On February 22, 2023, building on a series of legislative and regulatory changes that have been enacted over the past two years, the Government of Quebec (“Government”) proposed amendments to 24 regulations covering a wide range of activities with potential environmental impact. Public consultation ends next April 8. We will describe the proposed changes in more detail below after a review of the legislative and regulatory changes that preceded the current proposal.
On December 15, 2021, the Government enacted the Regulation respecting the temporary implementation of the amendments made by chapter 7 of the Statutes of 2021 in connection with the management of flood risks[1] which established a transitional regime for the management of flood risk areas, riverbanks and littoral zones in addition to amending several provisions of the following regulations:
- Regulation respecting activities in wetlands, bodies of water and sensitive areas[2] (“WWSAR”);
- Regulation respecting the regulatory scheme applying to activities on the basis of their environmental impact[3] (“RRAEI”);
- Pesticides Management Code[4] ;
- Agricultural Operations Regulation[5].
Also noteworthy is the repeal of the Protection Policy for Lakeshores, Riverbanks, Littoral Zones and Floodplains[6] , the content of which has been partially incorporated into the new WWSAR.
In May 2022, a few months after these regulatory amendments came into force, the Quebec National Assembly adopted the Act mainly to reinforce the enforcement of environmental and dam safety legislation, to ensure the responsible management of pesticides and to implement certain measures of the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy concerning zero emission vehicles,[7] (“Omnibus Act 2022”), with the aim of modernizing and standardizing the legislation in force in Quebec in various matters relating to the environment.
To implement and follow up on certain measures set out in the Omnibus Act 2022, on August 17, 2022, the Government published a first regulatory omnibus amending nine (9) regulations, including the WWSAR and the RRAEI, recently amended in December 2021[8]. These regulatory amendments include :
- The addition or expansion of certain exemptions related to the obligation to obtain a ministerial authorization for the realization of activities likely to have an impact on the environment, notably in matters related to wetlands and bodies of water, the recovery and reclamation of residual materials, as well as the treatment and purification of air and wastewater;
- Increased protection of sensitive areas by regulating certain activities (e.g., extending the ban on races, rallies and other motorized vehicle competitions to alvars);
- The possibility of allowing, under certain conditions, an increase in the area cultivated on the territories covered by the cultivation ban.
Then, on February 22, 2023, the Government adopted a second regulatory omnibus proposing to amend the following 24 regulations:
- Pesticides Management Code, CQLR, chapter P-9.3, r. 1;
- Regulation respecting permits and certificates for the sale and use of pesticides, CQLR, chapter P-9.3, r. 2;
- Dam Safety Regulation, CQLR, chapter S-3.1.01;
- Regulation respecting activities in wetlands, bodies of water and sensitive areas, Order in Council 1461-2022;
- Regulation respecting the regulatory scheme applying to activities on the basis of their impact on the environment, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 17.1;
- Regulation respecting the environmental impact assessment and review of certain projects, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 23.1;
- Snow, road salt and abrasives management Regulation, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 28.2;
- Regulation respecting the temporary implementation of the amendments made by chapter 7 of the Statutes of 2021 in connection with the management of flood risks, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 32.2;
- Clean Air Regulation, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 4.1;
- Regulation respecting halocarbons, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r.29;
- Regulation respecting environmental standards for heavy vehicles, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r.33;
- Regulation respecting the quality of the atmosphere, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r.38;
- Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting sand pits and quarries, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r.7.1
- Regulation respecting biomedical waste, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r.12;
- Regulation respecting the operation of industrial establishments, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 26.1;
- Land Protection and Rehabilitation Regulation, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 37;
- Regulation respecting contaminated soil storage and contaminated soil transfer stations, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 46;
- Regulation respecting the traceability of excavated contaminated soils, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 47.01;
- Regulation respecting the liquid effluents of petroleum refineries, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 16;
- Regulation respecting pulp and paper mill, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 27;
- Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 40;
- Regulation respecting hot mix asphalt plants, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 48;
- Regulation respecting threatened or vulnerable plant species and their habitats, CQLR, chapter E-12.01, r. 3;
- Agricultural Operations Regulation, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 26.
These numerous regulatory amendments are being introduced in order to implement certain statutory authorizations, to respond to recommendations received by the Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (“Ministry of the Environment”), and to update certain regulations in accordance with the recent amendments mentioned above[9].
