Manitoba tightening rules for contaminated sites

The Government of Manitoba is proposing to add more teeth to its Contaminated Sites Remediation Act.

Proposed changes will require the owner or occupier of a site that is contaminated to a level above the environmental quality standards to report it to Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship. Sites that pose an immediate risk would continue to be designated as contaminated. But sites which could pose a risk would be designated as impacted. The new bill would also establish a new process for managing impacted sites and remediation will have to be authorized by the department.

“This enhanced legislation will allow Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship to better manage all sites that have contamination,” said Mackintosh. “We will continue to make polluters responsible for clean up in order to reduce the number of contaminated sites across our province.”

The original act was introduced in 1996.