Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Regulations (C.R.C., c. 354)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act; (Loi)

arctic waters

arctic waters has the meaning assigned to that expression in section 3 of the Act. (eaux arctiques)

program

program[Revoked, SOR/79-406, s. 1]

PART I

Interpretation

3 In this Part,

domestic waste

domestic waste means any waste other than industrial waste; (déchets ménagers)

industrial operation

industrial operation means any undertaking carried on for commercial purposes and includes any process of industry, manufacture, trade or business, or exploring for, developing or exploiting any natural resource; (opération industrielle)

industrial waste

industrial waste means any waste produced by or arising from an industrial operation; (déchets industriels)

operator

operator means any person described in paragraph 6(1)(a) or (b) of the Act; (exploitant)

pollution prevention officer

pollution prevention officer means a person designated as a pollution prevention officer pursuant to section 14 of the Act; (fonctionnaire chargé de la prévention de la pollution)

sewage operation

sewage operation means any undertaking for the collection, storage, transmission, treatment or disposal of domestic waste or industrial waste. (travaux d’égout)

Application

4 This Part applies to the deposit of waste in the arctic waters or in any place on the mainland or islands of the Canadian arctic under any conditions where such waste or any other waste that results from the deposit of such waste may enter the arctic waters but does not apply to the deposit of waste by a ship.

Deposit of Domestic Waste

5 Any person may deposit or permit the deposit of domestic waste if the domestic waste is of a type and in a quantity and is deposited under conditions authorized by or under the Public Health Ordinance of the Northwest Territories or the Public Health Ordinance of the Yukon Territory, whichever is applicable.

Deposit of Industrial Waste

6 Any person may deposit or permit the deposit of industrial waste if the industrial waste is of a type and in a quantity and is deposited under conditions authorized by or under the Oil and Gas Production and Conservation Act, the Territorial Lands Act or the Public Lands Grants Act, whichever is applicable.

Report of Deposit of Waste or Danger thereof

7 Where any person

• (a) has deposited waste in violation of subsection 4(1) of the Act, or

• (b) carries on any undertaking on the mainland or islands of the Canadian arctic or in the arctic waters that, by reason of any accident or other occurrence, is in danger of causing any deposit of waste described in that subsection other than a deposit of waste of a type, in a quantity and deposited under conditions prescribed by these Regulations,

he shall forthwith report the deposit of waste or the accident or other occurrence to a pollution prevention officer at Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory or at Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories by telecommunication or, where telecommunication is not available, by the fastest means available.

Limits of Liability

8 For the purposes of section 6 of the Act, the maximum amount of liability of an operator in respect of each deposit of waste is as follows:

• (a) in the case of a sewage operation, an amount equal to the product of $500 and the daily volume, measured in cubic feet, of domestic waste or industrial waste handled by the sewage operation, divided by 10,000;

• (b) in the case of a pipeline operation, an amount equal to the product of $500 and the volume, measured in barrels, of the section of the pipeline between the shut-off valves located on either side of the point in the pipeline from which the deposit of waste originates, divided by 7;

• (c) in the case of an operation for the storage of solids in bulk, an amount equal to the product of $500 and the total volume, measured in cubic feet, of the substance stored, divided by 1,000;

• (d) in the case of an operation for the storage of substances in a liquid state, an amount equal to the product of $500 and the total volume, measured in gallons, of the substances stored, divided by 300;

• (e) in the case of an operation for the impounding of mill tailings, an amount equal to the product of $500 multiplied by the total volume, measured in cubic feet, of the tailings impounded in the 12 month period immediately preceding the deposit of waste, divided by 1,000; and

• (f) in the case of an operation engaged in exploring for, developing or exploiting oil and gas, $40 million.

