Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations (SOR/92-269)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations.

Interpretation

2 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 referred to in section 1 of Schedule I; (essai de détermination de la létalité aiguë)

acutely lethal

acutely lethal, in respect of effluent, means that the effluent at 100 per cent concentration kills more than 50 per cent of the rainbow trout subjected to it during a 96-hour period, when tested in accordance with the acute lethality test; (létalité aiguë)

authorization

authorization means an authorization issued under section 16 or 17; (autorisation)

authorization officer

authorization officer, in respect of a province set out in column I of an item of Schedule V, means the person referred to in column II of that item; (agent d’autorisation)

B_o

B_o[Repealed, SOR/2004-109, s. 1]

BOD

BOD means the biochemical oxygen demand that is equal to the quantity of oxygen, dissolved in water, that is consumed by BOD matter, when tested in accordance with the BOD test; (DBO)

BOD matter

BOD matter, in effluent, means any matter that consumes oxygen dissolved in water, when tested in accordance with the BOD test; (matières exerçant une DBO)

BOD test

BOD test means the test to determine the BOD of an effluent referred to in section 3 of Schedule I; (essai de détermination de la DBO)

B_r

B_r[Repealed, SOR/2004-109, s. 1]

D

D[Repealed, SOR/2004-109, s. 1]

daily period

daily period in respect of a mill, means

• (a) a period of 24 consecutive hours determined by the operator of the mill, in respect of which the operator has given notification to the authorization officer, or

• (b) if no notification has been given to the authorization officer by the operator, a calendar day; (période de vingt-quatre heures)

Daphnia magna test

Daphnia magna test means the test in respect of Daphnia magna referred to in section 2 of Schedule I; (essai sur Daphnia magna)

dissolving grade sulphite pulp

dissolving grade sulphite pulp means any sulphite pulp that is purified by a bleaching process for use in the manufacture of regenerated cellulose products; (pâte au bisulfite pour transformation chimique)

effluent

effluent means

• (a) [Repealed, SOR/2012-140, s. 2]

• (b) waste water from a mill, other than waste water from the treatment of intake water, including process water, gas scrubbing water, boiler blow-down water, wash-down water, cooling water, leachate from any site at the mill where solid residues generated by any mill are treated or disposed of, and leachate from any site at the mill where wood chips or hogfuel are stored; (effluent)

finished product

finished product means pulp or a paper product that has completed the production process at a mill; (produit fini)

mill

mill means

• (a) a factory that is designed or used to produce pulp or paper products, or

• (b) if a complex consists of factories that are owned by different owners and that are designed or used to produce pulp or paper products, all of those factories that discharge some or all of their effluent into a common treatment facility that is owned by one of those owners,

and includes any facility that is owned or operated by the owner of any of the factories referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) and that treats effluent; (fabrique)

off-site treatment facility

off-site treatment facility[Repealed, SOR/2012-140, s. 2]

operator

operator means the person who operates, has control or custody of or is in charge of a mill; (exploitant)

outfall structure

outfall structure means a conduit or other structure through which effluent is conveyed from a mill to a location where it is deposited in water frequented by fish, or in any place from which it may enter such water, or a conduit or other structure through which effluent is conveyed from a mill to a wastewater system; (émissaire d’effluent)

owner

owner[Repealed, SOR/2012-140, s. 2]

paper product

paper product means paper, coated paper, paperboard, hardboard, boxboard, linerboard, insulating board, building board, corrugating medium, tissue, moulded cellulose product and any other product directly derived from pulp, but does not include viscose, rayon, cellophane or any other cellulose derivative, or medium density fiberboard as defined in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard A208.2-2002, published on May 13, 2002; (produit de papier)

Port Alberni Mill

Port Alberni Mill means the mill located in Port Alberni, British Columbia, that is owned by Norske Skog Canada Limited, its successors or assigns; (fabrique de Port Alberni)

pulp

pulp means processed cellulose fibres that are derived from wood, other plant material or recycled paper products; (pâte)

Q_d

Q_d[Repealed, SOR/2004-109, s. 1]

Q_m

Q_m[Repealed, SOR/2004-109, s. 1]

Reference Method EPS 1/RM/13 Second Edition

Reference Method EPS 1/RM/13 Second Edition means Biological Test Method: Reference Method for Determining Acute Lethality of Effluents to Rainbow Trout (EPS 1/RM/13 Second Edition), December 2000, published by the federal Department of the Environment, as amended from time to time; (méthode de référence SPE 1/RM/13 Deuxième édition)

Reference Method EPS 1/RM/14 Second Edition

Reference Method EPS 1/RM/14 Second Edition means Biological Test Method: Reference Method for Determining Acute Lethality of Effluents to Daphnia magna (EPS 1/RM/14 Second Edition), December 2000, published by the federal Department of the Environment, as amended from time to time; (méthode de référence SPE 1/RM/14 Deuxième édition)

reference production rate

reference production rate means the daily production of finished product of a mill as determined under section 12; (rythme de production de référence)

S_o

S_o[Repealed, SOR/2004-109, s.1]

suspended solids

suspended solids means any solid matter that is present in effluent; (matières en suspension)

suspended solids test

suspended solids test means the test to determine the presence and quantity of suspended solids in effluent referred to in section 4 of Schedule I; (essai de détermination des matières en suspension)

transitional authorization

transitional authorization[Repealed, SOR/2004-109, s. 1]

treat

treat, in respect of effluent, means to subject the effluent to physical, chemical or biological action, other than dilution, in order to reduce or eliminate deleterious substances; (traiter)

wastewater system

wastewater system has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations. (système d’assainissement)

Prescribed Deleterious Substances

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

• (a) acutely lethal effluent;

• (b) BOD matter; and

• (c) suspended solids.

