Q-2, r. 28.2 - Snow, road salt and abrasives management Regulation

Updated to 12 December 2023

This document has official status.

chapter Q-2, r. 28.2

Snow, road salt and abrasives management Regulation

Environment Quality Act

(chapter Q-2, ss. 95.1 and 124.1).

Act respecting certain measures enabling the enforcement of environmental and dam safety legislation

(chapter M-11.6, ss. 30 and 45).

See Chapter III of the Regulation respecting the temporary implementation of the amendments made by chapter 7 of the Statutes of 2021 in connection with the management of flood risks (chapter Q-2, r. 32.2)

O.C. 871-2020; S.Q. 2022, c. 8, s. 1.

CHAPTER I GENERAL

O.C. 871-2020, c. I.

1. This Regulation applies to the removal, transport and disposal of snow. It also applies to storage and handling centres for road salt and abrasives.

It applies in a reserved area and in an agricultural zone established under the Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities (chapter P-41.1).

O.C. 871-2020, s. 1.

2. For the purposes of this Regulation,

“abrasives” means any mixture of granular materials and salts; (abrasifs)

“Act” means the Environment Quality Act (chapter Q-2); (Loi)

“ambient noise” means the total noise present in a given situation, at a certain time, usually composed of noise emitted by several near and remote sources; (bruit ambiant)

“dwelling” means any construction intended to lodge persons and connected to individual or collective systems for the supply of drinking water and the treatment of waste water; (habitation)

“Minister” means the Minister responsible for the application of the Act; (ministre)

“particular noise” means the component of the ambient noise that may be specifically identified and is associated with the activities carried on at a location; (bruit particulier)

“public institution” means any of the following:

(1)  “educational institution” : an institution providing preschool, elementary or secondary education and governed by the Education Act (chapter I-13.3) or by the Education Act for Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native Persons (chapter I-14), a private educational institution governed by the Act respecting private education (chapter E-9.1), an institution whose instructional program is the subject of an international agreement within the meaning of the Act respecting the Ministère des Relations internationales (chapter M-25.1.1), a general and vocational college, a university, a research institute, a superior school or an educational institution of which more than one-half of the operating expenditures are paid out of the appropriations voted by the National Assembly, and for the purposes of this Regulation, includes childcare centres and day care centres governed by the Educational Childcare Act (chapter S-4.1.1); (établissement d’enseignement)

(2)  “correctional facility” : a facility used for the detention of persons and governed by the Act respecting the Québec correctional system (chapter S-40.1); (établissement de détention)

(3)  “health and social services institution” : a health and social services institution governed by the Act respecting health services and social services (chapter S-4.2) or by the Act respecting health services and social services for Cree Native persons (chapter S-5). For the purposes of this Regulation, any other place where lodging services are provided for senior citizens or for any users entrusted by a public institution governed by any of the aforementioned Acts is also a health and social services institution; (établissement de santé et de services sociaux)

(4)  “tourist establishment” : an establishment which offers to the public restaurant services or sleeping accommodations, including the rental of camping spaces, and includes tourist information offices, museums, ski stations, holiday camps, outdoor recreation areas, public beaches, rest areas, golf courses, marinas and sites with guided tour visits; (établissement touristique)

“reference noise level” means the particular noise to which a corrective term may be added; (niveau acoustique d’évaluation)

“residual noise” means noise that lingers at a given place, in a given situation, when the particular noise is eliminated from the ambient noise; (bruit résiduel)

“water withdrawal site” means the place where water enters a facility installed to make water withdrawals. (site de prélèvement d’eau)

O.C. 871-2020, s. 2.

3. For the purposes of this Regulation,

(1)  a reference to any of the 1, 2 or 3 water withdrawal categories is a reference to the categories established by the Water Withdrawal and Protection Regulation (chapter Q-2, r. 35.2);

(2)  a reference to an inner, intermediate or outer water withdrawal protection zone is a reference to the protection zones delimited under the Water Withdrawal and Protection Regulation; and

(3)  the terms used to designate wetlands and bodies of water are those appearing in the Regulation respecting activities in wetlands, bodies of water and sensitive areas (chapter Q-2, r. 0.1).

O.C. 871-2020, s. 3.

4. The distances provided for in this Regulation with respect to a watercourse or a lake are calculated from the boundary of the littoral zone. The distances with respect to wetlands are calculated from their edges.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 4.

CHAPTER II SNOW REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL

O.C. 871-2020, c. II.

5. Snow that has been removed and transported for disposal may be definitively deposited for that purpose only at a snow disposal site authorized by the Minister under section 22 of the Act.

That rule does not apply if snow is removed and transported within the same parking area on which no industrial activity is carried on, in which case the snow may be disposed of in that area.

In the event that snow that has been removed and transported is definitively deposited at an unauthorized site or at a site that does not meet the requirements of section 6, as applicable, the owner, lessee or any other person responsible for the site is required to take the necessary measures to have the snow disposed of in accordance with this Regulation.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 5.

6. Snow that has been removed and transported for disposal within the same parking area may be deposited only at a site situated

(1)  more than 15 m from a watercourse, a lake or wetlands;

(2)  outside a high-velocity flood zone; and

(3)  more than 100 m from a category 1, 2 or 3 groundwater withdrawal site.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 6.

CHAPTER III STORAGE AND HANDLING CENTRES FOR ROAD SALT AND ABRASIVES

O.C. 871-2020, c. III.

7. This Chapter applies to the establishment and operation of storage and handling centres for road salt and abrasives for which a declaration of compliance is required under the Regulation respecting the regulatory scheme applying to activities on the basis of their environmental impact (chapter Q-2, r. 17.1).

O.C. 871-2020, s. 7.

DIVISION I SITING AND LAYOUT STANDARDS

O.C. 871-2020, Div. I.

