Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations (SOR/2012-69)

Marginal note:Holding tanks

88 For the purposes of subsection 86(1), a holding tank must

• (a) be constructed so that it does not compromise the integrity of the hull;

• (b) be constructed of structurally sound material that prevents the tank contents from leaking;

• (c) be constructed so that the potable water system and other systems cannot become contaminated;

• (d) be resistant to corrosion by sewage;

• (e) have an adequate volume for the amount of sewage that could be reasonably expected to be produced on a voyage in waters where the discharge of sewage is not authorized by section 96;

• (f) be provided with a discharge connection and piping system for the removal of the tank contents at a reception facility;

• (g) be designed so that the level of sewage in the tank can be determined without the tank being opened and without contacting or removing any of the tank contents, or be equipped with a device that allows the determination to be made;

• (h) in the case of a vessel, other than a pleasure craft, that operates solely on the Great Lakes and their connecting waters, be equipped with an alarm that indicates when the tank is 75% full by volume; and

• (i) be equipped with a ventilation device that

  • (i) has its outlet located on the exterior of the vessel and in a safe location away from ignition sources and areas usually occupied by people,

  • (ii) prevents the build-up within the tank of pressure that could cause damage to the tank,

  • (iii) is designed to minimize clogging by the contents of the tank or by climatic conditions such as snow or ice,

  • (iv) is constructed of material that cannot be corroded by sewage, and

  • (v) has a flame screen of non-corrosive material fitted to the vent outlet.

Marginal note:Transfer conduits

• 89 (1) A person must not use a transfer conduit for the purpose of removing sewage or sewage sludge from a holding tank or a temporary means of storage on a vessel to a reception facility unless it is used, maintained and secured in a manner that minimizes risk to the marine environment from a discharge of sewage or sewage sludge.

• Marginal note:Leaks

  (2) If a transfer conduit or a connection leaks during the removal of sewage or sewage sludge from a holding tank or a temporary means of storage on a vessel to a reception facility, the vessel’s master must, as soon as feasible, ensure that the removal operation is slowed down or stopped to remove the pressure from the conduit or connection.

Marginal note:Marine sanitation devices

• 90 (1) For the purposes of subsection 86(1), a marine sanitation device must meet

  • (a) the requirements of regulation 9.1.1 of Annex IV to MARPOL for a sewage treatment plant;

  • (b) requirements substantially similar to the requirements referred to in paragraph (a) except that the standards referred to in regulation 9.1.1 include the effluent standard set out in paragraph 96(1)(b);

  • (c) the design, construction and testing requirements of Title 33, Part 159, Subpart C of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States for a Type II marine sanitation device; or

  • (d) the requirements of regulation 9.1.2 of Annex IV to MARPOL for a sewage comminuting and disinfecting system.

• Marginal note:Grandfathering

  (2) Despite subsection (1), a marine sanitation device that was approved as an approved device under the Great Lakes Sewage Pollution Prevention Regulations and continues to meet the requirements of those Regulations as they read on May 2, 2007 may continue to be used as a marine sanitation device.

SUBDIVISION 3Certificates and Inspections

Marginal note:Issuance of International Sewage Pollution Prevention Certificates

91 On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft and subject to paragraphs 16(4)(b) to (d) of the Act, the Minister must issue an International Sewage Pollution Prevention Certificate to the vessel if the applicable requirements of Annex IV to MARPOL are met.

Marginal note:Inspection

• 92 (1) If the construction, arrangement, equipment, fittings, installations or systems of a vessel that holds a certificate issued under section 91 are changed as a result of an accident, the discovery of a defect, a repair or a major conversion that affects the requirements that were met when the certificate was issued, the authorized representative of the vessel must ensure that the Minister inspects the vessel as soon as feasible to ensure that the requirements continue to be met.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of minor repairs or the direct replacement of equipment or fittings that meet the requirements of the certificate.

SUBDIVISION 4Shipboard Documents

Marginal note:Certificates

• 93 (1) Every vessel of 400 gross tonnage or more and every vessel that is certified to carry more than 15 persons must hold and keep on board

  • (a) an International Sewage Pollution Prevention Certificate in the form set out in the appendix to Annex IV to MARPOL, if the vessel

    • (i) is a Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft and does not engage only on voyages in waters under Canadian jurisdiction, or

    • (ii) is entitled to fly the flag of a foreign state that is a party to Annex IV to MARPOL; or

  • (b) a certificate of compliance certifying that the vessel meets the applicable requirements of Annex IV to MARPOL, if the vessel is entitled to fly the flag of a state that is not a party to Annex IV to MARPOL.

