The following are excerpts from the Environmental Protection Act
1.
prescribe that, where discharged into the environment,
(a) endangers the health, safety or welfare of persons,
(b) interferes or is likely to interfere with normal enjoyment of life or property,
(c) endangers the health of animal life, or
(d) causes or is likely to cause damage to vegetation or to property;
“Discharge” contains, but not in order to limit the significance, any pumping, pouring, throwing, dumping, emitting, burning,
spraying, spreading, leaking, spilling, or escaping;
“Environment” means the components of the Earth and includes
(a) air, land and water,
(b) all layers of the atmosphere,
(c) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms, and
(d) the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c).
“Inspector” means a person appointed under subsection 3(2) and includes the Chief Environmental Protection Officer.
2.2 The Minister may
(a) establish, operate and maintain stations to track the quality of the environment in the Territories;
(b) conduct research studies, conferences and training programs relating to contaminants and to the
preservation, protection or enhancement of the environment;
(c) develop, co-ordinate and administer policies, criteria, guidelines and codes of practice about the
preservation, protection or enhancement of the environment;
(d) collect, publish and distribute information pertaining to contaminants and to the preservation, protection or
enhancement of the environment:
3. (1) The Minister shall appoint a Chief Environmental Protection Officer who will administer and enforce this Act and
the regulations.
(2) The Chief Environmental Protection Officer may appoint inspectors and shall specify in the appointment the powers
that might be exercised and the duties that may be performed by the inspector under this Act and regulations.
5. (1) Subject to subsection (3), no person shall discharge or permit the discharge of a contaminant into the
atmosphere.
(3) Subsection (1) doesn’t apply where the person who discharged the contaminant or permitted the release of this
contaminant establishes that
(a) the discharge is authorized by this Act or the regulations or by an order issued under this Act or the regulations;
(b) that the contaminant has been used exclusively for domestic purposes and has been discharged from within a dwelling house;
(c) that the contaminant was discharged from the exhaust system of a vehicle;
(d) the release of the contaminant resulted from the burning of leaves, foliage, wood, crops or stubble for domestic or
agricultural purposes;
(e) the release of the contaminant caused by burning for land clearing or land grading;
(f) the discharge of the contaminant resulted from a fire set by a public official for habitat management of silviculture
functions;
(g) that the contaminant was discharged for the purposes of combating a forest fire;
(h) that the contaminant is a soil particle or grit discharged in the course of agriculture or horticulture; or
(I) that the contaminant is a pesticide classified and labelled as “domestic” under the Pest Control Products Regulations
(Canada).
(4) The exceptions set out in subsection (3) do not apply where a person discharges a contaminant that the inspector has
reasonable grounds to believe isn’t usually associated with a discharge from the excepted activity. Where a discharge of a contaminant into the environment in contravention of the Act or the regulations or the
provisions of a permit or permit issued under this Act or the regulations happens or a reasonable likelihood of such a
discharge exists, every individual causing or contributing to the discharge or raising the chance of such a discharge, and
the owner or the individual in charge, management or control of the contaminant before its release or likely discharge, will
immediately:
(a) subject to any regulations, report the discharge or likely discharge to the person or office designated by the
regulations;
(b) take all reasonable measures consistent with public safety to stop the discharge, fix any damage
resulting from the discharge and prevent or remove any danger to life, health, property or the environment that results or may
be reasonably anticipated to result from the discharge or likely discharge; and
(c) make a reasonable effort to notify every member of those who might be adversely affected by the discharge or
likely release. (1) Where an inspector believes on reasonable grounds that a discharge of a contaminant in contravention of the Act
or the regulations or a provision of a permit or license issued under this Act or the regulations has occurred or is
occurring, the inspector may issue an order requiring any person causing or contributing to the discharge or the proprietor or the
individual in charge, management or control of the contaminant to block the discharge by the date named in the order.
7. (1) Notwithstanding section 6, where a person discharges or permits the discharge of a contaminant into the
environment, an inspector may order that person to repair or remedy any harm or harm to the environment that results from
the discharge.
(2) Where a person fails or neglects to repair or remedy any harm or harm to the environment in accordance with an order
made under subsection (1) or where immediate remedial steps are required to safeguard the environment, the Chief
Environmental Protection Officer may cause to be carried out the steps that he or she considers necessary to fix or
remedy an injury or harm to the environment that results from any discharge.
APPENDIX 2 — MODIFIED BURN BARREL DESIGN AND SPECIFICATIONS
A modified burn barrel is typically constructed from a 45 gallon metal fuel or oil drum. The modifications result in larger
heat creation and retention, better mixing of the waste with incoming air and longer holding period within the barrel.
Collectively, these alterations result in more complete combustion of the solid waste than does open burning on the floor or
in a pit.
in a pit.