based on the audit findings by December 15, 2008 that minimize the use and release of chlorine or chlorine compounds. Refer to section 15 of this notice for links to technical guidance.
- Implementing dechlorination or alternative disinfection technologies. Refer to section 15 of this notice for links to technical guidance.
- The risk management objective for this Notice is to achieve and maintain a concentration of total residual chlorine that is less than or equal to 0.02 mg/L in the effluent released to surface water by December 15, 2009.
- The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) agreed in November 2003 to develop a Canada-wide strategy for the management of municipal wastewater effluents, which will address specific parameters and governance. The strategy will be based on the following three cornerstones:
- harmonization of the regulatory framework
- coordinated science and research
- an environmental risk management model
- In order to ensure that the overall risk to the environment or human health is reduced, the pollution prevention plan prepared for this notice should include, where relevant, prevention and control actions that address risks posed by other substances that may be found in municipal wastewater effluent, in particular, the following substances which are specified on Schedule 1 of the act:
- nonylphenol and its ethoxylates
- effluents from textile mills that use wet processing
- mercury
- lead
- hexavalent chromium compounds
- inorganic cadmium compounds
- inorganic arsenic compounds
- ammonia dissolved in water
5. Period within which the pollution prevention plan is to be prepared
The Minister requires that the pollution prevention plan be prepared and implementation be initiated by June 15, 2007.
6. Period within which the pollution prevention plan is to be implemented
The Minister requires that the pollution prevention plan be implemented by June 15, 2010.
7. Content of the pollution prevention plan
Persons preparing the pollution prevention plan are to determine the appropriate content of their own plan; however, the plan must meet all the requirements of this notice. It must also contain the information required to file the Declaration of preparation referred to in section 9 and have the capacity to generate the information required to file the Declaration of implementation referred to in section 10.
8. Requirement to keep plan
Under section 59 of the act, all persons identified in section 2 shall keep a copy of the pollution prevention plan at the place in Canada in relation to which the pollution prevention plan is prepared. Where a single plan is prepared for more than one wastewater system, a copy of that plan must be kept at each location.
9. Declaration of preparation
Under subsection 58(1) of the act, persons identified in section 2 shall file, within 30 days after the end of the period for the preparation of the pollution prevention plan specified in section 5 or extended under section 13, a written declaration that a pollution prevention plan has been prepared and is being implemented - inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents, using the form given in Schedule 1 of this notice, to the Minister. Where a person has prepared a single plan for more than one wastewater system, a separate declaration of preparation must be filed for each of those systems. Section 17 provides further information on completing and filing this form.
10. Declaration of implementation
Under subsection 58(2) of the act, persons identified in section 2 shall file, within 30 days after the completion of the implementation of the plan, a written declaration that a pollution prevention plan has been implemented - inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents, using the form given in Schedule 5 of this notice, to the Minister. Where a person has prepared a single plan for more than one wastewater system, a separate declaration of implementation must be filed for each of those systems. Section 17 provides further information on completing and filing this form.
11. Filing of amended declarations
Under subsection 58(3) of the act, where a person specified in section 2 has filed a declaration under section 9 or section10, and the declaration contains information that, at any time after the filing, has become false or misleading, that person shall file an amended declaration to the Minister within 30 days after the time that the information became false or misleading, using the appropriate form referred to in section 9 or 10.
12. Use of a plan prepared or implemented for another purpose
Under subsection 57(1) of the act, a person may use an existing pollution prevention plan, or other plan in respect of pollution prevention prepared or implemented for another purpose, to satisfy the requirements of sections 2 to section8 of this Notice. Under subsection 57(2) of the act, where a person uses a plan that does not meet all the requirements of this Notice, the person shall amend the plan so that it meets all of those requirements or prepare an additional plan that meets the remainder of those requirements. Persons using existing plans must nonetheless file a declaration of preparation under section 9, a declaration of implementation under section 10, and any amended declarations under section 11.
