Proposed Coal Mining Effluent Regulations: Overview
The Government of Canada is committed to preventing and managing pollution from industrial sectors.
Effluent from coal mines in Canada can be a source of pollution that harms aquatic life and specifically fish and fish habitat. The evidence of environmental effects is clear and Canada is moving to address the issue. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is developing Coal Mining Effluent Regulations under the Fisheries Act. These regulations will manage the threats to fish and fish habitat by limiting levels of harmful substances in coal mining effluent. Once in place, they will apply to the 28 existing coal mines in Canada and to all future coal mine expansions and new coal mine projects.
These regulations will implement national effluent quality standards for selenium, nitrate and suspended solids as well as requirements related to pH and toxicity. They will also set requirements for monitoring, reporting and record keeping, including environmental effects monitoring.
Status
Given the importance of the Coal Mining Effluent Regulations, ECCC has released 5 discussion documents since 2017 to inform interested parties of the latest proposed approach and to solicit feedback before the publication of the proposed regulations in Canada Gazette, Part I. The discussion documents are available under the “Previous discussion documents” section of this webpage.
The proposed approach includes effluent quality standards for deleterious substances of concern, including selenium, nitrate and suspended solids. In addition, ECCC proposes to provide a 5-year status report on the selenium requirements, and to review the Regulations as a whole after 10 years. The status report and regulatory review will take into account the results from environmental effects monitoring and will also consider advances in selenium removal technologies. This work will inform future policy development and possible amendments.
Information sessions to discuss the January 2022 discussion paper were held in February 2022, followed by bilateral meetings with Indigenous communities until March 2023.
Previous discussion documents
- January 2022: Proposed Approach for Coal Mining Effluent Regulations – Discussion Document (PDF)
- February 2020:
- December 2018: CMER EEM - Key Areas Considered for Change from November 2017 Consultation Document (PDF)
- Fall 2018: Signal Check: Proposed Coal Mining Effluent Regulations (PDF)
- November 2017: Proposed Approach for Coal Mining Effluent Regulations – Consultation Document (PDF)
- September 2017: National Consultation Report, February to April 2017 – Summary of Input (PDF)
- January 2017: Proposed Regulatory Framework for Coal Mining – Consultation Document (PDF)
Related links
- Fisheries Act
- Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations
- Impact Assessment Act
- Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999
- Selenium and its compounds – information sheet
- Order Adding Toxic Substances to Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999
Contact us
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Regulatory Development and Analysis Section
Mining and Processing Division
351 boul. St-Joseph, 11th floor
Gatineau QC K1A 0H3
Email: ermc-cmrd@ec.gc.ca