The Remediation Regulation came into effect on January 1, 2019. Under the regulation, a remedial action plan (RAP) must be submitted by the person responsible (usually the licensee) for any released substance if remediation will not be completed within two years from the time of becoming aware of the release.
A professional contamination management report together with a Record of Site Condition form (RoSC) may satisfy the Remediation Regulation RAP requirements. This is currently available for use and can be completed at any time.
A licensee may have become aware of a substance release before January 1, 2019, and determined that the release did not trigger release reporting requirements. However, if the licensee has subsequently determined that the release has caused, is causing, or may cause an adverse effect (for example, tier 1 or 2 guideline concentrations in soil and groundwater are exceeded), then section 2.2 of the Remediation Regulation requires a RAP to now be submitted.
To assist in submitting RAP information for previously unreported pre-2019 substance releases, a pre-2019 RAP submission tool and associated quick reference guide were made available via the OneStop webpage. The AER uses this information to assess the likelihood of risk at a site and additional information may be requested.
For lower risk, previously unreported substance releases for which pre-2019 RAP information or a professional contamination management report and RoSC are submitted, licensees will not also be required to report the release per the release reporting requirements. If the release is ongoing or there are any other release reporting triggers present (in addition to the potential for adverse effect), the licensee must follow the release reporting requirements.
For previously unreported pre-2019 substance releases where a licensee is not able to meet the requirements to submit a RAP (for example, a professional report and a RoSC form) within a two-year time frame, the AER considered extension requests made by authorized representatives of licensees before May 30, 2021.
Questions or concerns related to the Remediation Regulation may be submitted separately to Inquiries@aer.ca.