8. A storage and handling centre for road salt and abrasives must be sited

(1)  60 m or more from a watercourse or lake and 30 m or more from wetlands;

(2)  outside a flood zone;

(3)  15 m or more from a septic tank other than a septic tank located on the site;

(4)  30 m or more from all vegetation used as a wind or noise shield; and

(5)  100 m or more from a category 1, 2 or 3 groundwater withdrawal site.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 8; I.N. 2021-06-15.

9. A storage and handling centre for road salt and abrasives must be laid out in compliance with the following:

(1)  the salt and abrasives storage, handling and loading areas must

(a)  be impermeable;

(b)  have a collection system for runoff water from outside the area, which is to be discharged into the environment or into a storm sewer; and

(c)  have a system able to collect the water in contact with the salt, abrasives and the equipment used in the areas and which is to be discharged

i.  to a municipal wastewater treatment works; or

ii.  to a water treatment system;

(2)  the salt and abrasives must be sheltered from the weather. Despite the foregoing, that requirement may be waived between 15 October and 15 April for abrasives necessary to prepare mixtures of salt and abrasives and for vehicle loading.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 9.

DIVISION II OPERATING STANDARDS

O.C. 871-2020, Div. II.

10. While in operation, a storage and handling centre for road salt and abrasives must comply with the following:

(1)  the water in contact with salt, abrasives and equipment must at all times respect the following values when discharged into the environment:

(a)  a concentration of suspended matter less than or equal to 50 mg/l;

(b)  a concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons (C10-C50) less than or equal to 2 mg/l;

(2)  a twice yearly grab sampling of the water described in paragraph 1 must be conducted in the course of the centre’s operations to verify the concentration of chlorides, suspended matter and petroleum hydrocarbons (C10-C50);

(3)  a daily visual inspection of the salt and abrasives storage, handling and loading areas must be made by the operator;

(4)  the storage, handling and loading areas must be cleaned so as to not contaminate rainwater;

(5)  the piles of snow in the loading area must be sent to a snow disposal site authorized under section 22 of the Act or be pushed to impermeable surfaces where the meltwater is collected before being disposed of;

(6)  the noise emitted during operation of the centre, represented by the reference noise level obtained at a dwelling or public institution, other than a dwelling belonging or leased to the owner or operator or educational institutions or tourist establishments when they are closed, must not exceed for any 1-hour interval the higher of

(a)  the residual noise; and

(b)  40 dBA between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. and 45 dBA between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 10.

11. The operator of a storage and handling centre for road salt and abrasives must enter the following information in a register:

(1)  the results of the water sampling conducted in accordance with paragraph 2 of section 10;

(2)  the dates of the visual inspections of the storage, handling and loading areas carried out in accordance with paragraph 3 of section 10, the observations and, where applicable, the measures taken to maintain or repair the facilities.

The operator must retain the information entered in the register for a minimum 5-year period after the date on which it is entered. The information must be provided to the Minister on request.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 11.

12. The operator of a storage and handling centre for road salt and abrasives must inform the Minister at least 30 days before ceasing activities.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 12.

CHAPTER IV MONETARY ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES

O.C. 871-2020, c. IV.

13. A monetary administrative penalty of $250 in the case of a natural person or $1,000 in any other case may be imposed on every person who fails

(1)  to keep the register referred to in the first paragraph of section 11;

(2)  to keep the information entered in the register for the period set out in the second paragraph of section 11 or to provide that information to the Minister as required by that paragraph; or

(3)  to inform the Minister as required by section 12 before ceasing activities.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 13.

14. A monetary administrative penalty of $550 in the case of a natural person or $2,500 in any other case may be imposed on every person who,

(1)  deposits snow that has been removed within the same parking area and transported for disposal at a site that does not meet the requirements of section 6; or

(2)  operates a storage and handling centre for road salt and abrasives that does not comply with the operating standards set out in section 10.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 14.

15. A monetary administrative penalty of $1,000 in the case of a natural person or $5,000 in any other case may be imposed on every person who,

(1)  deposits snow that has been removed and transported for disposal at a site that is not authorized for that purpose, in contravention of the first and second paragraph of section 5; or

(2)  fails to take the necessary measures so that snow removed, transported and deposited at an unauthorized site or at a site that does not meet the requirements of section 6 is disposed of in accordance with this Regulation, contrary to the third paragraph of section 5.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 15.

CHAPTER V OFFENCES

O.C. 871-2020, c. V.

16. Every person who contravenes section 11 or 12 commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $1,000 to $100,000 in the case of a natural person, or $3,000 to $600,000 in any other case.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 16.

17. Every person who contravenes section 6 or 10 commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $2,500 to $250,000 in the case of a natural person, or $7,500 to $1,500,000 in any other case.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 17.

18. Every person who

(1)  fails to comply with section 5; or

(2)  makes a declaration, communicates information or files a document that is false or misleading,

commits an offence and is liable, in the case of a natural person, to a fine of $5,000 to $500,000 or, despite article 231 of the Code of Penal Procedure (chapter C-25.1), to a maximum term of imprisonment of 18 months, or to both the fine and imprisonment, or in any other case, to a fine of $15,000 to $3,000,000.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 18.

CHAPTER VI TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL

O.C. 871-2020, c. VI.

19. Chapter III does not apply to a storage and handling centre for road salt and abrasives in operation on 2 September 2020.

O.C. 871-2020, s. 19.

20. This Regulation replaces the Regulation respecting snow elimination sites (chapter Q-2, r. 31).

O.C. 871-2020, s. 20.

21. (Omitted).

O.C. 871-2020, s. 21.

REFERENCES

O.C. 871-2020, 2020 G.O. 2, 2343A

O.C. 1596-2021, 2022 G.O. 2, 6