Proposed amendments for environmental emergency.

The Environmental Emergency (E2) Regulations came into force under the authorities of section 200 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999 on November 18, 2003. These regulations require the development and implementation of environmental emergency plans for 174 substances with associated thresholds that, if released to the environment as a result of an environmental emergency, may harm human health or environmental quality. Thirty-four new substances are being recommended for addition to the regulations at this time.

CEPA 1999 provides instruments to protect the environment and human health. The preparation of environmental emergency plans can be required for substances that have been assessed to be "toxic" under section 64 of CEPA 1999 and are on the "List of Toxic Substances" or are recoinmended for addition to that list as outlined under section 199 of Part 8. Section 200 of CEPA 1999 allows substances to be added to the E2 regulations even if they are not labelled as a "CEPA-toxic." As of December 27, 2006, Schedule 1 has some 85 substances.

This set of amendments has addressed which of the substances on Schedule 1 require environmental emergency plans. Although Schedule 1 substances are continually being added, this set of amendments has brought to closure many of the substances that had been on Schedule 1 since the 1990s. Because the current regulations did not take into account possible effects to the environment, these amendments have included environmental thresholds. The current regulations will be reassessed for their potential to cause damage to the environment at a later time.

Most of the substances assessed are found on Schedule 1, but belong to classes of substances. For example, sulphur hexafluoride is within the class of substances called, "Inorganic Fluorides." Of the 65 substances originally listed on Schedule 1, there are actually 97 reports because the classes of substances can have many compounds. Three of the substances, namely styrene, acetic acid and ammonium nitrate, were never on Schedule 1. Industry considered them to be chemicals of concern and requested they be added to these amendments. This illustrates that industry is aware of the potential hazards of catastrophic spills of certain substances and is demonstrating a proactive approach to protecting their employees and the population at large.

Some of the 65 substances and classes of substances listed were rejected because they were regulated under another Act of parliament. Others were not accepted for E2 plans due to the fact that they were by-products or contaminants and were not stored. A few did not require E2 plans because they were being phased out and were no longer allowed to be manufactured. For others, P2 plans were more applicable than E2 plans. A total of 34 remaining substances were assigned threshold quantities and are being proposed for addition.

The current list of regulated substances

The E2 regulations currently bave 174 substances and their associated thresholds in the Canada Gazette Part II notice registered August 20, 2003. These substances bave been divided into two categories: Part I (flammable substances); and Part II (other hazardous substances).

The proposed list of substances

There have been 97 reports written on these substances or classes of substances that are available on request. The proposed amendments and the new substances being proposed for addition to the E2 regulations can be found at www.ec.gc.ca/CEPARegistry/Regulations/under the title "Environmental Emergency."

Although 34 substances are being proposed for addition to the E2 Regulations, the list is not final since negotiations are still underway. The list may be modified before it is published in Canada Gazette Part II.

Environment Canada has created environmental threshold quantifies in order to fulfill the requirements of CEPA, which is to protect humans and the environment. Since the current regulations did not take into consideration environmental thresholds, the amendments will provide considerations for potential spills to the environment. At some point in the future, all of the current substances will be re-examined to determine their possible impact on the environment in the event of a spill.

The proposed regulations were published in Canada Gazette Part I on June 9, 2007, and are expected to be published in Canada Gazette Part II for the spring of 2008. Unanticipated changes to the amendments may occur as the amendments have not formally been accepted or reviewed by the public at large.

The Canada Gazette is also available free of charge at http://canadagazette. gc.ca. For additional information contact CEPAE2@ec.gc.ca.

Kimberly Hradecky, MCIC, and Kerry Ketcheson, Environment Canada