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Meat and Poultry Products Plant Liquid Effluent Regulations (C.R.C., c. 818)

Regulations are current to 2024-03-06

Meat and Poultry Products Plant Liquid Effluent Regulations

C.R.C., c. 818

FISHERIES ACT

Regulations Respecting Deleterious Substances in Liquid Effluents from Meat and Poultry Products Plants

Short Title

 These Regulations may be cited as the Meat and Poultry Products Plant Liquid Effluent Regulations.

Interpretation

  •  (1) In these Regulations,

    Act

    Act means the Fisheries Act; (Loi)

    ammonia nitrogen

    ammonia nitrogen means the nitrogen in ammonia that results from the operation of a plant and that is contained in the effluent from that plant; (azote ammoniacal)

    biochemical oxygen demanding matter

    biochemical oxygen demanding matter means the substance contained in the effluent from a plant that results from the operation of a plant and that will exert a biochemical oxygen demand; (matière ayant une demande biochimique en oxygène)

    composite sample

    composite sample means a sample obtained in accordance with section 7; (échantillon composite)

    deposit

    deposit means to deposit or to permit the deposit into water frequented by fish; (rejeter)

    effluent

    effluent means all wastewaters deposited by a plant and includes process water, wash water, tank drainage, storm water and wastes from water and wastewater treatment facilities, but does not include

    • (a) storm water that is protected from contamination by a deleterious substance prescribed by section 4 originating from the plant, where the average concentration of biochemical oxygen demanding matter in at least 3 samples of the storm water, taken at intervals of 15 minutes, does not exceed 50 mg/L, or

    • (b) wastewater from the plant that, prior to being deposited, is treated at a site outside a plant for the purpose of controlling the pH of the wastewater and removing from the wastewater the deleterious substances prescribed by section 4, in such a manner that

      • (i) the pH of the wastewater, determined in accordance with subsection 9(3), is between 6.0 and 9.0, and

      • (ii) the quantity of deleterious substances remaining in that wastewater after the treatment, when added to the quantity of deleterious substances deposited directly, does not exceed the deposit of deleterious substances authorized under section 5; (effluent)

    equivalent month

    equivalent month means a period of time equal to or greater than four weeks but not exceeding six weeks declared by the owner under subsection 12(2) or (3) for the purposes of these Regulations; (équivalent d’un mois)

    existing plant

    existing plant means a plant that commenced commercial production before March 31, 1977; (établissement existant)

    expanded plant

    expanded plant means any integrated or processing plant in which the total amount of finished product produced or any rendering plant in which the total amount of raw material processed during any year exceeds

    • (a) in the case of a plant that commenced production on or before January 1, 1971, 2.5 times the average annual amount of finished product produced or raw material processed in that plant during the five-year period from 1971 to 1975, or

    • (b) in the case of a plant that commenced production after January 1, 1971, 2.5 times the average annual amount of finished product produced or raw material processed in that plant from the date the plant commenced production to March 31, 1977; (établissement à capacité accrue)

    finished product

    finished product means the net quantity of saleable material produced by a plant; (produits finis)

    grease

    grease means the grease that results from the operation of a plant and that is contained in the effluent from that plant; (graisses)

    Minister

    Minister[Repealed, SOR/95-428, s. 1]

    new plant

    new plant means a plant that did not commence commercial production before March 31, 1977 and that commences commercial production on or after that date; (nouvel établissement)

    operating day

    operating day means a period of 24 consecutive hours or part thereof during which the plant is in operation; (jour d’exploitation)

    owner

    owner of a plant means the owner or operator or his authorized representative; (propriétaire)

    plant

    plant includes facilities intended primarily for the slaughtering, dressing, processing or edible or inedible rendering of any meat or poultry products and associated livestock holding and receiving facilities and truck washing areas but does not include facilities

    • (a) where only edible oils are produced,

    • (b) where only hides are processed, or

    • (c) where no slaughtering is performed and the entire finished product is retailed to the public on the premises; (établissement)

    poultry integrated plant

    poultry integrated plant includes any plant that slaughters and dresses poultry; (abattoir de volailles)

    processing plant

    processing plant includes any plant that is not an integrated plant and that performs operations subsequent to slaughtering and dressing but does not include rendering plants; (établissement de préparation)

    raw material

    raw material means the material that is received at a rendering plant for processing and used to produce a finished product and includes blood, bones, fat, grease, offal, feathers and waste meat and poultry products; (matières premières)

