1. Administration

The administrative duties set out in the preamble of the act are binding on the Government of Canada andinclude general requirements to:

Part 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) contains the authorities that enablethe Minister to carry out the administrative dutiesthrough advisory committees such as the National Advisory Committee and the implementation ofadministrative and equivalency agreements.

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 requires the Minister of the Environment to establish a National Advisory Committee composed of one representative for each of the federal Ministers of Environment and Health, representatives from each province and territory, and not more than six representatives of Aboriginal governments drawn from across Canada.

The Committee advises the Ministers on actions taken under the sct, enables national, cooperative action, and seeks to avoid duplication in regulatory activity among governments. The Committee also serves as the single window into provincial and territorial governments and representatives of Aboriginal governments on consultations and offers to consult.

To carry out its duties in 2005-06, the National Advisory Committee participated in one face-to-face meeting, five conference calls, and ongoing correspondence among members throughout the year. Federal initiatives brought to the Committee for discussion included:

The Committee's involvement varies with the nature of the issue and its relative priority for each jurisdiction. Shown below are two examples of how the Committee's advice helped to advance policy initiatives.

The Act allows the federal government to enter into administrative agreements with provincial and territorial governments as well as Aboriginal governments. These agreements usually cover activities such as inspections, enforcement, monitoring, and reporting, with each jurisdiction retaining its legal authorities.

The Canada-Saskatchewan Administrative Agreement, which came into force in September 1994, is a work-sharing arrangement covering certain provincial legislation and seven Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 regulations, including two regulations related to the pulp and paper sector, two regulations on ozone-depleting substances, and three regulations on polychlorinated biphenyls. There were no prosecutions under these regulations in 2005-06.

In this reporting period:

The act allows the Government of Canada to enter into equivalency agreements where provincial or territorialenvironmental legislation contains provisions that are equivalent to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 provisions. The purpose of these agreements is to eliminate the duplication of environmental regulations where equivalent regulatory standards (including similar measurement and testing procedures and penalties and enforcement programs) and similar provisions for citizens to request investigations are available in provincial or territorial environmental legislation.

The federal government has the responsibility to report annually to Parliament on the administration of equivalency agreements.

In December 1994, an Agreement on the Equivalency of Federal and Alberta Regulations for the Control of Toxic Substances in Alberta came into effect. As a result of the agreement, the following Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999regulations no longer apply in Alberta:

Under the terms of the Agreement, the regulated industries in Alberta are not required to submit reports to Environment Canada. As a result, Alberta Environment identifies instances of non-compliance to Environment Canada. In 2005-06, all four pulp and paper mills complied with the chlorinated dioxins and furans emission limits set out in the regulations. There were two reports of non-compliance at one of the two vinyl chloride plants in Alberta. Alberta Environment investigated the incidents and found the company duly diligent. Currently, there are no lead smelters in Alberta, and therefore there are no compliance issues to be addressed or reported under the Secondary Lead Smelter Release Regulations.

Under subsection 9(1), the Minister of the Environment may negotiate an agreement with a government with respect to the administration of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem is an important administrative mechanism through which the governments of Canada and Ontario plan and coordinate actions to restore, protect and conserve the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem.

Pollution prevention is a key aspect of the annexes to the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem: Cleaning up the most severely degraded spots in the Great Lakes (Annex 1 - Areas of Concern); working toward virtual elimination of toxic substances on an ecosystem scale (Annex 2 - Harmful Pollutants); developing and implementing multistakeholder-endorsed plans to restore and protect each of the Great Lakes (Annex 3 - Lakewide Management); and coordinating monitoring, research and information (Annex 4 - Monitoring and Information Management). Pollution prevention actions taken in 2005-06 under Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem include the following:

Developed under the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Harmonization Accord and Sub-agreement on Environmental Standards, Canada-wide standards (CWS) are designed to provide a high level of environmental quality and consistency in environmental management across the country. While the standards are developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, the Minister of the Environment uses section 9 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, related to administrative agreements, to enter into federal commitments to meet the Canada-wide standards.

Priority substances for Canada-wide standards include mercury, dioxins and furans, benzene, particulate matter, ground-level ozone, and petroleum hydrocarbons in soil. During the reporting period, there were 12 Canada-wide standards in place addressing these six substances or groups of substances from the perspective of various sectors. The Ministers have committed to being accountable to the public and each other by developing implementation plans to achieve the targets set out in the standards. More information on the status of the Canada-wide standards can be found on the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Web site.

1.4.2.1 Dioxins and furans

In preparation for the 2006 review of the Canada-wide standards for dioxins and furans, Environment Canada, along with the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, conducted a scoping analysis for the review. This analysis examined the status of sectoral emissions, researched developments in alternative technologies, and assessed the feasibility of implementing any new technologies identified for controlling emissions from waste incineration, coastal pulp and paper boilers, iron sintering, and electric arc furnaces used in steel manufacturing. The outcome of this exercise was a recommendation that waste incineration was the only sector for which the Canada-wide Standards for dioxins and furans were in need of review. A Waste Incineration Working Group was formed to review the Canada-wide Standards starting in fiscal year 2006-07. In 2005-06, this group updated the inventory of incinerators owned, operated or managed by federal departments and agencies. Further, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment commissioned a report titled Dioxins and Furans Canada-wide Standards: Emission Inventory Update and Review of Technical Pollution Prevention Options. This report provides an update on the status of facilities in the incineration, coastal pulp and paper, iron sintering and electric arc furnace sectors with respect to achievement of their relevant Canada-wide Standards for dioxins and furans, and assesses the potential for the deployment of new control technologies or production processes.

