Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (SOR/2002-222)

PART 1General

Interpretation

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

  Act

  Act means the Fisheries Act. (Loi)

  acute lethality test

  acute lethality test[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  acutely lethal

  acutely lethal, in respect of an effluent, means that the effluent at 100% concentration kills

  • (a) more than 50% of the rainbow trout subjected to it for a period of 96 hours, when tested in accordance with the acute lethality test set out in section 14.1;

  • (b) more than 50% of the threespine stickleback subjected to it for a period of 96 hours, when tested in accordance with the acute lethality test set out in section 14.2;

  • (c) more than 50% of the Daphnia magna subjected to it for a period of 48 hours, when tested in accordance with the acute lethality test set out in section 14.3; or

  • (d) more than 50% of the Acartia tonsa subjected to it for a period of 48 hours, when tested in accordance with the acute lethality test set out in section 14.4. (létalité aiguë)

  acutely lethal effluent

  acutely lethal effluent[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  authorization officer

  authorization officer[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  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  Daphnia magna monitoring test[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  deleterious substance

  deleterious substance[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  diamond mine

  diamond mine means any work or undertaking that is designed or is used, or has been used, in connection with a mining or milling activity to produce a diamond or an ore from which a diamond may be produced. It includes any cleared or disturbed area that is adjacent to such a work or undertaking. (mine de diamants)

  effluent

  effluent means any of the following:

  • (a) hydrometallurgical facility effluent, milling facility effluent, mine water effluent, tailings impoundment area effluent, treatment pond effluent or treatment facility effluent other than effluent from a sewage treatment facility; or

  • (b) any seepage or surface runoff containing any deleterious substance that flows over, through or out of the site of a mine. (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[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  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)

  metal mine

  metal mine means any work or undertaking that is designed or is used, or has been used, in connection with a mining, milling or hydrometallurgical activity to produce a metal or a metal concentrate or an ore from which a metal or a metal concentrate may be produced, as well as any cleared or disturbed area that is adjacent to such a work or undertaking. It includes any work or undertaking, such as a smelter, pelletizing plant, sintering plant, refinery or acid plant, if its effluent is combined with the effluent from a mining, milling or hydrometallurgical activity whose purpose is to produce a metal or a metal concentrate or an ore from which a metal or a metal concentrate may be produced. (mine de métaux)

  milling

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

  • (a) the crushing or grinding of ore or kimberlite;

  • (b) the processing of uranium ore or uranium enriched solution; or

  • (c) the processing of tailings. (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[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  mine under development

  mine under development[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  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[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  operations area

  operations area[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  operator

  operator means any person who operates, has control or custody of or is in charge of a 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[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  Reference Method EPS 1/RM/10

  Reference Method EPS 1/RM/10 means Biological Test Method: Reference Method for Determining Acute Lethality Using Threespine Stickleback, published in December 2017 by the Department of the Environment, as amended from time to time. (méthode de référence SPE 1/RM/10)

  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)

  Reference Method STB 1/RM/60

  Reference Method STB 1/RM/60 means Biological Test Method: Reference Method for Determining Acute Lethality Using Acartia tonsa, published in June 2019 by the Department of the Environment, as amended from time to time. (méthode de référence DGST 1/RM/60)

  reopened mine

  reopened mine[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  surface drainage

  surface drainage[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  suspended solids

  suspended solids means any solid matter contained in an effluent 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 Table 1 of Schedule 3. (matières en suspension)

  tailings impoundment area

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

  total suspended solids

  total suspended solids[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  transitional authorization

  transitional authorization[Repealed, SOR/2018-99, s. 2]

  treatment facility effluent

  treatment facility effluent means water from a polishing pond, treatment pond, settling pond or water treatment plant or from any mine effluent treatment facility. (effluent d’installations de traitement)

• (2) Every reference in these Regulations to column 1, 2, 3 or 4 of Schedule 4 shall be read as

  • (a) a reference to column 1, 2, 3 or 4 of Table 1 of Schedule 4, in the case of a mine to which subparagraph 4(1)(a)(i) applies; or

  • (b) a reference to column 1, 2, 3 or 4 of Table 2 of Schedule 4, in the case of a mine to which subparagraph 4(1)(a)(ii) applies.