• Marginal note:Certificates of type approval

  (2) Every vessel that is fitted with a marine sanitation device in order to meet the requirements of subsection 86(1) must keep on board a certificate of type approval

  • (a) in the case of a device referred to in subsection 90(1), certifying that the device meets the applicable requirements referred to in that subsection; and

  • (b) in the case of a device referred to in subsection 90(2), certifying that the device was approved as an approved device under the Great Lakes Sewage Pollution Prevention Regulations and bearing the approval number.

• Marginal note:Operation and maintenance manual

  (3) Every vessel that is fitted with a marine sanitation device in order to meet the requirements of subsection 86(1) and is of 400 gross tonnage or more or certified to carry more than 15 persons must keep on board a manual that sets out the operational and maintenance procedures for the device.

• Marginal note:Sewage effluent records

  (4) Every vessel must keep on board for 12 months an English or French version of

  • (a) a record of the results of any tests required by subsection 97(2); or

  • (b) the records required by subsection 97(4).

SUBDIVISION 5Discharges of Sewage or Sewage Sludge

Marginal note:Application

94 This Subdivision does not apply in respect of

• (a) vessels in a shipping safety control zone; or

• (b) pleasure craft that are not Canadian vessels and that are in waters in the exclusive economic zone of Canada.

Marginal note:Prohibition

95 A person or vessel must not discharge sewage or sewage sludge except in accordance with section 96 or in the circumstances set out in section 5 that apply in respect of the discharge.

Marginal note:Authorized discharge

• 96 (1) For the purposes of section 95, sewage may be discharged if

  • (a) in the case of a vessel in an area other than a designated sewage area, the discharge is passed through a marine sanitation device and the effluent has a fecal coliform count that is equal to or less than 250/100 mL;

  • (b) in the case of a vessel in a designated sewage area, the discharge is passed through a marine sanitation device and the effluent has a fecal coliform count that is equal to or less than 14/100 mL;

  • (c) in the case of a vessel that is in Section I waters or Section II waters, but not in the inland waters of Canada or a designated sewage area, and that is of 400 gross tonnage or more or is certified to carry more than 15 persons,

    • (i) the discharge is made at a distance of at least 12 nautical miles from shore and, if it is made from a holding tank or from facilities for the temporary storage of sewage, at a moderate rate while the vessel is en route at a speed of at least 4 knots, or

    • (ii) the sewage is comminuted and disinfected using a marine sanitation device and the discharge is made at a distance of at least 3 nautical miles from shore;

  • (d) in the case of a Canadian vessel that is in waters that are not waters under Canadian jurisdiction, other than the Antarctic area, and that is of 400 gross tonnage or more or is certified to carry more than 15 persons,

    • (i) the discharge is made at a distance of at least 12 nautical miles from the nearest land and, if it is made from a holding tank or from facilities for the temporary storage of sewage, at a moderate rate while the vessel is en route at a speed of at least 4 knots, or

    • (ii) the sewage is comminuted and disinfected using a marine sanitation device and the discharge is made at a distance of at least 3 nautical miles from the nearest land; or

  • (e) in the case of a vessel that is in Section I waters or Section II waters but not in the inland waters of Canada or a designated sewage area, and that is of less than 400 gross tonnage and is not certified to carry more than 15 persons,

    • (i) the sewage is comminuted and disinfected using a marine sanitation device and the discharge is made at a distance of at least 1 nautical mile from shore,

    • (ii) the discharge is made at a distance of at least 3 nautical miles from shore while the vessel is en route at the fastest feasible speed, or

    • (iii) if it is not feasible to meet the requirements of subparagraph (ii) because the vessel is located in waters that are less than 6 nautical miles from shore to shore, the discharge is made while the vessel is en route at a speed of at least 4 knots or, if the discharge is not feasible at that speed, the discharge is made

      • (A) during an ebb tide, while the vessel is en route at the fastest feasible speed and into the deepest waters that are located the farthest from shore, or

      • (B) while the vessel is en route at the fastest feasible speed and into the deepest and fastest moving waters that are located the farthest from shore.

