Contamination migration

Notify the right people

Notify the affected property owner and ministry.  You must do this within 15 days of finding contamination migration. Ask a qualified professional to help you with the process. They'll work with you to:

• Complete and give a Notification of Likely or Actual Migration (NOM) form to each affected property owner
• Submit a copy of the NOM form and a Site Risk Classification Report to the ministry

Once you've sent the NOM form it is your responsibility to communicate further with affected property owners about contamination spreading to their property. You should provide information such as:

• The contact details for the source property representative (for example, the owner, operator, their agent, or consulting firm) including their name, address, phone number and email address 
• A request for access to the affected property, if it has not already been given, to complete site investigation
• A statement about whether the source and affected properties are classified, or would likely be classified, as high risk or non-high risk. A qualified professional can advise you on this 
• A report, including figures, that describes any site investigation completed or proposed at your property and the affected properties, including any test results you've already received

Information for qualified professionals

Complete a Notification of Likely or Actual Migration online.

Include a Site Risk Classification Report (PDF, 313KB) and if needed, an Exposure Pathway Questionnaire when you submit the NOM to the ministry.

You don’t need to submit a NOM each time new environmental testing happens unless you discover that another property is affected, or new substances have spread to a known affected property. In that case, you must notify the affected party and the ministry of this new information, as described above.

For more information review:

• Sections 57 and 60.1 of the Contaminated Sites Regulation (CSR)
• Protocol 17: Site Remediation Forms (PDF, 1.7MB)
• Protocol 12: Site Risk Classification, Reclassification and Reporting (Revised) (PDF, 737KB)

Investigate the affected property

Have a qualified professional investigate the affected property. This helps determine and confirm the full extent of contamination. If you are denied access to the affected property, the qualified professional will determine the best way to continue the investigation. 

If it's possible that the affected property is a high risk site, a director may order the affected property owner to allow access to it.

Information for qualified professionals

If the source property responsible person can't access the affected property, explore alternatives to achieve contaminant characterization, such as: 

• Investigate potentially contaminated media at the perimeter of the affected property
• Investigate potential contamination at the boundaries of the source property where contaminants are likely migrating offsite
• Estimate concentrations using groundwater contaminant migration models

Before applying for certification with the recommendation of an approved professional, you must request a preapproval if you can't delineate or remediate the entire extent of contamination because you’ve been denied access.

Develop and implement a remediation plan

Once the investigation is complete, work with the qualified professional and affected property owner to develop a remediation plan. The plan should describe how cleanup of the contaminated site will happen. This applies to cleanups:

• Under independent remediation
• Where the ministry is involved

Give the affected property owner a copy of the final remediation plan. Discuss the benefits of certifying the affected properties with your qualified professional before you implement the plan. 

Provide written communication about your intent

If you decide to apply for an Approval in Principle or a Certificate of Compliance for the affected property, you must send written communication to the affected property owner that tells them your plan. The communication should include:

• Your contact information, including your name, address, phone number and email address, and contact details for the firm preparing the documents
• A copy of the draft certification document for the affected property
• Final reports, including figures, describing the work completed and results received to date at the source and affected properties

Request a written response from the affected property owner within 30 days of the date of the communication. This gives them the opportunity to provide comments and concerns about the work and results completed to date. 

Try to contact them

If the affected property owner does not respond to your written communication within 30 days, try to contact them by various means, including by phone, email, or in person.

Once you make contact:

• Request a written response to your communication
• Provide an additional 30-day timeline for response from the time of contact

If the affected property owner objects to the proposed Approval in Principle or Certificate of Compliance for their property, try to address these concerns. Document the concerns, how they were addressed, and include this information in your application.

If you don't receive a response from the affected property owner after 30 additional days and multiple documented contact attempts, you and your QP may submit your application for certification, along with the documentation detailing your communication attempts. The ministry will consider the specific situation and comments from the affected party when reviewing your application. If your application doesn't meet the communication expectations, it won't be reviewed.