Pollution Prevention Planning Consultations

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Working Document - Pollution Prevention Planning in Respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1, 1994

Under Part 4 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999

March 14, 2006

The following is a Working Document presenting the main elements that Environment Canada plans to include in a Notice to be issued under section 56 of Part 4 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (the Act). It will require the preparation and implementation of pollution prevention plans in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1, 1994.

Comments received on this document will be used to develop a Proposed Notice that will be published under section 56 of the Act in the Canada Gazette, Part I. This publication will initiate a 60-day comment period. Following the comment period and after review of the comments received, a final Notice requiring the preparation and implementation of pollution prevention plans will be published in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

More information on pollution prevention planning can be found in the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Pollution Prevention Planning Provisions of Part 4 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Substance found on Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 to be included in the Notice:

Mercury (CAS# 7439-97-6)

1. Definitions

The definitions in this section apply to this Notice.

  • “Act” means the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
  • “Vehicle manufacturer” means a person who assembles or alters any vehicle before its sale to the first retail purchaser.
  • “Vehicle dismantler” means a person who dismantles 10 or more end-of-life vehicles in a calendar year for the purpose of resale of any of their parts or the recycling of the steel in the vehicle.
  • “Plan” means a pollution prevention plan.
  • “Capture rate” means the number of mercury switches annually removed, collected, and recovered that is expressed as a percentage of the total number of mercury switches available for removal from end-of-life vehicles dismantled by vehicle dismantlers.
  • “Electric Arc Furnace” means a stationary electric arc furnace into which end-of-life vehicles or sources of iron are fed and which melts and refines the vehicles or sources of iron to produce steel.
  • “End-of-life vehicle” means a vehicle that is acquired by a vehicle dismantler for the purposes of dismantling or recycling.
  • “Mercury-containing component” means any component that is installed in a vehicle and that contained mercury at the time of the component's manufacture or that has had mercury added to it.
  • “Mercury switch” means any mercury containing switch installed in a vehicle by a vehicle manufacturer, importer or domestic distributor, and includes switches in lighting and anti-lock braking systems.

2. Person or class of persons required to prepare and implement a pollution prevention plan

  1. This Notice applies to any person or class of persons who, at any time since January 1, 1994,
    • Is or has been an importer or domestic distributor of vehicles that contain mercury switches, or
    • is or has been a vehicle manufacturer that installs mercury switches in their vehicles and applies to all successors or assigns of that person or those persons.


    The person or class of persons includes:

    DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc.
    One Riverside Drive West
    Windsor, Ontario
    N9A 5K3

    Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited
    Canadian Headquarters Building
    The Canadian Road
    Oakville, Ontario
    L6J 5C7

    General Motors of Canada Limited
    1908 Colonel Sam Drive
    Oshawa, Ontario
    L1H 8P7

  2. This Notice also applies to any person or class of persons who owns or operates an Electric Arc Furnace, and to all successors or assigns of that person or those persons. The person or class of persons includes:

    Algoma Steel Inc.
    105 West Street
    Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
    P6A 7B4

    Dofasco Inc.
    P.O. Box 2460
    1330 Burlington Street East
    Hamilton, Ontario
    L8N 3J5

    Gerdau Ameristeel Whitby
    1801 Hopkins Street South
    Whitby, Ontario
    L1N 5T1

    Gerdau Ameristeel Manitoba
    Lot 6 Plan 3527, PTH No. 9A
    St. Andrews, MB
    R1A 4B3

    Gerdau Ameristeel Cambridge Mill
    160 Orion Place
    Cambridge, Ontario
    N1T 1R9

    Gerdau Ameristeel Manitoba Metals
    River Lot 19/20 Plan 3405 -- W of CPR 380
    St. Andrews, MB
    R1A 4E6

    IPSCO Inc.
    Regina Plant Site
    100 Armour Road
    Regina, Saskatchewan
    S4P 3C7

    Ivaco Inc.
    1040 County Road 17
    P.O. Box 322
    L'Orignal, ON
    K0B 1K0

    Mittal Canada Inc.
    Acierie
    3900, rue route des Aciéries
    Contrecoeur, Québec
    J0L 1C0

    QIT-Fer at Titane Inc.
    1625, route Marie-Victorin
    Tracy, Québec
    J3R 1M6

    Stelco Inc.
    386 Wilcox Street
    Hamilton, Ontario
    L8N 3T1

3. Activities in relation to which the plan is to be prepared

  1. Each person identified in section 2(1) of the Notice must prepare and implement a pollution prevention plan
    • to achieve the removal and management of mercury-switches from end-of-life vehicles in accordance with federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal requirements and,
    • to eliminate the use of mercury-containing components, including mercury switches, in new vehicles.
  2. Each person identified in section 2(2) of the Notice must prepare and implement a pollution prevention plan
    • to achieve the removal and management of mercury-switches from end-of-life vehicles in accordance with federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal requirements and,
    • to eliminate mercury from other sources of iron processed in an Electric Arc Furnace.

4. Factors to consider in preparing the plan

The Minister requires all persons identified in section 2 of the Notice to consider the following factors when preparing their pollution prevention plan:

  1. The risk management objective is twofold
    • to reduce releases of mercury to the environment and
    • to achieve, in respect of vehicles manufactured, imported or domestically distributed since January 1, 1994, a Capture rate of 50%, 75%, and 95% by 24, 36, and 48 months respectively from the date of publication of the Final Notice.
  2. Mercury is on Schedule 1 of the Act and therefore it has been determined by the Government of Canada that it is toxic.
  3. In order to achieve the risk management objective set out in subsection 4(1), the persons identified in section 2 of the Notice shall consider the following activities when preparing and implementing their pollution prevention plans:

    • Establishing and implementing a program to remove, collect or recover mercury-containing switches, or participating in an existing program that is based on either of the two models described in sections 3 and 4 of the document Switch Out: Canada, Options for a National Program for the Responsible Recovery of Automotive Mercury Switches to Provide a Framework for Assessing Options in the Design and Delivery of a National Switch Collection, 2005 that is available at http://www.ec.gc.ca/mercury.
    • In addition to the activities to be considered in section 4(3)(a) of the Notice, each person identified in section 2(1) of the Notice is to:
      • exercise all reasonable measures so that new vehicles do not contain any mercury-containing components, including mercury switches
      • develop for and distribute to vehicle dismantlers written material to identify the location of mercury-containing components and mercury-containing switches in vehicles manufactured, imported or domestically distributed after January 1, 1994, to explain how to remove, collect and recover the components and switches and how to handle the components and switches once they have been removed, collected or recovered from the vehicles.
    • In addition to the activities to be considered in section 4(3)(a) of the Notice, each person identified in section 2(2) of the Notice is to:
      • reduce mercury releases to the atmosphere by 95% from the baseline data from the base year levels by no later than 48 months after the date of publication of final Notice in the Canada Gazette.
      • eliminate the use of end-of-life vehicles and sources of iron that contain mercury-containing components and/or mercury switches, in Electric Arc Furnaces.

The base year is 2003, or the first calendar year after 2003 where the person became subject to the notice for the activity outlined in section 2 of the Notice. Should there be no data for the 2003 calendar year, the first year after 2003 for which there is data should be considered as the base year.

  1. Pollution prevention planning is a means of addressing the release to the environment of toxic substances or other pollutants. In preparing a pollution prevention plan, a person subject to the final Notice is to give priority to pollution prevention activities. “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”.
  2. The Minister will evaluate the effectiveness of this Notice with respect to the risk management objective set out in subsection 4(1) of the Notice, in order to determine if other steps or programs, including regulations, are needed to further prevent or reduce negative impacts of mercury from end-of-life vehicles and Electric Arc Furnaces on the environment and human health.

5. Period within which the plan is to be prepared

  1. For a person subject to the final Notice on the date of publication in the Canada Gazette, the Minister requires that the plan be prepared and implementation initiated no later than 6 months from the date of publication of the final Notice.
  2. For a person becoming subject to the final Notice after the date of publication in the Canada Gazette, the Minister requires that the plan be prepared and implementation initiated no later than 6 months from becoming subject to the final Notice.

6. Period within which the plan is to be implemented

  1. For a person subject to the final Notice on the date of publication in the Canada Gazette, the Minister requires that the plan be fully implemented no later than 4 years from the date of publication of the final Notice.
  2. For a person becoming subject to the final Notice after the date of publication in the Canada Gazette, the Minister requires that the plan be fully implemented no later than 4 years of becoming subject to the final Notice.

7. Content of plan

Persons identified in section 2 of the Notice are to determine the appropriate content of their own plan; however, the plan must meet all requirements of the final Notice. The plan must also contain the information required to file the Declaration of Preparation referred to in section 9 of the Notice and have the capacity to generate the information required to file the Declaration of Implementation referred to in section 10 of the Notice and the Interim Progress Report referred to in section 12 of the Notice.

8. Requirement to keep plan

Under section 59 of the Act, persons identified in section 2 of the Notice must keep a copy of the plan at the place in Canada in relation to which the plan is prepared.

9. Declaration of Preparation

Under subsection 58(1) of the Act, persons identified in section 2 of this Notice shall file to the Minister, within 30 days after the end of the period for the preparation of the plan specified in section 5 or extended under section 14, a written Declaration that a Pollution Prevention Plan Has Been Prepared and Is Being Implemented in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1,1994, that the Minister provides and that contains the information set out in Schedule 1 of the final Notice.

10. Declaration of Implementation

Under subsection 58(2) of the Act, persons identified in section 2 of the Notice shall file to the Minister, within 30 days after the completion of the implementation of the plan, a written Declaration that a Pollution Prevention Plan Has Been Implemented in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1,1994, that the Minister provides and that contains the information set out in Schedule 5 of the Final Notice. The Plan must be implemented no later than the deadline specified in section 6 of the Notice or extended under section 14 of the Notice.

11. Filing of amended Declarations

Where a person has filed a Declaration of Preparation or Implementation, referred to in sections 9 and 10 of the Notice, 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 of the Notice.

12. Interim Progress Reports

Persons identified in section 2 of the Notice shall file to the Minister, on or before each of the dates below, a written Interim Progress Report in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1, 1994, that contains the information set out in Schedule 4 of the final Notice. If a Declaration of Implementation is submitted before an Interim Progress Report is due, the requirement to submit the Interim Progress Report is nullified.

  1. For a person subject to the Notice on the date of publication in the Canada Gazette,
    • Interim Progress Report No.1 -- deadline: 25 months after the date of publication of the Final Notice in the Canada Gazette;
    • Interim Progress Report No.2 -- deadline: 37 months after the date of publication of the Final Notice in the Canada Gazette.
  2. For a person becoming subject to the Notice after the date of publication in the Canada Gazette,
    • Interim Progress Report No.1 -- deadline: 25 months after becoming subject to the Notice;
    • Interim Progress Report No.2 -- deadline: 37 months after becoming subject to the Notice.

13. Use of a plan prepared or implemented for another purpose

Under subsection 57(1) of the Act, a person may use a Plan prepared or implemented for another purpose to satisfy the requirements of sections 2 to 8 of the final Notice. Under subsection 57(2) of the Act, where a person uses a plan that does not meet all the requirements of the final 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 of the Notice, a Declaration of Implementation under section 10 of the Notice, and any amended Declarations under section 11 of the Notice, where applicable and any Interim Progress Reports required under section 12 of the Notice.

14. 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 of the Notice or to implement the plan as specified in section 6 of the Notice, the Minister may extend the period for a person who submits a written Request for Time Extension for Preparation or Implementation of a Pollution Prevention Plan in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1,1994, that contains the information set out in Schedule 3 of the final Notice before the expiry of the date referred to in the applicable section 5 or section 6 of the Notice or before the expiry of any extended period.