1.4.2.2 Mercury

Canada-wide Standards were endorsed for mercury emissions (base-metal smelting and waste incineration) in 2000 and for mercury-containing lamps and dental amalgam waste in 2001. Timelines for achieving the Canada-wide Standards targets are 2008 (base-metal smelting), 2003-06 (waste incineration), 2010 (mercury-containing lamps), 2005 (dental amalgam waste) and 2010 (coal-fired electric power generation plants).

For mercury-containing lamps, industry has voluntarily surpassed the target of a 70% reduction by 2005 (currently at 73.5%) and is expected to achieve the 80% reduction target by 2010. As a complementary activity to the Canada-wide Standards, Environment Canada is working with federal departments to encourage life cycle management of mercury-containing products, particularly fluorescent lamps. A guidance manual for federal facilities has been developed and promotion is under way.

For dental amalgam waste, which may be discharged to municipal wastewater systems, the primary tool for national implementation is the Memorandum of Understanding between Environment Canada and the Canadian Dental Association. Collaborative work was undertaken with the Canadian Dental Association and jurisdictions in 2004 and 2005 to promote attainment of the Canada-wide Standard by December 31, 2005. The evaluation of the outcomes of the Canada-wide Standards and the Memorandum of Understanding are ongoing and will be reported on in the 2006-07 Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 Annual Report.

Through Environmental Technology Verification Canada, a new procedure was developed to test equipment that removes mercury from dental amalgam waste prior to its discharge to sewer systems. This Canadian method is equivalent to the ISO 11143 method currently available in Europe.

Since 1997, the Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement, under a licensing agreement with Environment Canada, has been delivering Canada's Environmental Technology Verification program. The Environmental Technology Verification program is a voluntary initiative that promotes the commercialization of new environmental technologies through independent third-party verification of the technology proponent's performance claims. These verifications assure clients and users of high technical credibility and performance standards.

As for waste incineration, Environment Canada is working with federal departments that own and/or operate non-hazardous waste incinerators to ensure achievement of the targets in the Canada-wide standards. Efforts to reduce mercury emissions will be implemented through the adoption of the Mercury-containing Product Stewardship Manual for Federal Facilities. Information is currently being gathered on mercury emissions at federally owned hazardous waste incineration facilities. This includes verification of federally owned hazardous waste incinerators and the collection of information pertaining to mercury emissions.

For base-metal smelting, Environment Canada is working through the Base Metals Environmental Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group to monitor progress towards achievement of the standard. Work indicates that all facilities, with the exception of one, are meeting the Canada-wide standards. In addition, on September 25, 2004, a Proposed Notice Requiring the Preparation and Implementation of Pollution Prevention Plans in respect to Specified Toxic Substances Released from Base Metals Smelters and Refineries and Zinc Plants was published. A draft Environmental Code of Practice for Base Metals Smelters and Refineries, dated June 2004, was also published. Both include the Canada-wide standards for mercury emissions among the factors to consider. Work to finalize this Notice proceeded through 2005-06, as described in Section 4.1 of this report, and publication of the Final Notice, including reference to this Canada-wide standard in Part I of the Canada Gazette, was expected for April 2006.

Mercury and the environment

Along with the governments of the provincial and territorial jurisdictions, Environment Canada endorsed the Canada-wide Standards for mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants in 2006. The Canada-wide standards are set to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 45% relative to 2003.

1.4.2.3 Particulate matter and ozone

Under the agreement on particulate matter and ozone, the federal government was responsible for developing an implementation plan which, among other things, would contribute to:

In 2005-06, Health Canada initiated the development of new assessments for particulate matter and ozone to meet the requirements of the Canada-wide Standards to review the numerical standards by 2010. The first draft of these assessments will be completed by June 2007, and the final assessments are scheduled for completion by March 2008. Environment Canada continued its work developing Environmental Codes of Practice for steel manufacturing facilities and finalizing the Pollution Prevention Planning Notice for the base metals smelting sector, as detailed in Section 4.1. These initiatives include a variety of measures addressing the control of emissions of particulate matter, ozone and their precursors from these sectors.

The Burn It Smart campaign has been used in different venues (e.g. workshops, expos, fairs, magazines) to educate Canadians on good wood burning practices. A Model Municipal By-Law to regulate wood burning appliances is under development with the contribution of a stakeholder group. Environment Canada collaborates with the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment in its wood heating emission reduction initiative.

1.4.2.4 Petroleum hydrocarbons

The Canada-wide standard for petroleum hydrocarbons in soil (PDF 38kB) is currently undergoing its first five-year review. Information regarding the implementation of the Canada-wide Standards continues to be collected in anticipation of the next requirement to report to Ministers in 2008. It is expected that there will have been an increase in the application of the Canada-wide standards during the assessment or remediation of sites with petroleum hydrocarbon contamination, beyond the 50% estimated for 2003-04.

Environment Canada recognizes the key role that provinces and territories play in the management of wastewater and is working with these jurisdictions and other stakeholders through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. In November 2003, the the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment agreed to develop a Canada-wide Standard for the management of municipal wastewater effluents (PDF 174kB). The strategy, to be completed in 2007, will include:

Environment Canada intends to develop a regulation under the Fisheries Act as its principal instrument to contribute to the implementation of the Canada-wide standards. The applied in a fair, consistent and predictable manner and regulation will include national standards and be applied to ensure that the release of wastewater effluent poses in a harmonized regulatory framework with the provinces no unacceptable risks to human and ecosystem health or and territories. The desired outcomes are a set of standards fisheries resources.

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