PIRI Newsletter #2 January 2002

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I. Harmonization with Canada Wide Standards

The Canada-wide standard for petroleum hydrocarbon in soils (PHC-CWS) was endorsed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment on May 1, 2001. Each Province and territory has agreed to integrate the CWS parameters, to ensure their programs provide protection equal to or better than the CWS.

The Atlantic PIRI Committee has completed its review of the Atlantic RBCA process and identified the areas where the methodology and software used in the four Atlantic Provinces need to be updated. This includes changes to the Atlantic RBCA software and documentation.

The updated Atlantic RBCA will include:

  • New Tier I lookup tables
  • Some new default values parameters
  • Some new terminology
  • Consistency in laboratory methods.

The Atlantic RBCA software is been revised and the "beta" version will be tested early in 2002. The updated software should be available by mid-year from GSI for $795 (US). Current users of Atlantic RBCA will be able to update their program for $295 (US).

Details of the PHC CWS are available on the CCME web site in the Current Initiatives/Canada-Wide Standards section.

Details on how Atlantic RBCA compares to the PHC CWS was published in PIRI News #1, October 2000,available for download in the Technical Documents section of this web site.


II. Support for Atlantic RBCA

The Council of Atlantic Premiers released "Working Together for Atlantic Canada: An Action Plan for Regional Co-operation" in November 2001. In the action plan, the four Premiers committed to improving the quality and efficiency of government services for protection of the region’s environment; and specifically to the use of risk-based corrective action for the evaluation of petroleum contaminated sites in the region.

A renewed Memorandum of Understanding is under consideration, which will provide the PIRI Committee with a clear mandate to continue promoting Atlantic RBCA in the region. The MOU should be signed by the end of January, 2002.


III. News from the Provinces

  • Leaking home fuel-oil tanks are a significant problem across the region. The remediation cost for each spill can add up to more than $150,000 - not to mention the worry for homeowners or the risks to human health and the environment. To address this problem, Prince Edward Island has established Petroleum Storage Tank Regulations. Installers must be licensed and home heating tanks are being tagged to certify they have been installed or inspected by an accredited installer. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are considering launching similar programs.

  • Newfoundland and Labrador is updating its Contaminated Sites Cleanup Criteria.

  • Nova Scotia has stated that, with the updates to Atlantic RBCA discussed above, it will accept the process as equivalent to the PHC CWS.

IV. Upcoming from Atlantic PIRI

With a renewed mandate and the update to the software, the Atlantic PIRI committee expects to be busy. Upcoming issues include:

  • evaluating the use of the fuel additive MTBE in Atlantic Canada and its' possible inclusion within the Atlantic RBCA framework
  • an Atlantic RBCA implementation conference
  • refresher and advanced training courses with the new software

V. Contact Atlantic PIRI

For more information about Atlantic RBCA, to subscribe to our e-mail notification service for further updates and for the coordinates of Atlantic PIRI members, visit the Atlantic RBCA web site www.atlanticrbca.com

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Harmonization
PIRI Newsletter #2 January 2002

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