13. Extension of time
Under subsection 56(3) of the act, where the Minister is of the opinion that further time is necessary to prepare the plan as specified in section 5 or to implement the plan as specified in section 6, the Minister may extend the period for a person who submits a written request for time extension - inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents, using the form given in Schedule 3 of this notice, before the expiry of the date referred to in the applicable section 5 or section 6 or before the expiry of any extended period. Section 17 provides further information on completing and filing this form.
14. Application for waiver of factors to consider
Under subsection 56(5) of the act, the Minister may waive the requirement for a person to consider a factor specified in section 4 where the Minister is of the opinion that it is not reasonable or practicable to consider that factor on the basis of reasons provided by that person when submitting a written request for waiver of the requirement to consider a aactor or factors - inorganic chloramines and chlorinated wastewater effluents, using the form given in Schedule 2 of this notice. Such a request must be made before June 15, 2007 or before the expiry of any extended period. Section 17 provides further information on completing and filing this form.
15. Additional information
Guideline for the Release of Ammonia Dissolved in Water found in Wastewater Effluents (PDF 1,286 KB, page 5).
Review of Municipal Sewage Effluent Chlorination/ Dechlorination Principles, Technologies and Practices (November 2003, Executive summary).
To obtain a copy of the following document "U.V. Guidance Manual for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants in Canada" (October 2003), refer to the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund or contact: Manager, Great Lakes Sustainability Fund, 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario, L7R 4A6, (905) 336-6273.
To obtain a copy of the document "Guidance Manual for Sewage Treatment Plant Process Audits", refer to the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund or contact: Manager, Great Lakes Sustainability Fund, 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario, L7R 4A6, (905) 336-6273.
Fisheries Act. For more information on the compliance and enforcement policies of the Fisheries Act and the act, visit the web section About environmental and wildlife enforcement.
Additional information on pollution prevention and preparing pollution prevention plans is available online.
CCME Canada-wide strategy for the management of municipal wastewater effluents.
16. Reference code
For administrative purposes, all communication with Environment and Climate Change Canada concerning this notice shall refer to the following reference code: P2CLMWWE
17. Declarations and forms
Declarations and forms referred to in this notice are available from and are to be submitted to:
National Office of Pollution Prevention
c/o CEPA Implementation and Innovation Division
Environment and Climate Change Canada
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard 13th floor
Gatineau, QC K1A 0H3
Alternatively, the forms can be completed electronically at the website listed below.
Electronic copies of this notice, and the instructions for completing the declarations and forms (Schedules 1 to 5) are available from the pollution prevention web section or can be requested by telephone at 1-844-580-3637, or by email: ec.planp2-p2plan.ec@canada.ca.
The Minister of the Environment intends to publish, in part, the information submitted in response to this notice. All persons submitting information to the Minister are entitled to submit a request under section 313 of the act that specific information be treated as confidential.
Atlantic provinces
45 Alderney Dr
Dartmouth NS B2Y 2N6
Quebec
1550 d'Estimauville Ave
Québec QC G1J 0C3
Ontario
867 Lakeshore Rd
Burlington ON L7S 1A1
Prairie and Northern Region
Manitoba
150-123 Main St
Winnipeg MB R3C 4W2
Alberta
200-4999 98th Avenue
Edmonton AB T6B 2X3
British Columbia
401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 3R2
Yukon
91782 Alaska Hwy
Whitehorse YT Y1A 5X7
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Environmental Stewardship Branch
Place Vincent Massey
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard
Gatineau QC K1A 0H3
Telephone: 1-800-668-6767
Email: ec.enviroinfo.ec@canada.ca
Explanatory note
(this note is not part of the notice)
Compliance
Compliance with the act is mandatory under subsection 272(1) of the act. Subsection 272(2) of the act defines the penalties for persons who commit offenses under the act. Subsections 273(1) and 273(2) further outline the terms and penalties of those persons providing false or misleading information. Penalties under both subsection 272(2) and 273(2) include fines of not more than $1,000,000, imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or both.
For additional information on the act and the Compliance and Enforcement Policy for the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and on applicable penalties, please contact the Enforcement Branch at 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only) or 819-938-3860.
Page details
- Date modified: