Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations

15 (1) If an effluent sample is determined to be acutely lethal by an acute lethality test, the owner or operator of a mine shall

• (a) without delay,

  • (i) conduct the effluent characterization set out in subsection 4(1) of Schedule 5 on the aliquot of each grab sample collected under subsection 14(1),

  • (ii) record the concentration of total ammonia and, using that concentration and using the temperature and pH recorded under paragraph 14(3)(b), determine the concentration of un-ionized ammonia in accordance with the formula set out in subsection 12(4), and

  • (iii) record the concentrations of the deleterious substances prescribed in section 3;

• (b) collect a grab sample twice a month from the final discharge point from which the effluent sample determined to be acutely lethal was collected, record the temperature and the pH of each sample at the time of its collection and, without delay, conduct the acute lethality test that determined the effluent sample to be acutely lethal on each grab sample in accordance with the procedure set out in section 6 of the applicable reference method and, if the sample is determined to be acutely lethal, without delay,

  • (i) conduct the effluent characterization set out in subsection 4(1) of Schedule 5 on the aliquot of each grab sample,

  • (ii) record the concentration of total ammonia and, using that concentration and using the temperature and pH recorded under this paragraph, determine the concentration of un-ionized ammonia in accordance with the formula set out in subsection 12(4), and

  • (iii) record the concentrations of the deleterious substances prescribed in section 3; and

• (c) collect the grab samples not less than seven days apart.

(2) The owner or operator may resume sampling and testing at the frequency prescribed in section 14 if the effluent is determined not to be acutely lethal in three consecutive tests conducted under paragraph (1)(b).