National Pollutant Release Inventory Reporting

Strategies for the Environment – A Reputation You Can Trust

Strategies for the Environment has a reputation in our industry for assisting our clients with preparing their NPRI reports annually. This reporting is legislated by Environment Canada and is mandatory for industries that have recognized pollutant emissions. Contact us for assistance with your reporting requirements. Don’t delay. June 1 is the deadline for submission.

Tracking Pollution in Canada

The National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) is Canada’s legislated, publicly accessible inventory of pollutant releases (to air, water and land), disposals and transfers for recycling. It is a key resource for:

identifying pollution prevention priorities;
supporting the assessment and risk management of chemicals, and air quality modeling;
helping develop targeted regulations for reducing releases of toxic substances and air pollutants;
encouraging actions to reduce the release of pollutants into the environment; and
improving public understanding.

For the 2015 year, 7284 facilities reported to the NPRI on 343 listed substances.

Helping Our Environment

The National Pollutant Release Inventory’s inception was the result of concerns for heavy metals emitted into the environment. These inventories are required due to legislation passed as part of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) 1999. Concerns about emissions into the air and water, affecting plant life, sea life, and human life resulted in the Canadian Government taking action to attempt to limit releases into the environment. The NPRI is not static.

Changes to the NPRI substance list have included the addition, modification, and removal of substances, as well as changes in the thresholds at which they must be reported. Changes have also been made to various program definitions, technical interpretations, sectoral reporting exemptions, and other reporting criteria. The impact of these changes should be considered when conducting an analysis of historical trends, to avoid confusion between changes in reported values due to new reporting requirements, versus actual changes in releases of pollutants to the environment.

For example, in 2015, there were no changes to the Inventory, whereas in 2016, 21 substances were removed from the Part 1 Group A listings, and thresholds were modified for other substances.

Reporting to the National Pollutant Release Inventory

Under the authority of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), owners or operators of facilities that meet published reporting requirements are required to report to the NPRI. Companies that meet reporting requirements but which fail to report, do not report on time, or knowingly submit false or misleading information, face penalties as listed under Section 272 and 273 of CEPA.

Resources:

Reporting Deadlines and Changes to Reporting Requirements for 2016 and 2017
Summary of Reporting Requirements
Annual Guide for Reporting to the NPRI
Legal Requirements – Canada Gazette notices with respect to reporting to the NPRI
Reporting to the NPRI – Questions and Answers
NPRI Toolbox– Guidance Documents and supplementary information, emission estimation tools and methodologies, calculation examples and case studies
Checklist for Reporting to the NPRI – Including tips for avoiding common reporting errors
Environment Canada’s Single Window system– Guidance on how to access and navigate SWIM

Speciated VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) (ARCHIVED Web Page at Environment Canada)

This archived web bage acts as a resource for facilities required to report to the NPRI.,The tables included outline substance names and CAS Registry numbers that apply to the speciated VOC entries contained in Part 5 of the NPRI Canada Gazette Notice. Synonyms and common names are also shown where applicable. For more information on these VOCs, please click here to access the archived webpage.

2016/2017 Substance List

Environment Canada has supplied a list of substances for which industry needs to report. Set up as a downloadable Excel sheet, it is easy to search for the substances your organization may be using, that may be required for NPRI reporting. As of now, there have been no changes to the substance list or threshold for 2017. To download the spreadsheet, click here.