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ARCHIVED - Factsheet - Environmental Emergency Regulations under Part 8 of CEPA 1999


ARCHIVED - Fact Sheets

Environmental Emergency Regulations under Part 8 of CEPA 1999

Environmental Emergency Regulations under Part 8 of CEPA 1999 (PDF Format, 388 KB)

  1. What are the E2 Regulations?
  2. What are the Timelines?
  3. What is an E2 Plan?
  4. What are the E2 Regulated Substances?
  5. Are existing plans acceptable?
  6. Will the information be accessible to the public?
  7. Who is obligated to report an environmental emergency?
  8. Want to know more?

Through the Environmental Emergency (E2) Regulations, the Government of Canada is requiring the preparation and implementation of environmental emergency plans to manage toxic and other hazardous substances.

Key requirements of the E2 Regulations:

  • Submit a Notice of Identification of Substance and Place within 90 days
  • Prepare an E2 plan and submit a Notice of Preparation within 6 months
  • Implement and test an E2 plan and submit a Notice of Implementation within 1 year
  • Keep a copy of the plan at the place for which it was prepared
  • Test your E2 plan annually and keep records for a minimum of five years
  • Notify and report environmental emergencies involving regulated substances

What are the E2 Regulations?

The Environmental Emergencies Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette Part II on September 10, 2003.

Under the E2 Regulations, anyone storing or using a listed substance above the specified thresholds, or who has a container with a capacity for that substance in excess of the specified quantity, will have to notify Environment Canada of the place where the substance is held, along with the maximum expected quantity and the size of the largest container for that substance. If both the above criteria are exceeded, the regulatee is required to prepare and implement an environmental emergency plan and notify Environment Canada accordingly.

What are the Timelines?

In order to allow the regulated community to fully understand and adequately comply with the requirements of the E2 Regulations, there is a built-in 90-day delay from the date of publication in Canada Gazette Part II to the coming into force of the E2 Regulations. The E2 Regulations will therefore come into force on November 18, 2003. This timeframe will allow regulatees to properly inform and train their staff.

What is an E2 Plan?

An E2 plan documents ways to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from environmental emergencies caused by toxic or other hazardous substances. The complexity of the E2 plan may vary depending on the circumstances. For more information on how to prepare and implement an E2 plan, refer to the Implementation Guidelines for Part 8 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 - Environmental Emergency Plans now available on Environment Canada's CEPA Environmental Registry

What are the E2 Regulated Substances?

The E2Regulations will initially cover 174 substances that, if released to the environment as a result of an environmental emergency, act of terrorism or vandalism, may harm human health or environmental quality. These substances are listed in Schedule 1 of the E2 Regulations and can be found at Environmental Emergencies.

Are existing plans acceptable?

The E2 Regulations recognize that existing environmental emergency plans, whether developed voluntarily or required under other statutes or regulations (federal, provincial or territorial) will be acceptable as long as they meet the requirements of the E2 Regulations. In the event that an existing plan does not meet all the requirements, the plan will need to be amended or modified accordingly.

Will the information be accessible to the public?

Once reviewed, the notices will be posted on the CEPA Registry, where they will be available for public review. However, in concert with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, steps will be taken to manage information in a way that does not place Canadians at risk through access to such information by potential criminal or terrorist elements, while ensuring availability to first responders to the extent legally permissible.

Facilities that are subject to the E2 Regulations are encouraged to work with local emergency response personnel and community groups in preparing their E2 plans.

Who is obligated to report an environmental emergency?

Anyone who causes or contributes to an environmental emergency involving any E2regulated substance is required to, as soon as possible, notify a person designated under the E2 Regulations. Further information on the verbal and written reporting requirements is outlined in the Implementation Guidelines for Part 8 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 - Environmental Emergency Plans now available on Environment Canada's CEPA Environmental Registry.

Want to know more?