    red meat integrated plant

    red meat integrated plant includes any plant that slaughters and dresses meat other than poultry; (abattoir de bétail)

    rendering plant

    rendering plant includes any plant that performs operations solely for the purpose of edible or inedible rendering of meat or poultry products, with or without oil refining; (fondoir)

    saleable material

    saleable material includes dressed carcasses, processed meats, inedible offal, hides and rendered or renderable products that are produced by a plant; (produit vendable)

    slaughtering day

    slaughtering day means a period of 24 consecutive hours or part thereof during which slaughtering takes place; (jour d’abattage)

    storm water

    storm water means water run-off that results from precipitation of any kind that falls on a plant or that passes over or through the plant; (eaux pluviales)

    total suspended matter

    total suspended matter means the non-filterable residue that results from the operation of a plant, that is contained in the effluent from that plant. (matières totales en suspension)

  • (2) and (3) [Repealed, SOR/95-428, s. 1]

  • SOR/95-428, s. 1

Application

  •  (1) Subject to subsection (2), these Regulations apply to every new plant and every expanded plant.

  • (2) Where a plant becomes an expanded plant, these Regulations apply to the expanded plant on the first day of the month following the month in which the plant became an expanded plant.

Substances Prescribed as Deleterious Substances

 For the purpose of the definition deleterious substance in subsection 34(1) of the Act, the following substances resulting from the operations of a plant to which these Regulations apply are hereby prescribed as deleterious substances:

  • (a) biochemical oxygen demanding matter;

  • (b) total suspended matter; and

  • (c) grease.

  • SOR/95-428, s. 2

Authorized Deposit of Deleterious Substances

 Subject to these Regulations, the owner of a plant of a class set out in Column I of Schedule I may deposit a deleterious substance prescribed by section 4 if

  • (a) the actual daily deposit of each deleterious substance, determined in accordance with subsection 11(1), does not exceed the authorized daily deposit of that substance for that class of plant as set out in Column III of that Schedule;

  • (b) the average daily deposit of each deleterious substance during an equivalent month, determined in accordance with subsection 11(2), does not exceed the authorized average daily deposit of that substance for that class of plant as set out in Column IV of that Schedule; and

  • (c) the pH of each composite sample of effluent, determined in accordance with subsection 9(3), is between 6.0 and 9.0.

Additional Conditions of Authorization

General

 The owner of a plant shall, for each type of effluent deposited by the plant,

  • (a) install and maintain facilities, including sampling connections and flow measuring devices, of such type as the Minister may in writing approve for sampling and analysing effluents for the purpose of enabling the Minister to determine whether the owner is complying with the limits of authorized deposits prescribed by section 5;

  • (b) take a composite sample on the regular basis prescribed by section 8;

  • (c) analyse the sample referred to in paragraph (b) in accordance with section 9;

  • (d) measure the flow in accordance with section 10;

  • (e) determine the actual and average daily deposits of each deleterious substance in accordance with section 11; and

  • (f) conduct the acute lethality test on a composite sample from a plant referred to in Column I of Schedule II at the frequency set out opposite that plant in Column II thereof.

Method of Collecting Composite Samples

  •  (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a composite sample shall be obtained by collecting effluent discharged from a plant during an operating day

    • (a) continually during a sampling period of 24 hours at a rate in proportion to the flow rate of the effluent discharged; or

    • (b) in such a manner that equal volumes of effluent are delivered into a receptacle at equal intervals not longer than one hour during a sampling period of 24 hours.

  • (2) In the case of

    • (a) a red meat integrated plant producing less than 500 tonnes of finished product annually, or

    • (b) a poultry integrated plant producing less than 2 500 tonnes of finished product annually,

    a composite sample shall be obtained by collecting effluent discharged from the plant in such a manner that a minimum of four equal volumes of effluent are delivered into a receptacle at equal intervals during a sampling period of not less than four hours during which slaughtering is performed.

  • (3) In the case of a processing plant producing less than 500 tonnes of finished product annually, a composite sample shall be obtained by collecting effluent discharged from the plant in such a manner that a minimum of four equal volumes of effluent are delivered into a receptacle at equal intervals during a sampling period of not less than four hours during which processing is performed.

Frequency of Sampling and Analysis

 The sampling referred to in paragraph 6(b) shall be made

  • (a) once every equivalent month in the case of

    • (i) red meat integrated plants producing less than 500 tonnes of finished product annually,

    • (ii) processing plants producing less than 500 tonnes of finished product annually, and

    • (iii) poultry integrated plants producing less than 2 500 tonnes of finished product annually;

  • (b) once a week in the case of

    • (i) red meat integrated plants producing between 500 and 10 000 tonnes of finished product annually,

    • (ii) processing plants producing more than 500 tonnes of finished product annually,

    • (iii) poultry integrated plants producing between 2 500 and 7 000 tonnes of finished product annually, and

    • (iv) all rendering plants;

  • (c) twice a week in the case of

    • (i) red meat integrated plants producing more than 10 000 tonnes of finished product annually, and

    • (ii) poultry integrated plants producing more than 7 000 tonnes of finished product annually.

Analytical and Other Test Methods

  •  (1) For the purposes of paragraph 6(c), the concentration in milligrams per litre of a substance described in an item of Schedule III, in each composite sample, shall be determined using

    • (a) the test method set out in Column I and modified in Column II of that item; or

    • (b) any other method, approved in writing by the Minister, the results of which can be confirmed by the method referred to in paragraph (a).

  • (2) For the purposes of paragraph 6(c), procedures pertaining to sampling, preservation and storage of samples and prevention of interference relating to the test methods referred to in paragraph (1)(a), as outlined in the general sections of the publication Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 14th Edition (1975), published jointly by the American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and the Water Pollution Control Federation, shall be adhered to.

  • (3) For the purposes of paragraph 6(c), the pH of a composite sample shall be determined using

    • (a) the test method prescribed by section 424 of the publication referred to in subsection (2); or

    • (b) any other method, approved in writing by the Minister, the results of which can be confirmed by the method referred to in paragraph (a).

  • (4) For the purposes of paragraph 6(f), the acute lethality test shall be conducted using

    • (a) the procedure for the 96-hour acute lethality static test described in Schedule IV; or

    • (b) any other method, approved in writing by the Minister, the results of which can be confirmed by the method referred to in paragraph (a).

Flow Measurement

  •  (1) Subject to subsection (2), for the purpose of paragraph 6(d), the flow of each type of effluent deposited by a plant shall be measured and recorded continuously.

  • (2) In the case of

    • (a) a red meat integrated plant producing less than 500 tonnes of finished product annually,

    • (b) a poultry integrated plant producing less than 2 500 tonnes of finished product annually, or

    • (c) a processing plant producing less than 500 tonnes of finished product annually,

    the flow of effluent may be determined by measuring the total quantity of water taken in daily by the plant or the total quantity of effluent deposited daily by the plant if the effluent is deposited as a single flow.

Calculation of Actual Deposit

  •  (1) For the purposes of paragraph 6(e), the actual daily deposit per unit of production of each deleterious substance prescribed by section 4 shall be determined using the data obtained under subsection 9(1) and section 10 and shall be expressed

    • (a) in the case of integrated plants or processing plants, in terms of kilograms per tonne of finished product per day; and

    • (b) in the case of rendering plants, in terms of kilograms per tonne of raw material per day.

  • (2) For the purposes of paragraph 6(e), the average daily deposit per unit of production during an equivalent month of each deleterious substance prescribed by section 4 shall be determined by calculating the average of the results obtained under subsection (1) and shall be expressed in the terms set out in that subsection.

Reporting and Records

  •  (1) The owner of a plant shall, within 30 days after the end of each equivalent month, sign, date and forward to the Minister a report, in such form as the Minister may in writing approve, showing for that equivalent month

    • (a) the actual daily deposit of deleterious substances deposited by the plant on each day that samples were taken, determined and expressed in accordance with subsection 11(1);

    • (b) the average daily deposit of deleterious substances deposited by the plant, determined and expressed in accordance with subsection 11(2);

    • (c) the pH of composite samples, determined in accordance with subsection 9(3);

    • (d) the production of the plant expressed in terms of tonnes of finished product for integrated and processing plants and in terms of tonnes of raw material for rendering plants;

    • (e) the number of operating days;

    • (f) the total daily flow, in litres, of each type of effluent discharged on each day that samples were taken;

    • (g) the concentration of ammonia nitrogen for each composite sample analysed in the manner prescribed by subsection 9(1); and

    • (h) the following details of any acute lethality test conducted in accordance with subsection 9(4), namely,

      • (i) the date and time period of the composite sample collection,

      • (ii) details on refrigeration, transportation and storage of the sample,

      • (iii) the date and time the test commenced,

      • (iv) the number of dead fish observed in the test and control vessels for the exposure times outlined in the test procedure used,

      • (v) the per cent mortality of fish exposed to the toxicity test sample and to the control water at the completion of the test, and

      • (vi) any other information that the Minister may require.

  • (2) The owner of a new plant shall, before he deposits any deleterious substance prescribed by section 4, and the owner of an expanded plant shall, within 30 days of becoming subject to these Regulations, sign, date and forward to the Minister a declaration, in such form as the Minister may in writing approve,

    • (a) showing whether the plant is an integrated plant, processing plant or rendering plant;

    • (b) showing whether the plant will process red meat or poultry or both;

    • (c) showing the projected annual production of the plant; and

    • (d) declaring equivalent months for the remainder of the calendar year.

  • (3) The owner of a plant shall, within 30 days after the end of each calendar year, sign, date and forward to the Minister a declaration in such form as the Minister may in writing approve, showing the actual production of the plant for the previous year, in terms of tonnes of finished product for integrated and processing plants and tonnes of raw material for rendering plants and declaring equivalent months for the forthcoming year.

Permitted Variation in Additional Conditions

 Where the owner of a plant establishes to the satisfaction of the Minister that for scientific and technical reasons a scheme of sampling and analysis, measurement or reporting referred to in sections 7, 9, 10 and 12 other than at the regular time interval frequencies required by section 8 is sufficient to enable the Minister to determine whether the owner is complying with the limits of authorized deposits prescribed by section 5, the Minister may, in writing, permit the owner to

  • (a) take and analyse samples of each effluent in accordance with the scheme on a regular basis specified in the permit,

  • (b) measure the volume of each effluent in accordance with the scheme on a regular basis specified in the permit, or

  • (c) report to the Minister in accordance with the scheme on a regular basis specified in the permit

and sections 7 to 10 and 12 do not apply to the owner if he complies with the scheme on the regular basis specified in the permit.

SCHEDULE I(Section 5)

Authorized Deposits of Deleterious Substances

Column IColumn IIColumn IIIColumn IV
Class of PlantDeleterious SubstanceAuthorized actual daily depositAuthorized average daily deposit
Red Meat Integrated PlantBiochemical Oxygen Demanding Matter1.0 kg/tonne of finished product0.5 kg/tonne of finished product
Total Suspended Matter1.2 kg/tonne of finished product0.6 kg/tonne of finished product
Grease1.6 kg/tonne of finished product0.8 kg/tonne of finished product
Processing PlantBiochemical Oxygen Demanding Matter0.7 kg/tonne of finished product0.35 kg/tonne of finished product
Total Suspended Matter0.5 kg/tonne of finished product0.25 kg/tonne of finished product
Grease0.8 kg/tonne of finished product0.4 kg/tonne of finished product
Poultry Integrated PlantBiochemical Oxygen Demanding Matter1.4 kg/tonne of finished product0.7 kg/tonne of finished product
Total Suspended Matter1.0 kg/tonne of finished product0.5 kg/tonne of finished product
Grease1.0 kg/tonne of finished product0.5 kg/tonne of finished product
Rendering PlantBiochemical Oxygen Demanding Matter0.4 kg/tonne of raw material0.2 kg/tonne of raw material
Total Suspended Matter0.4 kg/tonne of raw material0.2 kg/tonne of raw material
Grease0.3 kg/tonne of raw material0.15 kg/tonne of raw material

SCHEDULE II(Section 6)

Frequency of Testing for Acute Lethality

Column IColumn II
Class and Size of PlantFrequency of Sampling and Testing
  • 1 
    Red meat integrated plant producing annually
  • (a) 
    Less than 500 tonnes of finished product
On one slaughtering day per calendar year
  • (b) 
    Between 500 and 10 000 tonnes of finished product
On two slaughtering days per calendar year, at intervals greater than four calendar months
  • (c) 
    Over 10 000 tonnes of finished product
On one slaughtering day during each 13 week period of the calendar year, at intervals greater than one calendar month
  • 2 
    Processing plant producing annually
  • (a) 
    Less than 500 tonnes of finished product
On one processing day per calendar year
  • (b) 
    Over 500 tonnes of finished product
On two processing days per calendar year, at intervals greater than four calendar months
  • 3 
    Poultry integrated plant producing annually
  • (a) 
    Less than 2 500 tonnes of finished product
On one slaughtering day per calendar year
  • (b) 
    Between 2 500 and 7 000 tonnes of finished product
On two slaughtering days per calendar year, at intervals greater than four calendar months
  • (c) 
    Over 7 000 tonnes of finished product
On one slaughtering day during each 13 week period of the calendar year, at intervals greater than one calendar month
  • 4 
    Rendering plant
On one processing day during each 13 week period of the calendar year, at intervals greater than one calendar month

SCHEDULE III(Section 9)

Analytical Test Methods for Determining Presence and Concentration of Deleterious Substances and Ammonia Nitrogen in Effluents

Column IColumn II
ItemSubstanceTest MethodModifications
1Biochemical Oxygen Demanding Matter (BOD)APHAFootnote for Analytical Test Methods for Determining Presence and Concentration of Deleterious Substances and Ammonia Nitrogen in Effluents* Section 507For determining dissolved oxygen the following tests are recommended:
Section 422B APHAFootnote for Analytical Test Methods for Determining Presence and Concentration of Deleterious Substances and Ammonia Nitrogen in Effluents* Phenylarseneoxide may be used instead of sodium thiosulphate
Section 422F APHAFootnote for Analytical Test Methods for Determining Presence and Concentration of Deleterious Substances and Ammonia Nitrogen in Effluents* The probe must be standardized against Winkler-Azide method (APHAFootnote for Analytical Test Methods for Determining Presence and Concentration of Deleterious Substances and Ammonia Nitrogen in Effluents* Section 422B)
2Total Suspended MatterAPHAFootnote for Analytical Test Methods for Determining Presence and Concentration of Deleterious Substances and Ammonia Nitrogen in Effluents* Section 208DGlass fiber filter discs 4.25, 4.7 or 5.5 cm size with 3.5 m size support screen to be used Gooch crucible filtration is not recommended
Graduated cylinder is recommended to measure the sample volume
3GreaseAPHAFootnote for Analytical Test Methods for Determining Presence and Concentration of Deleterious Substances and Ammonia Nitrogen in Effluents* Section 502CEither hexane or trichlorotrifluoroethane can be used
4Ammonia NitrogenAPHAFootnote for Analytical Test Methods for Determining Presence and Concentration of Deleterious Substances and Ammonia Nitrogen in Effluents* Section 418Where appropriate the test methods referred to in Section 418A or 418B should be used.
  • Return to footnote *Refers to the publication Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 14th Edition (1975), published jointly by the American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and the Water Pollution Control Federation.

SCHEDULE IV(Section 9)Test Procedure for 96 Hour Acute Lethality Static Test

  • 1 The applicable portions of APHAFootnote *, sections 801 and 810, shall be used as a basis for this test procedure with the following modifications:

    • Return to footnote *Refers to the publication Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 14th Edition (1975), published jointly by the American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and the Water Pollution Control Federation.

    • (a) rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri Richardson) shall be used as the standard test organism for the test procedure;

    • (b) only healthy, standardized stocks of properly acclimated rainbow trout shall be used;

    • (c) for each acute lethality test, at least 10 fish shall be exposed to a representative portion of the composite sample for a period of 96 hours and an equal number of fish shall be exposed for the same period under identical conditions to water used for holding fish stocks (control fish);

    • (d) this test is invalid if greater than 10 per cent of the control fish die;

    • (e) for each gram of fish there shall be at least 1.5 litres of fresh test sample per 96-hour test;

    • (f) the minimum water depth in any test vessel shall be 10 cm;

    • (g) the test sample shall be aerated or oxygenated with only that amount of air or oxygen required to maintain a minimum dissolved oxygen level of 8 mg/l and aeration or oxygenation shall be minimized to reduce the stripping of volatile compounds or the oxidation of acutely lethal components in the test sample. A maximum of two hours aeration of the test sample is allowed prior to the commencement of the test;

    • (h) in any test, individual fish shall weigh between 0.5 and 10 grams and the weight of the largest fish shall not be more than twice the smallest;

    • (i) the test shall be conducted at 15° ± 1° Celsius;

    • (j) the number of dead fish in the treatment and control vessels shall be recorded at 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours;

    • (k) there shall be no direct adjustment of the pH or other chemical characteristics of the test sample;

    • (l) when transportation or storage of a composite sample is necessary, special precautions shall be used to minimize degradation as follows:

      • (i) the sample shall be kept in sealed containers which are completely filled to the exclusion of all air,

      • (ii) if it is necessary for the sample to be stored more than 60 hours between collection and testing, the sample shall be brought to a temperature range of 1° to 6 °C as soon as possible after collection and maintained at this temperature range until just prior to being tested, and

      • (iii) acute lethality testing shall commence as soon as possible but in no case shall it commence later than four days after sampling.


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