• Marginal note:Paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) and subparagraphs (1)(c)(ii), (d)(ii) and (e)(i)

  (2) In addition to the circumstances set out in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) and subparagraphs (1)(c)(ii), (d)(ii) and (e)(i), the sewage may be discharged only if it does not contain any visible solids and the discharge does not cause

  • (a) a film or sheen to develop on the water;

  • (b) a discoloration of the water or its shorelines; or

  • (c) sewage sludge or an emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or on its shorelines.

• Marginal note:Subparagraphs (1)(c)(i), (d)(i) and (e)(ii) and (iii)

  (3) In addition to the circumstances set out in subparagraphs (1)(c)(i), (d)(i) and (e)(ii) and (iii), the sewage may be discharged only if the discharge does not cause visible solids to be deposited on the shoreline.

• Marginal note:Subparagraph (1)(e)(iii)

  (4) Subparagraph (1)(e)(iii) does not apply if a reception facility that can receive the sewage in an environmentally safe manner is available to receive it.

• Marginal note:Definition of moderate rate

  (5) In this section, moderate rate means a rate that on average over any 24-hour or shorter period of discharge is not greater than the maximum permissible discharge rate calculated in accordance with section 3.1 of the Annex to the Recommendation on Standards for the Rate of Discharge of Untreated Sewage from Ships, IMO Resolution MEPC.157(55), and that over any hourly period is not more than 20% greater than that rate.

SUBDIVISION 6Operational Testing

Marginal note:Interpretation

• 97 (1) The following definitions apply in this section.

  biochemical oxygen demand

  biochemical oxygen demand means the quantity of oxygen determined to be used in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter during a five-day period when the organic matter is tested in accordance with the method described in section 5210 B of the Standard Methods. (demande biochimique en oxygène)

  suspended solids

  suspended solids means the total suspended solid matter determined to be in or on a liquid when it is tested in accordance with the method described in section 2540 D of the Standard Methods. (matières solides en suspension)

• Marginal note:Testing of effluent

  (2) The authorized representative of a vessel that discharges effluent from a marine sanitation device into Section I waters must, if the Minister determines that it is necessary to do so in order to ascertain whether the effluent meets the specifications on the device’s certificate of type approval, ensure that samples of the effluent are tested in accordance with the Standard Methods to determine each of the following that is relevant to those specifications:

  • (a) the fecal coliform count of the samples;

  • (b) the total suspended solids content of the samples;

  • (c) the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand of the samples; and

  • (d) in the case of chlorine used as a disinfectant, the total residual chlorine content of the samples.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the marine sanitation device is fitted with instrumentation that meets the requirements of subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Automatic continuous record

  (4) The instrumentation referred to in subsection (3) must indicate the performance of the device by providing an automatic continuous record while the device is in operation of

  • (a) the suspended matter;

  • (b) the residual disinfectant content, in the case of disinfection by chlorine; and

  • (c) the disinfection efficiency, in the case of disinfection by any other method.

DIVISION 5Garbage

SUBDIVISION 1General

Marginal note:Interpretation

98 The following definitions apply in this Division.

Lake Superior Special Protection Area

Lake Superior Special Protection Area means the area enclosed by rhumb lines connecting the following coordinates, beginning at the northernmost point and proceeding clockwise:

• (a) 47°30.0′ N, 85°50.0′ W;

• (b) 47°24.2′ N, 85°38.5′ W;

• (c) 47°04.0′ N, 85°49.0′ W;

• (d) 47°05.7′ N, 85°59.0′ W;

• (e) 47°18.1′ N, 86°05.0′ W. (zone de protection spéciale du lac Supérieur)

Six Fathom Scarp Mid-Lake Special Protection Area

Six Fathom Scarp Mid-Lake Special Protection Area means the area enclosed by rhumb lines connecting the following coordinates, beginning at the northernmost point and proceeding clockwise:

• (a) 44°55′ N, 82°33′ W;

• (b) 44°47′ N, 82°18′ W;

• (c) 44°39′ N, 82°13′ W;

• (d) 44°27′ N, 82°13′ W;

• (e) 44°27′ N, 82°20′ W;

• (f) 44°17′ N, 82°25′ W;

• (g) 44°17′ N, 82°30′ W;

• (h) 44°28′ N, 82°40′ W;

• (i) 44°51′ N, 82°44′ W;

• (j) 44°53′ N, 82°44′ W;

• (k) 44°54′ N, 82°40′ W. (zone de protection spéciale du milieu du lac Six Fathom Scarp)