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Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Rehabilitation Policy
GlossaryFor the purposes of the implementation of this policy, the following words and terms have been defined to facilitate comprehension. "Toxicological risk analysis:" Systematic forward-looking approach that attempts to identify and quantify the risks associated with the exposure of a target individual or population to contaminants present in the various environments. "Contamination notice:" Standard form that must be completed and registered with the Registry Office by the owner when he finds on his site the presence of contaminated soils in excess of the use-based generic criteria. "Environmental balance sheet:" Standard form, to be signed by a recognized professional, consisting of a description of the condition of the site and the nature of the surrounding environment, as well as an assessment of the impacts and risk level represented by the site for this environment and its users. The balance sheet must be produced by all businesses subject to the Intervention Program. "Preliminary characterization:" Second stage of a characterization study, following an historical study of the activities that have taken place on the site, consisting in taking a limited number of samples, so as to confirm the presence or absence of contaminants and identify their nature, target contaminated sectors and environments, and estimate the scope and extent of the contamination. "Exhaustive characterization:" Complete investigation of the various environments within which the presence of contamination was confirmed during the preliminary characterization, making it possible to determine more accurately the extent of the contamination, assess the quantity of contaminated materials and estimate the resulting potential impacts in order to define the response measures that need to be taken. "Compatibility certificate:" Certificate issued by the MEF to an owner who has decontaminated his site to the use-based generic criteria corresponding to the zoning of the projected use. This certificate is issued on application, on presentation of the required documents, for a site intended to be reused. "Conditional compatibility certificate:" Conditional certificate issued by the MEF to an owner who has implemented on his site one or more risk management measures other than decontamination to the use-based generic criteria, so as to allow the planned use. This certificate is issued on application, on presentation of the required documents, for a site intended to be reused, after registration of a Restrictive Use Covenant with the Registry Office. "Work completion report:" Standard form, signed by a recognized professional, for any site that has undergone risk management measures requiring the completion of work (decontamination to the generic or specific criteria or application of CCM measures). This report confirms that the site no longer constitutes a significant risk for the planned use, due to the fact that the soils have been decontaminated to the use-based generic criteria or the fact that the commitments and/or work agreed to in the Restrictive Use Covenant have been carried out. "Contaminant:" A solid, liquid or gas, micro-organism, sound, vibration, diffusion, heat, odour or radiation, or any combination of these likely to change in some way the quality of the environment. "Restrictive Use Covenant:" Agreement made between the MEF and the owner of a site who chooses to manage the risk constituted by his site differently than through the generic criteria. This agreement must be registered with the Registry Office. "Use-based generic criteria:" Criteria for soils appearing in the grids shown in Appendix 2 to the Policy on soil protection and rehabilitation of contaminated sites. "Specific criteria:" Criteria established using the risks assessment procedure and applied specifically for a site and a given project. "Water:" Surface water and groundwater wherever found. "Environment:" Water, atmosphere and soil or any combination of any of these elements or, generally, the environment with which living beings maintain dynamic relationships. "Assessment of ecotoxicological risk:" Rational process of identifying, comparing and analysing descriptive measures aimed at assessing the possibilities or probabilities of the occurrence of harmful responses among ecological receptors from exposure to one or more contaminants. "Impact and risk management:" Choice and implementation of management measures (decontamination to generic or specific criteria, application of CCM or restrictive measures) designed to end the impacts and make insignificant the risks represented by a site, in the short and long term. "Evaluation grid:" Grid making it possible, from the information obtained during a preliminary characterization, to make a preliminary assessment of the impact of a site on the environment and the risk level that it represents to human health, wildlife or flora. All sites subject to the Intervention Program shown to be contaminated in excess of C criterion shall be subject to this grid. The grid must be signed by a recognized professional. "Impacts on health, wildlife and flora:" Harmful effects noted on health, reproductive capacity, or human, animal or plant growth. "Impacts on groundwater:" Defined impacts on the basis of the water quality criteria and according to the use made of the groundwater, as specified in Appendix 2. "LERI inventory:" list of industrial waste disposal sites previously found in the GERLED inventory. "Confinement, control and monitoring (CCM) measures:" Corrective measures consisting in isolating contamination and introducing control and monitoring measures making it possible to ensure the effectiveness and permanence of the confinement. These measures are carried out in order to end the impacts or make insignificant the risk constituted by a contaminated site. "Active CCM measures:" CCM measures requiring the introduction and functioning of active equipment (groundwater pumping system, gas evacuation system, etc.). "Passive CCM measures:" CCM measures requiring the introduction and maintenance of passive protective shields (synthetic or clay membrane, asphalt layer, etc.). "Restrictive measures:" Restrictions on use which are specific to one site and different from those associated with the use-based generic criteria. "Risk assessment procedure:" Standardized procedure making it possible to assess the specific risks constituted by a site and taking into account the toxicological risk, ecotoxicological risk and impact of the site on groundwater. "Recognized professionals:" Qualified professionals who have received certification from the MEF. They are the only persons authorized to certify certain administrative documents, such as the environmental profile, the environmental balance sheet and the evaluation grid, as well as the work completion report. "Environmental profile:" Standard form indicating whether activities or events have occurred on the site that may have contaminated it or whether the site is subject to restrictions on use, thus making it possible to verify the suitability of the project under consideration. An environmental profile must be signed by a recognized professional within a contaminated site reuse project. "Owner:" Holder of a property right. In the context of this document, the owner includes a person who holds an emphyteutic lease. "Significant risk:" Degree of exposure to a contaminant that is judged unacceptable. Depending on the case, the risk is judged significant if:
"Areas of activities likely to contaminate soils or groundwater:" Industrial and commercial activities described in Appendix 1 to the Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Rehabilitation Policy. "Background level:" Ambient concentration of a contaminant in soils or groundwater reflecting natural geological variations.
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