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If you think there has been a spill that would constitute non-compliance to Environmental Laws and Regulations, you can contact your local Environmental Control Centre.
If there is an emergency, you can contact the Intervention Team at 1-866-694-5454
or
Sonia Laforest, M.Sc.
Agente d’opérations aux urgences environnementales/Emergency operation officer
Environnement Canada/Environment Canada
Bur/Office: 514.283.1816
Urg/Emergency :1.866.283.2333
courriel : sonia.laforest@ec.gc.ca
When there is a confined spill inside a water treatment centre that remains inside the building or within their treatment system, only the Provincial Ministries and the municipality will be contacted. However, if the spill occurs in water or a fish habitat, Fisheries Law applies and the Federal government, as well as Environment Canada must be alerted as soon as possible.
When the spill occurs at the pulp and paper mills, the Province and Federal governments must be alerted as soon as possible. The spill may be considered regular or irregular. A regular spill means they have gone over their normal limit whereas an irregular spill encompasses all other spills into the environment. Environment Canada has regulations for pulp and paper mill effluent covered under Fisheries Law.
Notifying the public : Each mill or treatment centre has an emergency plan indicating when they must alert the public according to the type of spill. The Ministère du Développement Durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs describes all of these spill types on their website.
In Ottawa, if the spill does not involve hazardous waste, illegal waste disposal or a breach of certificate of approval, the first step should be to visit the City of Ottawa website for spills and discharge information and Call 3-1-1.
Importantly, if the spill is not on city property, it is the owner’s responsibility to clean up the waste. However, if you do witness a spill (for example leaching aerosol cans that have caused fish kills), you can call the Spill Action Center at 1-800-268-6060. You can also visit their website.
Further contacts include the Nutrient Management Hotline at 1-866-242-4460 for issues such as the improper disposal of manure near or into a watercourse, contamination of ground water due to faulty manure storage facilities, or the application of nutrients to the land at rates much beyond what is required by a crop. These types of nutrient practices could be a violation of various provincial and federal laws, including the following:
•Ontario’s Nutrient Management Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 4;
•Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O 1990, c. E.19, as amended;
•the Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.40, as amended;
•the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, S.C. 1999, c.33;
•Canada’s Fisheries Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-14,as amended;
And finally, the Pollution Hot Line is a toll-free, 24-hour public hotline for reporting acts of pollution. The service is available at 1-866-MOE-TIPS (1-866-663-8477)
If an individual or facility accidentally discharges prohibited waste into the sanitary, combined, or storm sewer system, or discharges material which is not normally discharged regardless of the quantity, they must notify a representative of the Sewer Use Program immediately at 613-580-2424 ext. 23326, during regular business hours, Emergency calls will be accepted at the Contact Centre (3-1-1).
The following information should be provided when reporting a discharge:
•Location of the spill
•Names of the individual who discharged the waste and the individual who reported the event
•Time of the discharge
•Type and volume of material discharged and any associated hazards
•Corrective actions being taken to control the discharge