Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations

1 (1) The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

Act

Act means the Fisheries Act. (Loi)

acute lethality test

acute lethality test means the test to determine the acute lethality of effluent to rainbow trout as set out in Reference Method EPS 1/RM/13. (essai de détermination de la létalité aiguë)

acutely lethal effluent

acutely lethal effluent means an effluent at 100% concentration that kills more than 50% of the rainbow trout subjected to it over a 96-hour period when tested in accordance with the acute lethality test. (effluent à létalité aiguë)

authorization officer

authorization officer means the holder of the title that is set out in column 2 of Schedule 1 for a province that is set out in column 1 where a mine or recognized closed mine is located. (agent d’autorisation)

commercial operation

commercial operation, in respect of a mine, means an average rate of production equal to or greater than 10% of the design-rated capacity of the mine over a period of 90 consecutive days. (exploitation commerciale)

composite sample

composite sample means

• (a) a quantity of effluent consisting of not less than three equal volumes or three volumes proportionate to flow that have been collected at approximately equal time intervals over a sampling period of not less than seven hours and not more than 24 hours; or

• (b) a quantity of effluent collected continuously at a constant rate or at a rate proportionate to the rate of flow of the effluent over a sampling period of not less than seven hours and not more than 24 hours. (échantillon composite)

Daphnia magna monitoring test

Daphnia magna monitoring test means the test to determine the acute lethality of effluent to Daphnia magna as set out in Reference Method EPS 1/RM/14. (essai de suivi avec bioessais sur la Daphnia magna)

deleterious substance

deleterious substance means a substance prescribed under section 3 except as otherwise prescribed by these Regulations. (substance nocive)

effluent

effluent means an effluent — hydrometallurgical facility effluent, milling facility effluent, mine water effluent, tailings impoundment area effluent, treatment pond effluent, seepage and surface drainage, treatment facility effluent other than effluent from a sewage treatment facility — that contains a deleterious substance. (effluent)

final discharge point

final discharge point, in respect of an effluent, means an identifiable discharge point of a mine beyond which the operator of the mine no longer exercises control over the quality of the effluent. (point de rejet final)

grab sample

grab sample means a quantity of undiluted effluent collected at a time prescribed by these Regulations. (échantillon instantané)

hydrometallurgical facility effluent

hydrometallurgical facility effluent means effluent from the acidic leaching, solution concentration and recovery of metals by means of aqueous chemical methods, tailings slurries, and all other effluents deposited from a hydrometallurgical facility. (effluent d’installations d’hydrométallurgie)

hydrometallurgy

hydrometallurgy means the production of a metal by means of aqueous chemical methods for acidic leaching, solution concentration and recovery of metals from metal-bearing minerals other than metal-bearing minerals that have been thermally pre-treated or blended with metal-bearing minerals that have been thermally pre-treated. (hydrométallurgie)

milling

milling means any of the following activities for the purpose of producing a metal or metal concentrate:

• (a) crushing or grinding ore; or

• (b) processing uranium ore or uranium enriched solution. (préparation du minerai)

milling facility effluent

milling facility effluent means tailing slurries, heap leaching effluent, solution mining effluent and all other effluent deposited from a milling facility. (effluent d’installations de préparation du minerai)

mine

mine means hydrometallurgical, milling, or mining facilities that are designed or used to produce a metal, a metal concentrate or an ore from which a metal or metal concentrate may be produced or any facilities, including smelters, pelletizing plants, sintering plants, refineries and acid plants, where any effluent from the facility is combined with the effluent from hydrometallurgy, milling or mining. (mine)

mine under development

mine under development means a mine where the construction of an open pit or underground mine has started. (mine en développement)

mine water effluent

mine water effluent means, in respect of mining activities, water that is pumped from or flows out of any underground works, solution chambers or open pits. (effluent d’eau de mine)

monthly mean concentration

monthly mean concentration means the average value of the concentrations measured in all composite or grab samples collected from each final discharge point during each month when a deleterious substance is deposited. (concentration moyenne mensuelle)

new mine

new mine means a mine that begins commercial operation on or after the date of registration of these Regulations. (nouvelle mine)

operations area

operations area means all the land and works that are used or have been used in conjunction with a hydrometallurgical, milling or mining activity, including

• (a) open pits, underground mines, heap leaching areas, solution mines, buildings, ore storage areas and waste rock dumps;

• (b) tailings impoundment areas, lagoons and treatment ponds; and

• (c) cleared or disturbed areas that are adjacent to the land and works that are not included in paragraph (a) or (b). (chantier)

operator

operator means the person who operates, has control or custody of or is in charge of a mine or recognized closed mine. (exploitant)

placer mining

placer mining means a mining operation that extracts minerals or metals from stream sediments by gravity or magnetic separation. (exploitation des placers)

recognized closed mine

recognized closed mine means a mine referred to in section 32 for which the owner or operator has satisfied the requirements of subsection 32(1). (mine fermée reconnue)

Reference Method EPS 1/RM/13

Reference Method EPS 1/RM/13 means Biological Test Method: Reference Method for Determining Acute Lethality of Effluents to Rainbow Trout (Reference Method EPS 1/RM/13), July 1990, published by the Department of the Environment, as amended in December 2000, and as may be further amended from time to time. (méthode de référence SPE 1/RM/13)

Reference Method EPS 1/RM/14

Reference Method EPS 1/RM/14 means Biological Test Method: Reference Method for Determining Acute Lethality of Effluents to Daphnia magna (Reference Method EPS 1/RM/14), July 1990, published by the Department of the Environment, as amended in December 2000, and as may be further amended from time to time. (méthode de référence SPE 1/RM/14)

reopened mine

reopened mine means a mine that resumes commercial operation on or after the date of registration of these Regulations. (mine remise en exploitation)

surface drainage

surface drainage means all surface run-off contaminated by a deleterious substance as a result of flowing over, through or out of an operations area. (eau de drainage superficiel)

tailings impoundment area

tailings impoundment area[Repealed, SOR/2006-239, s. 1]

total suspended solids

total suspended solids means all solid matter that is retained on a 1.5 micron pore filter paper when the effluent is tested in compliance with the analytical requirements set out in Schedule 3. (total des solides en suspension)

transitional authorization

transitional authorization means a temporary authorization issued by an authorization officer in accordance with section 35. (autorisation transitoire)

(2) Where the word “mine” is used in sections 2 to 39, it includes a mine, a mine under development, a new mine and a reopened mine but does not refer to a recognized closed mine.