The Department of Environment and Climate Change regulates the clean-up of private and provincially-owned impacted sites in Newfoundland and Labrador. Effective August 30, 2021, the Department endorses the Atlantic RBCA for Impacted Sites in Atlantic Canada User Guidance Version 4.0 (July 2021) and the Atlantic RBCA Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) and Pathway-Specific Standards (PSS) (July 2021) in accordance with the implementation procedure timelines specified by Atlantic Partnership in Risk-Based Corrective Action Implementation (PIRI) (www.atlanticrbca.com). Under this new guidance, the CCME Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines should only be used for contaminants of concern not included in the EQS/PSS tables.
If a site is assessed or remediated to Tier I guidelines, it is the responsibility of Service NL to oversee the Impacted Sites Management process and ensure that it is brought to completion. Anything beyond assessment or remediation to Tier I guidelines falls under the responsibility of the Impacted Sites Management Section (ISMS) of the Pollution Prevention Division (PPD). As part of this process, ISMS completes reviews of environmental site assessment, risk assessment, remedial action/risk management plans and monitoring reports for impacted sites. Once satisfied that the Management of Impacted Sites process has been followed and the impacts have been satisfactorily addressed, the ISMS reviews and signs off on the Record of Site Condition completed by a registered Site Professional. This serves as acknowledgment of regulatory closure from the Department of impacts at a property.
As of May 1, 2015, there are fees for regulatory closure reviews.
Table 2: Tier II/III Regulatory Closure Fee Structure
| Property Land Use | Residential | Commercial | Industrial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | $500.00 + HST | $1,500.00 + HST | $3,000.00 + HST |
Notes:
- Definitions of each land use as per Atlantic Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) User Guidance (Version 4), July 2021.
- Agricultural land use, when encountered, is to follow commercial fee structure.
- Only one property per request.
- Fee is non-refundable, and is charged whether or not regulatory closure is obtained.
- These fees do not apply to Tier I reviews being completed by GSC-SNL.
Payment of the applicable standard fee is to accompany any submission of a Record of Site Condition. Proof of payment is required in the form of cheque, scanned copy of cheque, or receipt from Central Cashier’s Office. Payment can be made to the Department (by cheque) or through the Central Cashier’s Office by calling (709) 729-3042. Please quote account name MPA-Impacted Sites. Please make cheques payable to NL Exchequer.
The Central Cashier’s Office accepts payment in person by cash, debit, Mastercard or Visa. Payment can also be made to the Central Cashier’s Office by mail (money order or cheque). Please ensure a receipt is obtained for proof of payment to the Department.
For payment to the Department, please mail cheque to:
Attn: Jennifer Simms
Regulatory Closure Review
Pollution Prevention Division
Department of Environment and Climate Change
4th Floor West Block, Confederation Building
St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6