Metal mining technical guidance

Environment and Climate Change Canada develops Technical Guidance for Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) to assist mines on how to fulfill the regulatory requirements for EEM. The guidance includes methodologies on how to carry out EEM studies. For the regulatory requirements of the Metal Mining EEM Program, please refer to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations.

The 2012 Metal Mining Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) Technical Guidance Document that has been updated from the 2002 and 2011 versions, reflects the EEM program changes in response to:

• the publication of the 2012 Regulations Amending the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations
• experience with the implementation of the EEM program
• recommendations from Metal Mining Environmental Effects Monitoring Review Team Report
• information shared at the Environmental Effects Monitoring Investigation of Cause Workshop for Metal Mining
• new scientific developments

To assist mines in identifying the most appropriate path through the metal mining EEM program, the decision tree was revised and incorporated in Chapter 1.

Revision Notices
(April 2013)
Table 3-5 of Chapter 3 - Effects on Fish and Fisheries Resources has been revised.
Available Formats:
HTML/ PDF

(April 2014)
Table 5-1 and section 5.7.2 of Chapter 5 - Effluent Characterization and Water Quality Monitoring have been revised.
Available Formats:
HTML/PDF

Additional Guidance

Sublethal Toxicity

• Toxicity Test Methods and supporting documents
• Revised procedures for adjusting salinity of effluent samples for marine sublethal toxicity testing conducted under EEM programs
• Sublethal Toxicity Test Checklists

Other Topics

• Revised Guidance for Sample Sorting and Subsampling Protocols for EEM Benthic Invertebrate Community Surveys
• How to Conduct Effluent Plume Delineation