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Reporting requirements fact sheet: National Pollutant Release Inventory

This page answers general questions about who has to report to the NPRI. It also lists the types of substances covered by the NPRI.

Find detailed information about the NPRI reporting requirements in the Guide for reporting to the NPRI and the Canada Gazette notice.

General information

The NPRI is Canada’s inventory of pollutants released to the air, water and land. It also includes pollutants that were disposed of or recycled. The inventory tracks almost 500 substances. It is managed by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Anyone can access the inventory. It includes information that is useful for governments, researchers, the media and the public.

NPRI reporting requirements under Canadian law

Reporting to the NPRI is mandatory under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. Reports are due every year by June 1.

Owners and operators of facilities that meet the NPRI reporting requirements published in the Canada Gazette, Part I have to report to the NPRI. The NPRI reporting requirements are complex. The Guide for reporting to the NPRI can help you understand the requirements.

Determining if your facility meets the NPRI reporting requirements

To find out if the NPRI requirements apply to your facility, check if the following statements apply:

  1. one of the following activities takes place at my facility:
    • waste or sewage sludge incineration
    • wood preservation
    • fuel terminal operations
    • municipal wastewater collection and/or treatment
    • pit or quarry operations
    • operation of stationary combustion equipment
  2. employees and contractors work more than 20,000 hours during a year (about 10 full-time workers)

If either of the above statements apply, and your facility:

one or more of the  NPRI substances at a quantity above the threshold for that substance you may have to submit an NPRI report. If none of these statements apply, you may not have to submit an NPRI report.

If you have difficulty deciding if you meet requirements, you can refer to Reporting to the National Pollutant Release Inventory for more information. You can also contact the NPRI for assistance.

Exceptions

Facilities operating stationary combustion equipment have to report on criteria air contaminants (CACs) if the release thresholds are met (regardless of employee hours).

If your facility is subject to the Chromium electroplating, chromium anodizing, and reverse etching regulations you must report for hexavalent chromium (and its compounds) regardless of the number of employees and regardless of other reporting thresholds.

You do not need to report releases, disposals or transfers of NPRI substances that came from the following activities:

You also do not need to report to the NPRI if the only activities that take place at your facility are any of the following:

See Reporting to the National Pollutant Release Inventory for more information.

NPRI substances

The NPRI substances are divided into five parts based on their reporting criteria.

Part 1A - Core substances

You may need to report Part 1A substances if they were manufactured, processed or otherwise used at a concentration equal to or greater than 1% by weight and in a quantity of 10 tonnes or more. (The exception is for by-products and mine tailings; there is no concentration threshold for Part 1A substances in those cases.)

Examples of substances:

Examples of facility types:

Part 1B - Alternate threshold substances

You may need to report 1B substances if they were manufactured, processed or otherwise used in quantities equal to or more than specific mass thresholds.

Examples of substances:

Examples of facility types:

Part 1C - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

You may need to report Part 1C substances if they were manufactured, processed or otherwise used at a concentration equal to or greater than 0.1% by weight and in a quantity of 1 kilogram or more. There are 163 PFAS and PFAS salts and precursors listed on the NPRI substance list. 

Examples of substances:

Examples of facility types:

Part 2 - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

You may need to report if PAHs were incidentally manufactured or present in mine tailings, and they were released, disposed of or transferred for recycling in a combined quantity of greater than or equal to 50 kilograms. The exception is for wood preservation facilities that use creosote; they have to report whether or not they reached the 50 kg reporting threshold.

Examples of substances:

Examples of facility types:

Part 3 - Dioxins, Furans and Hexachlorobenzene

You need to report for Part 3 substances if any of the following activities took place at your facility:

Part 4 - Criteria air contaminants (CACs)

All facilities must consider CACs released from stationary combustion equipment regardless of the number of employees at the facility. As well, facilities with equal to or greater than 20,000 employee hours (including contractors), or where an activity to which the employee threshold does not apply took place, must consider all other sources of CACs at the facility. You may need to report for CACs if they were released to the air from your facility in quantities equal to or greater than their release thresholds.

Examples of substances:

Examples of facility types:

Part 5 - Speciated Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - Additional reporting requirements

You may need to report for Part 5 substances if they were released to the air in a quantity equal to or greater than 1 tonne.

For more information about reporting requirements, review the Guide for reporting to the NPRI and refer to the Notice with Respect to Substances in the NPRI, published annual in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

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