Disposal at sea permit application guide: process for dredged material, chapter 3.1

Official Title: Disposal at Sea Permitting Process for Dredged Material, Chapter 3.1, Step I: Pre-application

3.1.1 Consult with Disposal at Sea Program regarding proposed project

If you are planning a project that may involve disposal of dredged material at sea, contact your nearest Disposal at Sea Program regional office listed in Appendix A as soon as possible to ensure that all pre-application requirements are completed. If you are planning to apply for a multi-site permit, you should be aware that steps 3.1.2 to 3.1.7 may come later in the process, hence it is essential that you contact the nearest Program regional office for further guidance pertaining to multi-site permits.

3.1.2 Submit project description and load site preliminary information to help inform the sampling approach

Your project description submission should include:

• purpose of project
• who is involved, and their roles
• scope of project, as a minimum:
  • dredging area
  • transport to and from the disposal site, and
  • disposal activity
• general location map
• detailed site map
• disposal site map
• project schedule.

Load site preliminary information is required to identify contaminants of potential concern and will inform the sampling plan and characterization assessment. The information provides an overview of the project environment including but not limited to:

• Load site(s) description and maps
• Volume (place measure) and known physical and chemical characteristics of the material to be disposed
• Current and historical site uses or events that could impact sediment quality
• Current and historical uses of, or events at, adjacent sites that could impact sediment quality
• Known sensitive species, including Species at Risk Act listed species, or habitat at or near the load site(s)
• Site characteristics or activities that could affect movement of sediments
• Any previous loading activity and data or information from that activity.

Existing information on the material proposed for disposal will be reviewed as the first step in the characterization process. Good-quality data may significantly reduce the amount of sampling and analysis required. Some examples of sources of data may include:

• previous disposal at sea permit applications
• physical, chemical or biological data collected at the site
• geotechnical and geological reports
• other environmental site assessment reports
• aerial photographs (past and present)
• real estate and fire insurance maps
• land use records
• departmental records such as contaminated site lists (provincial and federal)
• knowledgeable persons at or near the site (managers, employees, adjacent property owners)
• city atlases
• local libraries and archives
• traditional ecological knowledge.

The type and extent of sources available will vary but should always include enough information to enable Program staff to adequately address sampling and testing issues.

3.1.3 Develop and submit sampling plan

Sampling will be required to characterize the dredged material unless all of the following conditions are met:

• samples were collected in the last 5 years from within the proposed dredge boundary and are representative of existing conditions
• historical samples were analyzed, at a minimum, for:
  • cadmium (Cd)
  • mercury (Hg) [and other metals that form part of a standard suite of metals]
  • polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
  • polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
  • total organic carbon and particle size
• no new pollution sources are suspected or confirmed at the load site(s), including spills or other pollution incidents, or new marine or land-based industry.

If any of the above criteria are not satisfied, sampling may be required to characterize the dredged material. You must contact the nearest Disposal at Sea Program regional office, listed in Appendix A, prior to developing a sampling plan to ensure that sampling will appropriately characterize the dredged material. We can also provide guidance on the preparation of a sampling plan, including the collection and handling of samples, essential field information, and preparation of samples for analysis. Contaminants should be analyzed according to the standards of the minimum sample analytical requirements for metals, and physical and organic parameters provided in Appendix C.4.

The sampling plan should:

• outline the project proposal
• set out the study objectives
• detail the proposed sampling, analysis, and quality assurance/quality control procedures (QA/QC).

Once drafted, the sampling plan is submitted to your nearest Program office for review. It is critical that you have the Program's endorsement of the sampling plan in advance of sampling. You may be required to collect additional samples or supporting information if you do not have agreement from us on the sampling approach or fail to follow their sampling advice.

For the purposes of quality control, we may participate both as on-site observer(s) and advisor(s) during the collection of samples by applicants or their representatives.

3.1.4 Submit characterization report

Following sampling, a characterization report that includes the results of analysis and relevant QA/QC documentation must be provided to Program staff to ensure an efficient review and assessment. The minimum information to be provided in a permit application for dredged material is:

• total organic carbon
• concentrations of regulated contaminants (Cd, Hg, total PAHs and total PCBs)
• any other contaminants of interest
  • including results of a complete metal scan, and any other contaminants as determined by considering current and historical pollution sources around the site
• the geophysical nature of the waste (grain size distribution and grain size analysis)

In general, the load site characterization of the material and its constituents must take into account the following:

• material origin, total amount, form and average composition
• material properties: physical, chemical, biochemical and biological
• material toxicity
• contaminant persistence: physical, chemical and biological
• contaminant accumulation and biotransformation in biological materials or sediments.

If analytical results from initial sampling indicate that contaminants may be a concern, the proposed sampling plan design may need to be reassessed and modified, in consultation with Program staff. At that time, it may be determined that additional sampling or analyses will be required.

