Antarctic Environmental Protection Regulations (SOR/2003-363)

Specified Substances and Products

Marginal note:Specification

25 The substances and products that are set out in Article 7 of Annex III to the Protocol are specified for the purpose of section 14 of the Act.

Specially Protected Areas

Marginal note:Designation of areas

26 The Antarctic specially protected areas that are designated for the purpose of section 15 of the Act are the ones set out in Schedule 3.

Marginal note:Management Plan

27 In considering whether to issue a permit for the purpose of section 15 of the Act in relation to a specially protected area, the Minister must take into account the Management Plan for the specially protected area.

Marginal note:Content of permits

28 Any permit issued for the purpose of section 15 of the Act in relation to a specially protected area

• (a) must be accompanied by the sections of the Management Plan for the specially protected area that are relevant to the activity for which the permit was sought; and

• (b) must specify

  • (i) the extent and location of the specially protected area,

  • (ii) the activities that are authorized in relation to the specially protected area,

  • (iii) when, where and by whom the activities may be conducted, and

  • (iv) any other conditions that are imposed by the Management Plan.

Marginal note:Area without Management Plan

29 In the case of a specially protected area that does not have a Management Plan, any activities authorized by a permit issued for the purpose of section 15 of the Act must be for a compelling scientific purpose that cannot be served elsewhere and must not jeopardize the natural ecological system in the area.

Waste Management

General Requirements

Marginal note:Application

30 If wastes are mixed with another substance and the substances in the mixture are subject to different requirements under sections 31 to 33 and 37 to 46, the most stringent of the requirements under those sections that apply to any of the substances apply to the mixture.

Marginal note:Storage

31 Each permit holder who must remove wastes from the Antarctic or otherwise dispose of them must store them, until they are removed or disposed of, in such a way as to prevent their dispersal into the environment.

Marginal note:Removal of wastes

32 The permit holder must return wastes that are removed from the Antarctic to the country from which the activities generating the waste were organized or to any other country in which arrangements have been made for the disposal of the wastes in accordance with relevant international agreements.

Marginal note:Field camp wastes

33 The permit holder must take all reasonable steps to move the wastes generated at a field camp to

• (a) the station or vessel from which the field camp is supported; or

• (b) another station or vessel if the permit holder has arranged for the wastes to be managed there in accordance with Annex III to the Protocol.

Waste Management Plan

Marginal note:Contents of plan

34 Each waste management plan must apply to all wastes generated by the activities to which the permit is to relate, including wastes generated by vessels, stations and field camps, and must

• (a) include measures for the reduction, recycling, safe storage, removal and disposal of wastes from the activities to which the permit is to relate, as well as an undertaking by the permit holder to respect the measures described in sections 37 to 44;

• (b) provide that all reasonable steps must be taken to minimize the amount of waste generated or disposed of in the Antarctic;

• (c) specify current and planned waste management measures, including measures for final disposal;

• (d) specify current and planned measures for analysing the effects of waste and waste management on the Antarctic environment;

• (e) specify other measures to minimize any negative effects of waste and waste management on the Antarctic environment; and

• (f) specify the method used for recording wastes.

Marginal note:Classification of wastes

35 In the waste management plan, wastes produced must be classified as

• (a) sewage and domestic liquid wastes (Group 1);

• (b) other liquid wastes and chemicals, including fuel and lubricants (Group 2);

• (c) solids to be combusted (Group 3);

• (d) other solid wastes (Group 4); and

• (e) radioactive material (Group 5).

Marginal note:Annual review

36 Within 30 days after each anniversary of the date of issuance of a permit, the permit holder must review and update his or her waste management plan and provide a copy of the updated plan to the Minister.

Removal of Wastes

Marginal note:Wastes to be removed

37 Before the expiry of a permit, the permit holder must remove from the Antarctic the following wastes if they are generated by the permit holder:

• (a) radioactive materials;

• (b) used or spent electrical batteries;

• (c) fuel, both solid and liquid;

• (d) wastes containing heavy metals or toxic persistent organic compounds;

• (e) polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane foam, polystyrene foam, rubber, electronic scrap, lubricating oils, treated wood or wood products and other products that contain additives that could produce harmful emissions if incinerated;

• (f) all other plastic wastes, except low density polyethylene containers (such as bags for storing wastes) if those containers are incinerated in accordance with section 40;

• (g) fuel drums, except if their removal would result in a greater adverse environmental impact than leaving them in their existing locations;

• (h) other solid, non-combustible wastes, except if their removal would result in a greater adverse environmental impact than leaving them in their existing locations; and

• (i) the solid residue of combustible wastes burned in an incinerator referred to in section 40.