Here are some good sources of information on the E2 Regulations under CEPA 1999:

Further Information

For further information, please contact:
Environment Canada
Environmental Emergencies Program
Email: ee-ue@ec.gc.ca

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Correction of previous information regarding the Environmental Emergency Regulations

Environmental Emergency Regulations under Part 8 of CEPA 1999

The Environmental Emergency (E2) Regulations were registered on August 20, 2003 and published in Part II of the Canada Gazette on September 10, 2003.

We wish to advise you that the E2 Regulations are to come into force on November 18, 2003, that is, 90 days after the day on which they were registered. Please note that the deadline dates by which some of the requirements under the E2 Regulations must be complied with will be determined by counting from that date of coming into force, as shown in the chart below.

In previous correspondence and communications, Environment Canada has incorrectly indicated to stakeholders that some of the deadline dates under the E2 Regulations would be determined by counting from December 9, 2003 instead of November 18, 2003. This suggested that each of these deadline dates would be 21 days later than it actually is. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

For additional information on the Environmental Emergency Regulations, how they may apply to you and other relevant documentation, please visit Environment Canada's Environmental Emergencies Website.

Paula Caldwell St-Onge
Director General/Directrice générale
National Programs Directorate/Programmes nationaux


Selected Timelines Under the Environmental Emergency Regulations 1
Subsection2RequirementDeadline for ComplianceHow Deadline is Affected by Date of Coming Into Force
3(3)Submit notice pursuant to subsection 3(1) [Notice Regarding the Identification of Substance and Place]

Within 90 days after the later of:

  • (a) the day on which the E2 Regulations come into force; and
  • (b) the day on which the maximum quantity or capacity of the largest container exceed the specified threshold
The deadline determined pursuant to paragraph 3(3)(a) is February 16, 2004
3(6)Submit certification that the information contained in the notice submitted pursuant to subsection 3(1) is accurate and completeThe certification must be submitted at the same time as any notice required under subsection 3(1), 3(4) or 3(5)If a notice is required to be submitted under subsection 3(1) and if the deadline for submitting that notice is determined pursuant to paragraph 3(3)(a), then the deadline for submitting the corresponding certification required under subsection 3(6) is February 16, 2004
4(4)Submit a Report
Regarding the Preparation of an Environmental Emergency Plan

Within 6 months after the later of:

  • (a) the day on which the E2 Regulations come into force; and
  • (b) the day on which a person is first required to prepare an environmental emergency plan under subsection 4(1)
The deadline determined pursuant to paragraph 4(4)(a) is May 18, 2004
4(5)Submit a certification that the information contained in the report under subsection 4(4) is accurate and completeThe certification must be submitted at the same time as the report under subsection 4(4)If the deadline for submitting the report under subsection 4(4) is determined pursuant to paragraph 4(4)(a), then the deadline for submitting the certification is May 18, 2004
5(1)Implement and test the environmental emergency plan and submit a Notice of Implementation and Testing of an Environmental Emergency Plan

The environmental emergency plan must be implemented and tested within 1 year after the later of:

  • (a) the day on which the E2 Regulations come into force; and
  • (b) the day on which a person is first required to prepare an environmental emergency plan under subsection 4(1)
The deadline determined pursuant to paragraph 5(1)(a) is November 18, 2004
5(2)Submit a certification that the information contained in the notice submitted pursuant to subsection 5(1) is accurate and completeThe certification must be submitted at the same time as the notice under subsection 5(1)If the deadline under subsection 5(1) is determined pursuant to paragraph 5(1)(a), then the deadline for submitting the certification is November 18, 2004
6(1)Update and test the environmental emergency planAt least once a yearIf the deadline for implementing and testing the E2 plan is determined pursuant to paragraph 5(1)(a), then the annual deadline for updating and testing the environmental emergency plan is November 18 of each year thereafter

1 - The "E2 Regulations". Disclaimer: This chart sets out timelines under the E2 Regulations that are affected by the date of coming into force of the E2 Regulations. It does not set out all the timelines under the E2 Regulations. It is provided for information purposes only and is not an official version of nor a substitute for the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and/or the E2 Regulations.

2 - Subsections of the E2 Regulations.

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