Ministerial Orders

4 For the purpose of subsection 37(2) of the Act and in respect of mills, the Minister or a person designated by the Minister may issue an order under that subsection if the Minister or the person has reasonable grounds to believe that an offence under subsection 40(1) or (2) of the Act is being or is likely to be committed.

PART 1Mills

Application

• 5 (1) This Part applies in respect of all mills except the Port Alberni Mill.

• (2) and (3) [Repealed, SOR/2012-140, s. 5]

Authority to Deposit

• 6 (1) For the purpose of paragraph 36(4)(b) of the Act, the owner or operator of a mill may deposit, or permit the deposit of, BOD matter and suspended solids in any water or place other than a place referred to in subsection (3) or (4) if

  • (a) the BOD of the BOD matter or the quantity of suspended solids, as the case may be, does not exceed the maximum quantities authorized by section 14; or

  • (b) the deposit is made in accordance with an authorization to exceed the maximum quantities authorized by section 14.

• (2) [Repealed, SOR/2012-140, s. 6]

• (3) For the purpose of paragraph 36(4)(b) of the Act, the owner or operator of a mill may deposit, or permit the deposit of, any concentration of acutely lethal effluent, any BOD matter and any quantity of suspended solids into a wastewater system that is regulated by the Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations.

• (4) For the purpose of paragraph 36(4)(b) of the Act, the owner or operator of a factory that produces pulp or paper products may deposit, or permit the deposit of, any concentration of acutely lethal effluent, any BOD matter and any quantity of suspended solids into

  • (a) a treatment facility that is owned or operated by the owner of the factory; or

  • (b) if the factory is part of a complex, the common treatment facility for the factories that are part of the complex.

• (5) The authority to deposit BOD matter and suspended solids conferred by subsections (1) and (2) does not confer any authority to deposit acutely lethal effluent.

Conditions Governing Authority to Deposit

• 7 (1) The authority of the owner or operator of a mill under subsection 6(1) is conditional on the operator

  • (a) installing, maintaining and calibrating monitoring equipment, and keeping records of that equipment, in accordance with section 8;

  • (b) monitoring effluent in accordance with Schedule II and submitting to the authorization officer a monthly report of the monitoring results and production information in accordance with subsections 9(1) and (3);

  • (c) notifying an inspector, without delay, of any result of a test conducted in accordance with Schedule II and of any result of any additional test that was conducted on samples collected in accordance with the procedures specified in that Schedule, other than in the case of a deposit out of the normal course of events, that indicates a failure or non-compliance with these Regulations and reporting the test results in writing to the inspector within 10 days after the notification;

  • (d) submitting the identifying information to the authorization officer in accordance with subsections 10(1), (2) and (3);

  • (e) preparing and updating annually a remedial plan describing the measures to be taken by the operator to eliminate all unauthorized deposits of deleterious substances in the case where effluent fails an acute lethality test conducted in accordance with Schedule II;

  • (f) preparing an emergency response plan in accordance with section 11 and making it readily available on site to persons who are to implement the plan;

  • (g) in the case of a mill, providing the authorization officer, in accordance with section 12, with

    • (i) the reference production rate for all finished product, and

    • (ii) if an authorization has been issued to the owner or operator under subsection 16(2), the reference production rate for all finished product other than dissolving grade sulphite pulp and the reference production rate for dissolving grade sulphite pulp;

  • (h) in the case of a mill that treats, in addition to its own effluent, waste water from sources other than a mill, if an authorization has been issued to the owner or operator under subsection 16(1), submitting the values of B_o and S_o and the supporting data to the authorization officer in accordance with section 19;

  • (i) [Repealed, SOR/2012-140, s. 7]

  • (j) submitting the information on outfall structures to the authorization officer in accordance with section 27, and depositing effluent only through those outfall structures;

  • (k) complying with the requirements for environmental effects monitoring studies set out in sections 28 to 31; and

  • (l) keeping available for inspection

    • (i) for at least five years, the information and data specified in section 8.2 of Reference Method EPS 1/RM/13 Second Edition and section 8.2 of Reference Method EPS 1/RM/14 Second Edition,

    • (ii) for at least three years, the results of all pH level and electrical conductivity tests conducted in accordance with Schedule II,

    • (iii) for at least five years, a remedial plan and every update of it,

    • (iv) for at least five years, an emergency response plan and every update of it, and

    • (v) for at least six years, all records, reports and data collected or prepared for the purposes of an environmental effects monitoring study.

• (2) The authority of the owner or operator of a mill under subsection 6(1) is also conditional on the operator

  • (a) not combining any treated effluent with water before the treated effluent is deposited; and

  • (b) not combining any treated effluent with any other effluent before the treated effluent is deposited, unless neither the treated effluent nor the other effluent is acutely lethal or unless combining the effluents is authorized pursuant to an authorization under section 17.

• (3) The authority of the owner or operator of a mill under subsection 6(3) is conditional on the operator

  • (a) depositing effluent only into a wastewater system that is regulated by the Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations;

  • (b) submitting the identifying information to the authorization officer in accordance with subsections 10(1.1) to (3); and

  • (c) preparing an emergency response plan in accordance with section 11, making it readily available on site to persons who are to implement the plan and keeping the plan and every update available for inspection for at least five years.

• (4) The authority of the owner of a mill under section 6 is, if the owner is not the same person as the operator, also conditional on the owner exercising all due diligence to ensure that the operator meets the applicable conditions specified in this section.