(a) The national contaminated sites remediation program (NCSRP) was a mandated program and, as such, ended as scheduled on March 31, 1995. Subsequent to its termination, Environment Canada reallocated $7.8M from its 1995/96 A-Base to assist the provinces in remediating selected outstanding high priority orphan sites.
Significant progress was made in regard to one of the primary purposes of the program putting the necessary infrastructure, scientific tool and institutional frameworks in place. The federal government provided a strong catalytic role recognizing the program was not designed to continue forever.
The infrastructure which was developed provides provinces with the required scientific tools to address their sites, as well as the recommended principles for implementing "polluter pays" legislation. Through the NCSRP, provinces have put, or are putting, in place new legislation with the authority to enforce clean-up or to recover costs.
The government will continue to get its house in order. Federal departments are responsible for their sites and will continue to clean up their sites as per the code of environmental stewardship, greening of government policies and Treasury Board guidelines.
Furthermore, as part of recent amendments to the Auditor General's Act, departments will be required to table their sustainable development strategies to Parliament by 1997. These strategies will outline each department's goals and action plans for integrating sustainable development into its operations. It is expected that the (new) Commissioner on the Environment will hold other government departments (OGDs) accountable for their actions with respect to further assessment and clean up.
Until the end of FY 1996/97, Environment Canada will assist OGDs with contaminated sites through the contaminated sites management working group (CSMWG). This interdepartmental committee is chaired by EC and the Department of National Defence (DND) and is working toward ensuring a consistent approach to the clean up of federal contaminated sites. The CSMWG is planning workshops (to be prepared by EC) which will inform custodial managers about the tools developed under the NCSRP, as well as focus on risk assessment, risk management and available technologies. The CSMWG also plans to explore legal liability issues and prepare a best practices and pollution prevention manual.
Environment Canada will continue to provide technical assistance to federal departments, resources permitting.
(b) No direct amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) are currently being proposed in this area although guidelines on the management of federal underground and aboveground fuel storage tanks, a common source of contamination, will be issued shortly.
Progress on federal contaminated sites will continue to be ensured through existing government policies (code of environmental stewardship, greening of government, Treasury Board secretariat increased ministerial authority and accountability policy (1986), federal government guidelines (EC, TBS)) and through interdepartmental committees such as the contaminated sites management working group.
(c) Although the department supported the development of an inventory in 1990, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) members were unable to reach an agreement and it was decided that individual members would be responsible for reporting on the number of sites within their jurisdiction.
As per the intent of the code of environmental stewardship and under greening of government initiatives, federal departments have a responsibility to properly manage land under their custody. It is the responsibility of individual custodial departments to ensure that accurate inventory information is recorded and maintained.
Through the interdepartmental committee on contaminated sites, Environment Canada, in conjunction with other federal departments, is currently scoping the size and nature of the federal problem. Furthermore, to ensure consistency in reporting the CSMWG is currently developing a template for reporting information on contaminated sites.
(d) It is important to understand that the NCSRP is a joint federal-provincial program. Progress has been reflected in both the main estimates and annual reports to CCME.
Although the program did lapse funding in the initial years, this is a reflection of the time required by some provinces to gear up to full capacity and in terms of finding matching funding.
Cabinet and the Treasury Board Secretariat were aware of reallocation of funds from the NCSRP to other high priority initiatives (such as the Great Lakes action plan and the North American waterfowl management plan).
(e) Recognizing that funding for the federal PCB destruction program was to end on March 31, 1995, the interdepartmental committee on federal PCB destruction, under the leadership of Environment Canada, devised an alternate plan for the destruction of federal PCB wastes.
Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) agreed to act as service agent for federal departments and agencies, and contracted nationally with the Alberta Special Waste Treatment Centre for the destruction of federal PCB wastes.
More than 1,100 tonnes of federal PCB wastes have been destroyed to date, and negotiations continue between PWGSC and its federal clients to dispose of the remaining PCB wastes.