Applicable Legislation: Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990 O.Reg. 675/98, Classification and Exemption of Spills, Guelph By-Law Number (1996)-15202 to regulate the discharge of wastes into the sanitary sewers and storm sewers. Intent: To outline responsibilities for spills mitigation and environmental reporting. Definitions: MOE Ontario Ministry of Environment owner of the pollutant the owner of the pollutant immediately before the first discharge of the pollutant, whether into the natural environment or not, in a quantity or with a quality abnormal at the location where the discharge occurs. person having control of a pollutant the person and the person s employee or agent, if any, having the charge, management or control of a pollutant immediately before the first discharge of the pollutant, whether into the natural environment or not, in a quantity or with quality abnormal at the location where the discharge occurs. pollutant any solid, liquid, gas and/or odour resulting directly or indirectly from activities that: impair the quality of the natural environment for any use made of it; injure or damage property, plant or animal life; harm or materially discomfort any person; adversely affect the health or impair the safety of any person; render any property, plant or animal life unfit for use; cause the loss of enjoyment of the normal use of property; and/or interfere with the normal conduct of business. A pollutant also includes any substance from which such solid, liquid, gas and/or odour is derived. spill a direct or indirect discharge of a pollutant made into the natural environment, which is the air, land or water of Ontario, from or out of a structure, vehicle or other container, that is abnormal in quality or quantity in light of all the circumstances of the discharge. Page 1 of 5
Policy: 1. Every person who spills or causes or permits a spill of a pollutant that impacts on the natural environment, and every person having control of a pollutant that is spilled where the spill causes or is likely to cause adverse effects to the environment, shall forthwith notify the workplace supervisor and: the 24-hour Ministry of Environment Spills Action Centre, 1-800-268-6060; the regional municipality if the spill occurs therein or any local municipality not within a regional municipality where the spill occurs; the owner of the pollutant where the identity of the owner is known or may be readily ascertained; the person having control of the pollutant where the identity of that person is known or may be readily ascertained; local police or public authorities; Environmental Health and Safety, University of Guelph, 519-824-4120 ext. 3190 Security Services, University of Guelph, 519-824-4120 ext. 2245 2. In the event of a spill, the owner of a pollutant and the person having control of a pollutant shall: immediately prevent, eliminate and ameliorate the adverse affects of a spill; restore the natural environment; dispose of the pollutant and things affected by the pollutant as directed; and comply with any Ministry orders related to the spill. 3. An incident report shall be prepared by the supervisor and submitted to Environmental Health and Safety. The report shall be made available to an MOE inspector upon request. Guidelines: Duty to Act The owner of a pollutant and the person having control of a pollutant that is spilled shall forthwith (i.e. within 20 minutes) notify the Ministry of Environment (voice mail messages are not acceptable) and do everything practicable to prevent, eliminate and ameliorate the adverse effects of the spill and restore the natural environment. This duty comes into force immediately when the owner or person, as the case may be, knows or ought to know that the pollutant is spilled and is causing or is likely to cause an adverse effect to the environment. General In the event of a spill, emergency response priorities can be summarized as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Rescue First aid Contain and/or isolate the area Contact the MOE, municipal and other authorities (police, fire services) Cleanup Decontamination Disposal Post-incident review, analysis, and documentation. The 24-hour Spills Action Centre of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (1-800-268-6060) provides important information and must be immediately notified of any spills. Page 2 of 5