Related links

• Disposal at Sea Permit Application Regulations, Appendix 1, Part 1: Minimum information requirements
• CEPA Schedule 6: Assessment of waste or other matter
• Permit application guide, Appendix D: Data requirements for dredged material

3.1.5 Submit a waste prevention audit

You have an obligation to attempt to reduce the amount of waste intended for disposal.

If the waste prevention audit identifies opportunities for waste prevention at source, you will be expected to formulate and implement a waste prevention strategy. The strategy should be developed in collaboration with Program staff and other relevant agencies. The strategy must include specific waste reduction targets and provision for further waste prevention audits to ensure that these targets are met. Permit issuance decisions will be subject to compliance with this requirement.

3.1.6 Submits assessment of alternative disposal options

A detailed description and characterization of the dredged material is an essential precondition for the consideration of disposal alternatives, and the basis for a decision as to whether the material may be disposed of at sea. Adequate characterization is required so that proper assessment can be made of its potential impacts on human health and the environment. If the material is not adequately characterized, then Program staff will not give further consideration to the application.

The assessments of alternatives must include considerations of feasible management options for dredged material, including alternatives to disposal (for example, re-use of the waste), and various disposal possibilities (for example, upland or at sea). Where disposal at sea is identified as an acceptable option, it is also important to recognize the potential value of the waste material as a resource and consider its possible beneficial use (for example, dredged material might be a resource for beach nourishment).

In developing your alternatives assessment, you should consult with Program staff, other federal, provincial or terriorial and municipal government departments, Aboriginal groups and stakeholders, as appropriate. The alternatives assessment should demonstrate that appropriate consideration has been given to the following hierarchy of waste management options:

1. reduce, re-use,  and beneficial use
2. off-site recycling
3. destruction of hazardous constituents
4. treatment to reduce or remove the hazardous constituents
5. disposal on land
6. open water disposal at sea.

A comparative analysis of each disposal option, including the following considerations, is required:

• environmental costs (potential impact and risks) and benefits (for example, beach nourishment)
• risk to human health
• hazards, including accidents, associated with treatment, packaging, transport and disposal
• economics including energy costs and considering operational feasibility
• exclusion of future uses including conflicting use of resources (potential and actual).

Disposal site selection

If disposal at sea is found to be the appropriate management option, potential disposal sites must be identified and characterized to understand the potential impacts on the receiving environment. Alterations to the physical environment, risks to human health, devaluation of marine resources and interference with other legitimate uses of the sea are viewed as primary concerns.

Existing sites should be considered first. If a new site is required, you must contact the nearest Disposal at Sea Program regional office for advice and site-specific guidance and consult Appendix C: Guidance for Disposal Site Selection.

3.1.7 Submit effects assessment

Once you have obtained all the required information, including characterizing the substance and both the load and disposal sites, there must be an evaluation of the potential effects on the receiving environment, including any potential effects on human health and other users of the sea.

Your assessment should integrate the available information on material characteristics, conditions at the proposed load and disposal site(s), and sediment movement due to proposed loading, and disposal. Indicate and define the nature, spatial scale and duration of any expected effects based on conservative assumptions.

The assessment should provide sufficient information for a decision by Program staff and include impacts on:

• sensitive species and areas (spawning, nursery and feeding areas)
• habitat (biological, chemical and physical modification)
• migratory route patterns
• marketability of resources
• other uses of the sea (navigation, engineering uses, areas of special concern and value, and traditional uses of the sea).

Mitigation to address effects

All applicants must consider ways of minimizing negative effects, or enhancing positive effects, through mitigation efforts. Mitigation could include restricting the timing of loading operations (including dredging activity) to protect sensitive species at vulnerable times or to reduce conflicts with other users of the sea. Program staff will consider the proposed mitigation measures in the application, and may recommend other mitigation measures.

Impact statement

The effects assessment must lead to a concluding impact statement regarding the expected consequences of the disposal activities. The impact statement must consider the residual effects after proposed mitigation measures are implemented.

3.1.8 Consider possibility of renewal

Permits for routine, low-risk projects may be eligible to be renewed up to 4 times (that is, once a year for up to 4 years). You are encouraged to consider the potential eligibility of your application for renewal by reviewing the renewal criteria outlined in Chapter 2 of this guide, and through discussion with your nearest Disposal at Sea Program regional office as needed. Applicants wishing to be considered for renewal must indicate this when completing their permit application form.

Related links

• Permit application guide, Chapter 2, section 2.5: Permit renewal application assessment process
• Renewable permits

3.1.9 Publish notice of application in local newspaper

This notice explains the proposed activities, including duration, location and quantities of material intended for disposal. The public is invited to submit comments throughout the application process. A template for the "Notice of Application" is found in Appendix B.