Highlights of what is proposed in the second regulatory omnibus include:
- The creation of eight (8) new floristic habitats, most of which are portions of marshes in the freshwater estuary of the St. Lawrence[10];
- The amendment of the Pesticides Management Code, CQLR, c. P-9.3, r. 1, to prohibit the possession of certain pesticides containing an active ingredient;
- The amendment of the Dam Safety Regulation , CQLR, c. S-3.1.01, r. 1, among other things, to review the requirements for dam safety assessment studies, to clarify the circumstances under which the Minister shall conduct or review the categorization of dams, and to clarify the process for determining the level of consequences in the event of failure;
- The amendment of the Regulation respecting halocarbons, CQLR ., Q-2, r. 29, to prohibit the repair, conversion or modification of equipment that uses certain types of halocarbons that have a global warming potential greater than the specified limits. It also provides that SF6 will now be considered a hazardous material, in order to improve and expand the control of this substance;
- The amendment of the RRAEI in order to exempt, under certain conditions, the reconstruction, replacement, dismantling, substantial modification and relocation of residential buildings, when such work is carried out in lakeshores. It also provides that the exemption for the construction of a main residential building in a flood zone would be amended to include landscaping work that respects the topography of the land;
- The extension of the requirements for Section II of Chapter I of Title IV of the RRAEI dealing with greenhouse gases to any hydrogen production process, with the exception of the water electrolysis process powered by hydroelectric, solar or wind sources;
- The amendment of the Regulation respecting the environmental impact assessment and review of certain projects, CQLR Q-2, r. 23.1, in order to provide for specific measures for plants manufacturing active materials, components intended for the production of batteries as well as for battery assembly plants;
- An increase of nearly 15,000 hectares of cultivable land[11], by allowing the cultivation of agricultural land located in municipalities subject to the cultivation ban when they are located within the right-of-way of a Hydro-Quebec transmission line or when they are located in a watershed referred to in Appendix V.1, which excludes those whose water quality is degraded[12].
Until April 8, 2023, the Ministry of the Environment is holding public consultations on these draft regulations. Following these consultations, the regulations will be published in their final form. Most of the provisions of these regulations will come into force 15 days following their publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec.
Contact a member of our Environmental Law and Municipal, Planning & Land Development team if you have any questions or concerns about how these new measures will impact you or your business.
[1] O.C. 1596-2021 concerning Regulations for the Interim Implementation of the Flood Risk Management Amendments of Chapter 7 of the Acts of 2021, (2022) 1 G.O. II, 8.
[2] Regulation respecting activities in wetlands, bodies of water and sensitive areas, CQLR , chapter Q-2, r. 0.1.
[3] Regulation respecting the supervision of activities in relation to their impact on the environment, CQLR , chapter Q-2, r. 17.1.
[4] Pesticides Management Code, CQLR , chapter P-9.3, r. 1.
[5] Agricultural Operations Regulation, CQLR , chapter Q-2, r. 26.
[6] Protection Policy for Lakeshores, Riverbanks, Littoral Zones and Floodplains, CQLR , chapter Q-2, r. 35.
[7] An Act mainly to reinforce the enforcement of environmental and dam safety legislation, to ensure the responsible management of pesticides and to implement certain measures of the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy concerning zero emission vehicles, SQ 2022, c. 8.
[8] Omnibus draft to amend several regulations, primarily the authorization scheme, Memorandum to the Council of Ministers, Government of Quebec, April 6, 2022..
[9] Various regulatory amendments to make adjustments to follow the legislative changes introduced by Chapter 8 of the Statutes of 2022 and to amend several regulations made primarily under the Environment Quality Act, Memorandum to the Council of Ministers, Government of Quebec, February 9, 2023.
[10] Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting threatened or vulnerable plant species and their habitats (draft), (2023) 155 G.O. II, 203 .
[11] Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les Changements Climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs, Various regulatory amendments to make adjustments in response to legislative changes introduced by Chapter 8 of the Statutes of 2022 and to amend several regulations made primarily under the Environmental Quality Act, Regulatory Impact Analysis, Quebec, 2023. .
[12] Regulation to amend the Agricultural Operations Regulation, CQLR, chapter Q-2, r. 26