15. 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 neither reasonable or practicable to consider a factor on the basis of reasons provided by that person when submitting a written Request for Waiver of the Requirement to Consider a Factor or Factors for Preparation of a Pollution Prevention Plan in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1, 1994. The written request must contain the information set out in Schedule 2 of the final Notice. Such a request must be made before the expiry of the period within which the plan is to be prepared as referred to in section 5 of the Notice or before the expiry of any extended period.

16. More information on pollution prevention planning

Additional information and guidance on preparing pollution prevention plans may be obtained from the National Office of Pollution Prevention web site (http://www.ec.gc.ca/NOPP/P2P/en/P2plan.cfm), the Pollution Prevention Planning web site (http://www.ec.gc.ca/cepap2), the Canadian Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (http://www.ec.gc.ca/cppic), the CEPA Registry (http://www.ec.gc.ca/CEPARegistry/plans/P2/) and Environment Canada's regional offices.

17. Reference Code: P2HG

For administrative purposes, all communication with Environment Canada concerning this Notice should refer to the following reference code: P2HG

18. Forms

Forms referred to in the final Notice (Schedules 1 to 5) are available from and are to be submitted to

National Office of Pollution Prevention
c/o Innovative Measures Section
Environment Canada
351 Saint Joseph Boulevard, 13th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0H3

Forms can also be filled out electronically at the Pollution Prevention Planning Web site at http://www.ec.gc.ca/cepap2.

A copy of the final Notice, the forms (Schedules 1 to 5) and the Instructions for completing the forms are available from the National Office of Pollution Prevention Web site at www.ec.gc.ca/NOPP/P2P/en/P2notices.cfm, or can be requested by telephone at (819) 994-0186, by facsimile at (819) 953-7970, or by electronic mail at CEPAP2Plans@ec.gc.ca.

The Minister of the Environment intends to publish, in part, the information submitted in response to this Notice on Environment Canada's Pollution Prevention Planning web site. Persons submitting information to the Minister are entitled to submit written request under section 313 of the Act that information be treated as confidential. Persons submitting such a request must specify what information they wish treated as confidential include the reasons for that request. Refer to the Instructions referenced above for more information.

19. Environment Canada contact information

For questions about this Notice, or more information about pollution prevention planning, contact Environment Canada's regional offices:

For residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
Environmental Protection Branch -- Atlantic Region
Environment Canada
Queen Square, 16th Floor
45 Alderney Drive
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2Y 2N6

For residents of Quebec
Environmental Protection Branch -- Quebec Region
Environment Canada
105 McGill Street, 4th Floor
Montréal, Quebec H2Y 2E7

For residents of Ontario
Environmental Protection Branch -- Ontario Region
Environment Canada
4905 Dufferin Street
Downsview, Ontario M3H 5T4

For residents of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut
Environmental Protection Branch -- Prairie and Northern Region
Environment Canada
4999 98th Avenue, Room 200
Edmonton, Alberta T6B 2X3

For residents of British Columbia and Yukon
Environmental Protection Branch -- Pacific and Yukon Region
Environment Canada
201-401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3S5

Included are:

Schedule 1:
Declaration That a Pollution Prevention Plan Has Been Prepared and Is Being Implemented in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1, 1994
Subsection 58(1) of CEPA 1999)

Schedule 2:
Request for Waiver of the Requirement to Consider a Factor or Factors for Preparation of a Pollution Prevention Plan in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1, 1994
(Subsection 56(5) of CEPA, 1999)

Schedule 3:
Request for Time Extension for Preparation or Implementation of a Pollution Prevention Plan in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1, 1994
(Subsection 56(3) of CEPA, 1999)

Schedule 4:
Interim Progress Report concerning the Implementation of a Pollution Prevention in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1, 1994

Schedule 5:
Declaration That a Pollution Prevention Plan Has Been Implemented in respect of Mercury Releases from Electric Arc Furnaces and from Mercury-containing components and Mercury-containing Switches in Vehicles Manufactured, Imported and Domestically Distributed since January 1, 1994
(Subsection 58(2) of CEPA 1999)