9 [Revoked, SOR/83-229, s. 1]

PART II

Interpretation

10 In this Part,

gold franc

gold franc means a unit of 65½ milligrams of gold of millesimal fineness 900; (franc-or)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Transport; (ministre)

underwriter

underwriter means an insurer or insurers approved by the Minister; (assureur)

zone

zone means an area of arctic waters prescribed as a shipping safety control zone pursuant to subsection 11(1) of the Act. (zone)

Application

11 This Part applies to civil liability for the deposit of waste by ships in arctic waters.

Evidence of Financial Responsibility

• 12 (1) Subject to section 13, the owner of any ship that proposes to navigate within any zone shall file with the Minister evidence of financial responsibility that may be in the form of

  • (a) a declaration stating that the ship is insured by an underwriter in respect of such proposed navigation in an amount determined in the manner provided by section 15; and

  • (b) the duplicate copy of a special policy endorsement for arctic waters applicable to that ship and certified by the underwriter, which endorsement shall provide that

    • (i) the ship owner shall maintain the policy of insurance applicable to that ship and the special policy endorsement in force so long as the ship is within any zone, and

    • (ii) it may only be cancelled by the underwriter by giving notice in writing to the Minister to be effective for the purposes of subsection 8(2) of the Act 30 days after receipt thereof by the Minister.

• (2) Evidence of financial responsibility in the form described in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) is satisfactory to the Governor in Council notwithstanding that the special policy endorsement for arctic waters states that in respect of any costs, expenses, actual loss or damage resulting from any deposit of waste caused by or otherwise attributable to the ship, the underwriter, in the case of a direct claim against him under subsection 8(2) of the Act, is not liable where

  • (a) the deposit of waste was caused by an act of war, hostilities, civil war or insurrection, or a natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable and irresistible character;

  • (b) the deposit of waste was wholly caused by an act or omission of a person, other than the ship owner or a servant or an agent of the ship owner, done with intent to cause damage;

  • (c) the deposit of waste was wholly caused by the negligence or wrongful act of a government or other authority responsible for the maintenance of navigation lights or other aids to navigation in the exercise of that responsibility; or

  • (d) the deposit of waste was caused by wilful misconduct on the part of the ship owner.

• (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the special policy endorsement for arctic waters may state that, in the case of a direct claim against him under subsection 8(2) of the Act, the underwriter may invoke any defence that would be or would have been available to the ship owner and that the maximum amount of the liability of the underwriter shall not, in any event, be greater than the maximum amount of the liability of the ship owner.

13 Where the quantity of waste to be carried in a ship that proposes to navigate in a zone does not exceed 2,000 tons, no evidence of financial responsibility need be filed, but the policy of insurance with respect to the ship may contain the statements set out in subsections 12(2) and (3).

14 The owner of any cargo to be carried in a ship that proposes to navigate in arctic waters shall be jointly responsible with the owner of the ship for the filing, by the owner of the ship, of the declaration described in paragraph 12(1)(a) and for the truth of any statement contained therein.

Limits of Liability

• 15 (1) For the purposes of section 6 of the Act, the maximum amount of the joint and several liability of a ship owner and the owners of cargo in the ship in respect of any occurrence, or series of occurrences having the same origin, resulting in a deposit of waste that causes loss or damage shall, subject to subsection (2), be determined by multiplying 2,000 gold francs by the number of tons of the ship’s tonnage, but the maximum amount of such liability shall not exceed 210 million gold francs.

• (2) Where the owner or underwriter of a ship has taken any action

  • (a) to repair or remedy any condition that resulted from a deposit of waste for which any action has been brought under the Act, or

  • (b) to reduce or mitigate any damage to or destruction of life or property that resulted or may reasonably be expected to result from such deposit of waste,

  the limits of liability prescribed by subsection (1) shall be reduced by an amount equal to the costs and expenses of and incidental to the taking of such action if such costs and expenses can be established to have been reasonably incurred in the circumstances.

• (3) The amounts that are equivalent to 2,000 gold francs and 210 million gold francs respectively shall be determined in the manner specified in the Canada Shipping Act Gold Franc Conversion Regulations.

16 For the purposes of section 15, the tonnage of a ship shall

• (a) if the ship is registered in Canada, be the registered tonnage plus the allowance for engine room space deducted for the purpose of ascertaining its registered tonnage; or

• (b) if the ship is not registered in Canada, be the tonnage that would have been the tonnage of the ship in accordance with paragraph (a) if the ship had been registered in Canada.