Marginal note:Liquid wastes

38 Before the expiry of a permit, the permit holder must also remove from the Antarctic all liquid wastes to which section 37 does not apply, including sewage and domestic liquid wastes.

Marginal note:Other wastes

39 Before the expiry of a permit, the permit holder must also remove the following wastes from the Antarctic, unless they are incinerated, autoclaved or otherwise treated to be made sterile:

• (a) residues of carcasses of imported animals;

• (b) laboratory cultures of micro-organisms and plant pathogens; and

• (c) introduced avian products.

Incineration

Marginal note:Combustible wastes

40 Before the expiry of a permit, the permit holder must burn all combustible wastes, other than those that must be removed from the Antarctic, in incinerators that meet any emission standards and equipment guidelines that may be recommended by the Committee for Environmental Protection established in accordance with Article 11 of the Protocol and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

Other Waste Disposal on Land

Marginal note:Prohibited disposal

• 41 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a permit holder must not dispose of any liquid wastes to which section 38 applies onto sea ice, iceshelves or the grounded ice sheet.

• Marginal note:Disposal in ice pits

  (2) The permit holder may dispose of wastes referred to in subsection (1) in deep ice pits if the wastes are generated by stations located inland on iceshelves or on the grounded ice sheet and that disposal is the only practicable option.

• Marginal note:Location of pits

  (3) The deep ice pits must not be located on known ice-flow lines that terminate at ice-free areas or in areas of high ablation.

Disposal of Waste into the Sea

Marginal note:Disposal from vessel

• 42 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a permit holder may not dispose of wastes into the sea from a vessel.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to

  • (a) the disposal of wastes in cases permitted under Annex V to MARPOL 73/78, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as amended by the Protocol of 1978 relating to it and by any more recent amendment that is in force; or

  • (b) the disposal of wastes under a permit issued under Division 3 of Part 7 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Marginal note:Sewage and domestic liquid waste

43 Sewage or domestic liquid waste, other than sewage or domestic liquid waste from a vessel, may be disposed of directly into the sea if

• (a) the sewage or waste is generated at a station with an average weekly occupancy over the austral summer of at least 30 individuals;

• (b) the sewage or waste is macerated before it is disposed of; and

• (c) all reasonable steps are taken to discharge the sewage or waste into the sea at a place where conditions exist for dilution and dispersal of the sewage or waste.

Marginal note:Treated sewage

44 The by-product of sewage, other than sewage from a vessel, treated by the Rotary Biological Contactor process or a similar process may be disposed of into the sea if the disposal

• (a) does not adversely affect the local environment; and

• (b) is in accordance with Annex IV to the Protocol.

Records

Marginal note:List of locations

45 Within 30 days after each anniversary of the date of issuance of a permit for a term of more than one year (including the term of any renewal of the permit), and within 30 days after the day on which a permit expires, the permit holder must provide the Minister with a list of all locations where wastes have been incinerated or otherwise disposed of in the Antarctic.

Marginal note:Records

46 A permit holder must record each disposal of wastes, including sewage discharges from vessels, and retain the record for five years.

Emergencies

Marginal note:Reporting

47 The permit holder must, without delay, advise the Minister about all measures undertaken in response to an emergency.

Marginal note:Emergency plan

48 Each emergency plan must

• (a) identify the potential emergencies, including the potential impact on human health and the environment, that could result from the activities to which the permit is to relate;

• (b) include an assessment of the relative risk of occurrence of the potential emergencies;

• (c) set out the names and telephone numbers of personnel and describe their roles and responsibilities during an environmental emergency;

• (d) identify the training required for emergency response personnel;

• (e) list the equipment that will be available to deal with potential emergencies and indicate where it is located;

• (f) identify the procedures by which emergency resources, including personnel, equipment, facilities and financial resources, can be obtained; and

• (g) describe the procedures for implementing, reviewing and updating the plan.

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Coming into force

49 These Regulations come into force on December 1, 2003.