On February 14, 2018, the Government of Québec published for consultation purposes 24 draft regulations aimed at implementing significant amendments made to the Québec Environment Quality Act (the "EQA") pursuant to Bill 1021.

The Government of Québec's intent is that twenty-two of these draft regulations come into force at the latest by December 1, 2018. The proposed regulations also include new transitional measures that would come into effect on March 23, 2018.

List of Draft Regulations:

  1. Regulation respecting work related to a water management or treatment facility;
  2. Regulation respecting ministerial authorizations and declarations of compliance in environmental matters;
  3. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting industrial depollution attestations;
  4. Regulation to amend the Agricultural Operations Regulation;
  5. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting hazardous materials;
  6. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting municipal wastewater treatment works;
  7. Regulation to amend the Water Withdrawal and Protection Regulation;
  8. Fertilizing Residuals Regulation;
  9. Regulation respecting extension of a storm water management system eligible for a declaration of compliance;
  10. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting framework for authorization of certain projects to transfer water out of the St. Lawrence River Basin;
  11. Regulation to amend Regulation respecting biomedical waste;
  12. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting liquid effluents of petroleum refineries;
  13. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting burial of contaminated soils;
  14. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting landfilling and incineration of residual materials;
  15. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting used tire storage;
  16. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting pulp and paper mills;
  17. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting snow elimination sites;
  18. Regulation to amend the Land Protection and Rehabilitation Regulation;
  19. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting contaminated soil storage and contaminated soil transfer stations;
  20. Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting hot mix asphalt plants;
  21. Regulation respecting Sand Pits and Quarries;
  22. Regulation to amend the Clear Air Regulation;
  23. Regulation respecting Private Waterworks and Sewer Services (Effective as of March 23, 2018);
  24. Regulation respecting certain transitional measures to carry out the Act to amend the Environment Quality Act to modernize the environmental authorization scheme and to amend other legislative provisions, in particular to reform the governance of the Green Fund (Effective as of March 23, 2018).

The environmental and regulatory team at McCarthy Tétrault LLP is currently reviewing these draft regulations in order to provide a more fulsome analysis of their impact on key stakeholders. Stay tuned for more!

Footnote

1 An Act to amend the Environment Quality Act to modernize the environmental authorization scheme and to amend other legislative provisions, in particular to reform the governance of the Green Fund), which was adopted by the Québec National Assembly in March 2017.

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