CEC Council orders factual record on Canada's enforcement of federal pulp and paper effluent regulations

The allegations were made in the Pulp and Paper submission (SEM-02-003), filed with the CEC on 8 May 2002 by Sierra Legal Defence Fund (SLDF) on behalf of several Canadian nongovernmental organizations. Section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act prohibits the deposit of a deleterious substance in water frequented by fish, except as authorized by regulations such as the PPER. The Submitters documented over 2,400 alleged violations of the PPER at approximately 70 mills in central and eastern Canada from 1995 to 2000 and claim very few were prosecuted. Most of the alleged violations involve the failure of mill effluent to meet limits on acute lethality, biochemical oxygen demand or total suspended solids or the failure to conduct follow-up tests required when tests indicate that effluent is acutely lethal. The Submitters listed twelve mills of particular concern.

After reviewing the submission in light of Canada's response, which was filed on 6 August 2002, the Secretariat recommended a factual record on 8 October 2003.

The Council instructed the Secretariat to prepare a factual record with regard to alleged failures to effectively enforce section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act and alleged effluent test failures and failures to conduct follow-up tests as required under the PPER, with respect to the following mills and time periods identified in the submission:

• Irving Pulp and Paper Ltd. at St. John from 1996 to 2000
• AV Cell Inc. at Atholville for 2000
• Abitibi-Consolidated at Grand Falls for 2000
• Bowater Mersey Paper Company Ltd. at Brooklyn for 2000
• Fjordcell Inc. at Jonquière for 2000
• Interlake Papers at St. Catherines for 2000
• Tembec Inc. at St. Raymond for 2000
• Uniforêt-Pâte Port Cartier Inc. at Port-Cartier for 2000
• F.F. Soucy Inc. at Rivière-du-Loup for 2000
• La Compagnie J. Ford Ltd. at Portneuf for 2000

The Council excluded from the factual record two mills included in the Submitter's list of mills of particular concern, the Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. mill at Iroquois Falls, Ontario and the Tembec Inc. mill at Temiscaming, Quebec, in light of Canada's ongoing investigations regarding those mills.

The Council instructed that the factual record describe Canada's consideration of actions taken by the provinces in regard to the listed mills to enforce provincial legislation, regulations and permit conditions related to pulp and paper mills. However, the submission makes no allegations about provincial enforcement of provincial laws.

The Council directed the Secretariat to provide the Parties with its overall work plan for gathering the relevant facts and to provide the Parties with the opportunity to comment on that plan.

The full text of the Council's resolution instructing the Secretariat to prepare a factual record, as well as the submission, Canada's response and the Secretariat's factual record recommendation, are available on the CEC web site, at <http://www.cec.org/citizen>.

Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) provides that the CEC Secretariat may consider a submission from any person or nongovernmental organization asserting that a Party to the NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce an environmental law. Where the Secretariat determines that the NAAEC Article 14(1) criteria are met, it may then proceed with a process that can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter.

The CEC was established under the NAAEC to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on those arising in the context of liberalized trade. The CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the top environment officials of Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Please visit the Citizen Submission on Enforcement Matters page for more information.