Municipal authorities must be notified about any discharge that threatens the environment via the sanitary or storm sewer systems. In Guelph, the Wastewater Services Division must be notified (519-837-5612). Equivalent requirements exist in other communities where the University conducts operations. The University retains a hazardous materials spills contractor for the clean up of complex spills at any campus location or research station. Contact Environmental Health and Safety or Security Services for details or to access this assistance. Spill Reporting Exemptions The Classification and Exemption of Spills Regulation (O.Reg. 675/98) identifies classes of spills for which full Reporting under Part X of the Environmental Protection Act may not be required. The aim of this regulation is to encourage industry to evaluate the risk of a spill and to deal with it responsibly should one occur. Reporting requirements have been relaxed. The following spills are exempted from all requirements of Part X of the Environmental Protection Act. Class i. Discharges approved under a Certificate of Approval, order, licence or other approval, provided the discharge is in compliance with all legislation, including municipal by-laws; Class ii. Discharges of water from a reservoir caused by a natural event, and discharges of potable water from water mains; and Class iii. Combustion products from household fires. The following spills are exempted from all reporting requirements of Part X of the Environmental Protection Act. Class iv. Planned spills and pre-authorized discharges. Adverse effects must still be monitored and a report filed within five days; and Class v. Spills of refrigerants governed by the Refrigerants Regulation (O.Reg. 189/94). There must be no adverse effects and records must be kept. The following spills are exempted from the requirement to notify the MOE. Other notification requirements continue to apply: Class vi. Spills of 100 litres or less of fluid, other than cargo from fuel or other operating systems of motor vehicles. The spill must not enter, or be likely to enter, any water or watercourse. There must be no adverse effects and arrangements must be made for remediation. The following spills are exempted from the requirement to notify the MOE and the municipality. Other notification requirements continue to apply: Class vii. Page 3 of 5
Spills of 100 litres or less of mineral oil, other than PCB liquid, from transformers owned by municipal or provincial utilities. The spill must not enter, or be likely to enter, any water or watercourse. There must be no adverse effects, arrangements must be made for remediation, and records must be kept; Class viii. Spills of 100 litres or less of petroleum product at a bulk plant, marina and private or retail outlet if the area is restricted from public access, and 25 litres or less if area is open to the public. The spill must not enter, or be likely to enter, any water or watercourse. There must be no adverse effects, arrangements must be made for remediation, and records must be kept; Class ix. Spills regulated by the federal Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 and regulations and the provincial equivalent at a quantity below the reportable threshold stipulated in the federal regulations. The spill must not enter, or be likely to enter, any water or watercourse. There must be no adverse effects, arrangements must be made for remediation, and records must be kept; and Class x. Spills of materials below reportable quantities specified in the approved contingency plan. The following spills are exempted from the requirement to notify the MOE immediately, although the MOE retains the right to request additional information. Other reporting requirements continue to apply: Class xi. Spills reportable to more than one provincial or federal agency. The spill must meet the conditions of an understanding between the MOE and the other agency. Records must be kept. The Environmental Protection Act does not apply to the disposal of animal wastes in accordance with OMAFRA-approved procedures (e.g. Fact Sheet No. 96-027). The Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) provides information about bulk fuel storage and safety. Visit the web site www.tssa.org [1]. Documentation of Incidents The incident report concerning a spill should include: a. b. c. d. e. the date, time, location and duration of the release of the pollutant: the identity of the pollutant released and the owner s name; the quantity of the pollutant released; the circumstances and cause of the spill; details of the containment and clean-up efforts and the names of the persons involved in the clean-up; f. an assessment of the success of the containment and clean-up efforts; g. the method used, in accordance with subsection 96 (1) of the Act, to dispose of or use the pollutant or any matter, thing, plant or animal or any part of the natural environment that is affected by the spill and the location of the disposal site; and h. any adverse effects observed as a result of the spill. Clauses (e) to (h) do not apply to refrigerant spills. Report forms for documenting incidents are available from Environmental Health and Safety. For more information concerning preparations for chemical spills indoors, refer to Safety Policy 851.08.01 concerning Management and Use of the Hazardous Materials. Page 4 of 5
Effective: September 2000 Page category: Policy [2] Source URL: https://www.uoguelph.ca/hr/policies/spills-environment-and-reporting-policy Links [1] http://www.tssa.org [2] https://www.uoguelph.ca/hr/page-category/policy Page 5 of 5