CSA R111:21

Preface This is the first edition of CSA R111, Solid waste sites in northern communities: From planning to post-closure. This Standard draws on industry expertise and best practices in Canada and internationally to address the requirements for solid waste management in the North, including the entire lifecycle of solid waste sites beginning with siting, to design, construction, operations, and management, and, finally, closure and decommissioning, and post-closure of municipal solid waste facilities. Users of this Standard are reminded that additional and site-specific requirements could be specified by federal, territorial or provincial, regional, municipal, or other authorities or agencies, or by an owner. This Standard should not be considered a replacement for the requirements contained in any a) applicable federal, territorial, or provincial statute; b) regulation, licence, or permit issued pursuant to an applicable statute; or c) contract that an owner has with a contractor. CSA Group acknowledges that the development of this Standard was made possible, in part, by the financial support of StandardDetails Council of Canada, as part of the Northern Infrastructure Standardization Initiative. This Standard has been developed in compliance with StandardDetails Council of Canada requirements for National StandardDetails of Canada. It has been published as a National Standard of Canada by CSA Group. Scope 1.1 Purpose This Standard applies to the management of northern MSW facilities, including the evaluation, planning, siting, design, implementation, monitoring, and maintenance of MSW facilities and includes pollution risk management strategies and mitigation measures for new and existing infrastructure in northern communities. This Standard provides a) procedures for planning, siting, designing, constructing, operating, inspecting, monitoring, and maintaining solid waste management facilities as well as mitigation measures as applicable; b) an outline of procedures for conducting an overall risk assessment, including infrastructure vulnerability; c) factors to be considered in land use and infrastructure planning; d) an overview of the typical drivers of natural and human-made hazards to which this Standard is applicable, including climate change; e) closure and decommissioning requirements and best practices; f) post-closure inspection, monitoring, maintenance, and management; g) emergency response and contingency planning protocols; h) a framework for community-based processes for addressing solid waste issues, human health, and environmental considerations; and i) background information and relevant reference material. Notes: 1) Compliance with this Standard will allow users to demonstrate that the design and implementation of risk management strategies and mitigation measures take into consideration, and are compatible with, the preservation of permafrost or reduction of the disruptive effects of permafrost thaw. Because the performance of permafrost is often integral to the success of risk management strategies intended to protect human health and the environment at solid waste management facilities, compliance with this Standard will help mitigate impacts to infrastructure and the environment within and surrounding the project site. 2) Permafrost is not the only challenge faced by those who design and operate waste management facilities in the North, however. Often, the remote location of the communities mean that it is hard to hire and retain staff to manage the complex activities that underlie the safe operation of modern waste management sites. Communities might also find it expensive to undertake many of the measures described in this Standard. Those who embark on the development and operation of waste management facilities must be confident that they can access the monetary and non-monetary resources that the site will require throughout a facility life that could span several decades. 3) This Standard does not replace existing legislation or regulations (see Preface and Clause 4). It can be used in whole or in part to supplement existing regulations, or it can be adopted as jurisdictions see fit. The intent of the Standard is to help each jurisdiction improve the management of municipal solid waste. Annex C provides a list of existing legislation, guidelines, and other documents from each jurisdiction. 1.2 Users This Standard is intended for use in Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Nunavik, but other northern and remote jurisdictions might wish to adopt it as well. Furthermore, although this Standard was written specifically for communities, other generators of municipal-type waste might also find it useful, including privately-operated waste management facilities, such as mine sites, construction camps, or other generators that do not have access to an established municipal facility. This Standard is voluntary unless adopted by a jurisdiction. Users are intended to include a) the owners and operators of MSW facilities; b) the owners and operators of other community infrastructure for which the safe operation of the MSW facility is important; c) contract administrators who oversee a MSW facility project; d) site investigators (scientists and engineers) who evaluate the site conditions (existing and projected) and estimate the risks related to the development of the project; e) design professionals and reviewers (consulting engineers and territorial, provincial, or regional technical services staff) who design, assess and approve, and oversee the implementation of engineering-based solutions; f) contractors working on MSW facilities; g) regulatory authorities, such as land and water boards and review boards; h) compliance authorities, such as qualified building inspectors and qualified environmental inspectors; i) land use planners and community planning officials; j) educators, for the purposes of knowledge transfer; and k) others with a vested interest in risk management or mitigative elements of MSW planning and/or construction projects, design and construction, and inspection of mitigation measures and plan implementation. Note: Very small generators of waste would ideally make use of the nearest MSW facility to dispose of their waste, e.g., small communities of a few houses, or as related to highway travel services (gas stations, motels). However, it is recognized that not all such localities might have the capacity to either transport their waste, or to manage it correctly on site. Where possible, local, regional, and territorial governments should encourage the adequate management of solid waste. 1.3 Application 1.3.1 General The management of municipal solid waste facilities requires the management of the risks that these facilities create. In this Standard, the management of risks is addressed by the use of two primary strategies: by requiring risk assessments as applicable to the various stages of the life cycle of a municipal solid waste facility, and in the specification and implementation of best practices to mitigate those risks throughout the lifecycle. The requirements provided in this Standard are intended to address risks to a) human health and the environment, due to proposed, existing, or closed MSW facilities; and b) proposed, existing, or closed MSW facilities. Risks to be considered can be generated by natural hazards and by the waste types in the community and within the facility itself. Risk is partly mitigated by assigning appropriate requirements to facilities according to their size classification (Clause 5). Requirements for the evaluation and management of risks include the potential impacts of climate change and other factors that are to be considered in the planning, siting, design, construction, operations, closure, and post-closure of a MSW facility (Clauses 6 through 17). This Standard applies to the entire life cycle of the infrastructure project or strategic planning cycles, including planning, siting, construction, operation and maintenance, closure and decommissioning, and post-closure, or until residual risk levels are deemed acceptable. 1.3.2 Types of infrastructure This Standard applies to the evaluation, planning and design, implementation, operations, maintenance, and monitoring of solid waste management facilities, as well as mitigation measures, during all phases of planning, design, construction, service life, closure and decommissioning, and post-closure of a) MSW with segregated categories of waste; b) landfills; c) transfer stations; d) public drop-off facilities; e) composting facilities; f) incinerators; and g) expansions of any of these types of facilities or structures. 1.4 Terminology In this Standard, "shall" is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the Standard; "should" is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; and "may" is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the Standard. Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material. Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the table or figure and may be written as requirements. Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (non-mandatory) to define their application. The values given in SI units are the units of record for the purposes of this Standard. The values given in parentheses are for information and comparison only.