1. Effective date

This policy is effective as of July 1, 2000.

2. Policy objective

To enhance management of federal contaminated sites and solid waste landfills through the development of improved information.

3. Policy statement

It is government policy that custodial departments establish and maintain a database of their contaminated sites and their solid waste landfills and provide this information to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat for incorporation into a central "Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory" and a central "Federal Solid Waste Landfills Inventory" within the Directory of Federal Real Property (DFRP).

4. Application

This policy applies to all departments within the meaning of section 2 of the Financial Administration Act, unless exempt by specific acts or regulations.

5. Policy requirements

1. Departments must provide data to the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory for all known contaminated sites for which they are the custodians. Data is to be provided for all sites that were known to be or to have been in a contaminated state as of April 1, 1998. This data is to be provided even if there is no requirement to remediate the sites or even if all the required data is not immediately available.

2. Departments may also include information on contaminated sites that were remediated before April 1, 1998.

3. Departments must also provide data to the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory for non-federal contaminated sites for which the federal government has accepted some or all financial responsibility for site remediation.

4. Departments must provide data on newly identified contaminated sites at the earliest feasible date.

5. Departments must provide data to the Federal Solid Waste Landfills Inventory for all solid waste landfills for which they are the custodians. This data is to be provided for all open solid waste landfill sites as well as for closed solid waste landfill sites that are or were undergoing post-closure care as of April 1, 1998.

6. Departments must input data to the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory and to the Federal Solid Waste Landfills Inventory in accordance with existing procedures for the input of data to the Directory of Federal Real Property. The data required for each contaminated site is outlined in the Contaminated Sites Input Guide and the data required for each solid waste landfill site is outlined in the Solid Waste Landfills Input Guide.

7. Departments must update information and complete unfilled data fields as and when more accurate or complete information becomes available. As a minimum, data should be updated annually at the same time as the "Completeness and Accuracy" certification exercise of the Directory of Federal Real Property.

8. For initial input to the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory and the Federal Solid Wastes Landfill Inventory, custodial departments are to provide the best available information on known sites by March 31, 2001.

6. Responsibilities

1. Custodial departments are responsible for entering information into the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory and the Federal Solid Waste Landfills Inventory and for the quality of the information so entered.

2. Environment Canada provides scientific advice to custodial departments on the management of contaminated sites and on the preparation of information to be included in the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory and the Federal Solid Waste Landfills Inventory.

3. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is responsible for maintaining the Directory of Federal Real Property, including the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory and the Federal Solid Waste Landfills Inventory

7. Monitoring

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat will determine how this policy is applied in departments, how effective it is, and whether the policy needs to be revised. It will do this through ongoing contacts with departments, by consulting with the Treasury Board Advisory Committee on Real Property, and by noting audits and reviews conducted by departments or the Auditor General of Canada.

8. References

8.1 Authority

This policy is issued pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, subsections  7.(1)(d.1), 9(1.1), and 9(2).

8.2 TB publications

Accounting for Costs and Liabilities Related to Contaminated Sites (Draft Policy)

Contaminated Sites Inventory Input Guide

EnviroGuide

Solid Waste Landfills Inventory Input Guide

Treasury Board Real Property Administration Policy

Treasury Board Real Property Environment Policy

Treasury Board Real Property Glossary

9. Enquiries

Please direct enquiries about this policy to your departmental headquarters. For interpretation of this policy, departmental headquarters should contact:

Registrar, Directory of Federal Real Property
Real Property and Materiel Policy Directorate
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
L'Esplanade Laurier
140 O'Connor Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0G5
Telephone: (613) 957-2510
Facsimile: (613) 957-2405
E-mail: rpmpd@tbs-sct.gc.ca

Real Property and Materiel Policy Directorate
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
L'Esplanade Laurier
140 O'Connor Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0G5
Telephone: (613) 941-7173
Facsimile: (613) 957-2405
E-mail: rpmpd@tbs-sct.gc.ca

10. Definitions

Contaminated Site (Site contaminİ) - A site at which substances occur at concentrations: (1) above background levels and pose or are likely to pose an immediate or long-term hazard to human health or the environment or (2) exceed levels specified in policies and regulations.

Solid Waste Landfill (Dİcharge de dİchets solides) - A defined area of land or excavation that receives or has previously received waste that may include household waste, commercial solid waste, non-hazardous sludge, and industrial solid waste.