Application

• 2 (1) These Regulations apply in respect of the following mines:

  • (a) metal mines that, at any time on or after June 6, 2002,

    • (i) exceed an effluent flow rate of 50 m³ per day, based on the effluent deposited from all the final discharge points of the mine, and

    • (ii) deposit a deleterious substance in any water or place referred to in subsection 36(3) of the Act; and

  • (b) diamond mines that, at any time on or after June 1, 2018,

    • (i) exceed an effluent flow rate of 50 m³ per day, based on the effluent deposited from all the final discharge points of the mine, and

    • (ii) deposit a deleterious substance in any water or place referred to in subsection 36(3) of the Act.

• (2) However, these Regulations do not apply in respect of

  • (a) placer mining;

  • (b) a metal mine that stopped commercial operation before June 6, 2002, unless it returns to commercial operation on or after that date; and

  • (c) a diamond mine that stopped commercial operation before June 1, 2018, unless it returns to commercial operation on or after that date.

• (3) Despite subsection (1), sections 4 to 31 do not apply in respect of a mine that is a recognized closed mine under subsection 32(2) unless it returns to commercial operation, in which case it ceases to be a recognized closed mine.

Prescribed Deleterious Substances

3 For the purpose of the definition deleterious substance in subsection 34(1) of the Act, the following substances or classes of substances are prescribed as deleterious substances:

• (a) arsenic;

• (b) copper;

• (c) cyanide;

• (d) lead;

• (e) nickel;

• (f) zinc;

• (g) suspended solids;

• (h) radium 226; and

• (i) un-ionized ammonia.

Authority to Deposit in Water or Place Referred to in Subsection 36(3) of Act

• 4 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 36(4)(b) of the Act, the owner or operator of a mine is authorized to deposit, or to permit the deposit of, an effluent containing any deleterious substance that is prescribed in section 3 in any water or place referred to in subsection 36(3) of the Act if

  • (a) the concentration of the deleterious substance in the effluent does not exceed the maximum authorized concentrations that are set out in columns 2, 3 and 4 of

    • (i) Table 1 of Schedule 4, in the case of a mine in respect of which these Regulations apply for the first time on or after June 1, 2021 or in the case of a recognized closed mine that returns to commercial operation on or after June 1, 2021, or

    • (ii) Table 2 of Schedule 4, in any other case;

  • (b) the pH of the effluent is equal to or greater than 6.0 but is not greater than 9.5; and

  • (c) the effluent is not acutely lethal.

• (2) The authority in subsection (1) is conditional on the owner or operator complying with sections 6 to 27.

4.1 Paragraph 4(1)(c) does not apply in the case where the effluent is determined to be acutely lethal in accordance with the procedures set out in section 5 or 6 of Reference Method EPS 1/RM/14 when the owner or operator of a mine is testing at the frequency prescribed in subsection 14(1), unless the effluent is determined to be acutely lethal in accordance with any other acute lethality test.

Authority to Deposit in Tailings Impoundment Areas

• 5 (1) Despite section 4, the owner or operator of a mine may deposit or permit the deposit of waste rock, acutely lethal effluent or effluent of any pH and containing any concentration of a deleterious substance that is prescribed in section 3 into a tailings impoundment area that is either

  • (a) a water or place set out in Schedule 2; or

  • (b) a disposal area that is confined by anthropogenic or natural structures or by both, other than a disposal area that is, or is part of, a natural water body that is frequented by fish.

• (2) The authority in subsection (1) is conditional on the owner or operator complying with sections 7 to 28.

• (3) For the purposes of this section, any acutely lethal effluent is prescribed as a deleterious substance.