Canadian Association For Environmental Analytical Laboratories Inc. (CAEAL)

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C a n a d i a n R e g u l a t i o n s

Provincial	Federal

British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Ontario New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Newfoundland and Labrador	Environment Canada Health Canada


Province	Details

British Columbia	Environmental Data Quality Assurance Regulation Please see:Environment Management Act: ENVIRONMENTAL DATA QUALITY ASSURANCE REGULATION Policy regarding the permittees’ use of analytical laboratories for the analysis of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS). For more information, download .pdf document.
	The above is for informational purposes only.

Alberta	Alberta Laboratory Data Quality Assurance Policy Good environmental management depend on accurate and reliable environmental information. This information includes monitoring data obtained from the analysis of air, water, wastewater, waste, soil and other samples by analytical laboratories .Alberta Environment is implementing the Laboratory Data Quality Assurance (LDQA) Policy to ensure that laboratory data submitted to the Department is accurate and reliable.This policy had been developed over a two-year period in consultation with our stakeholders and with the help of comments from the public. Our stakeholders include laboratories, industries, municipalities, environmental groups, consultants and various associations. The policy is available at http://environment.alberta.ca/1490.html Contact Pat Lang if you have any questions.
	The above is for informational purposes only.

Saskatchewan	The Water Pollution Control and Waterworks (Saskatchewan) Regulations Laboratory related requirements in Saskatchewan's environmental legislation/regulation are found in sections 38 and 39 of The Water Pollution Control and Waterworks (Saskatchewan) Regulations. You can download these relevant sections in .pdf format. Download the "Bacteriological Follow-up Protocol for Waterworks Regulated by Saskatchewan Environment" for various reporting requirements. Please contact Sam Ferris for further information. The Water Regulations (2002) under the Environmental Management and Protection Act, 2002 specify laboratory accreditation to meet CAN-P-4D (ISO/IEC17025). For more information, download the .pdf document.
	The above is for informational purposes only.

Manitoba	For more information on Manitoba's Accreditation requirements, please download the .pdf document.
	The above is for informational purposes only.

Ontario Clarification on Acceptable Methods for Coliform Analysis	April 15, 2008 -Revised Protocol of Accepted Drinking-Water Testing Methods, Version 1.0 is now available online. Please see the link below. The form number is 4465e01 under the heading Laboratory Licensing. http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/publications/forms/index.php#lab October 25, 2007 - Lead and Drinking Water MOE website links pertaining the information from the MOE for "Lead and Drinking Water" that has been shared with schools, private school or day nursery operators. http://www.ontario.ca/ONT/portal51/drinkingwater/General?docId=133481&lang=en April 13, 2007 - the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs(OMAFRA) Agronomic Test Accreditation Program has expanded its list of acceptable accreditation bodies to include CAEAL. Please see http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/nm/regs/sampro/samproj07.pdf In December 2004, the Ministry announced a new policy regarding acceptable accrediting bodies. For more information, download .pdf document. The Walkerton Clean Water Centre's website is now live: http://www.wcwc.ca/. On this site you will find information on the Centre and its priorities, goals and initiatives. The vision of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre is to create a world-class institute dedicated to safe and secure drinking water for the people of Ontario. Established by Ontario Regulation 304/04 as a crown agency of the Ministry of the Environment in October 2004 and governed by a 12-member board of directors, the Centre's work will complement and support that of the Ministry with a focus on ensuring that training, education and information is available and accessible to owners, operators and operating authorities of Ontario's drinking water systems, particularly in rural and remote communities. The Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 (SDWA) and the Drinking Water Testing Services Regulation (O. Reg. 248/03) require any laboratory that performs drinking water testing to obtain a licence effective October ,1, 2003. In addition, the SDWA requires owners and operating authorities of drinking water systems regulated under the Drinking Water Systems Regulation (O. Reg. 170/03) to use a licensed laboratory for drinking water testing. See the Ontario Ministry of the Environment web site for details: www.ene.gov.on.ca/water.htm#acts New Regulation For Drinking Water Systems Serving Non-Residential and Seasonal Residential Uses. The regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act covers five categories of drinking water systems: Large Municipal Non-Residential, Small Municipal Non-Residential, Large Non-Municipal Non-Residential, Small Non-Municipal Non-Residential and Non-Municipal Seasonal Residential. The Ministry of the Environment will continue to oversee these systems while the government develops a new legislative and regulatory framework that if passed would transfer responsibility for regulating these systems from the Ministry of the environment to public health units overseen by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. - June 8, 2005 The final regulation has been posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry at www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/ebr/english/index.htm Interim Bulletin: O. Reg 252/05 - Non Residential and Non Municipal Seasonal Residential Systems That Do Not Serve Designated Facilities. It is the position of the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) that where “bacterial overgrowth” on microbial plates analyzed for the purposes of identifying E. coli or total coliforms is of such an extent that the laboratory cannot accurately identify whether E. coli or total coliforms are present, the sample is an adverse result within the meaning of subsection 18 (1) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002. For more information, download the following: Interim Bulletiin 2005 (.pdf) Ontario Regulation 252/05 (.pdf) October 24, 2005 - New Licensing Condition. A new condition regarding filtering of drinking water samples. To download the memo in .pdf format, click here.
	The above is for informational purposes only.

New Brunswick	Bill 18 An Act to Amend the Clean Water Act (Hon. Jardine) (.pdf) Bill 19 An Act to Amend the Clean Environment Act (Hon. Jardine) (.pdf) New Brunswick Regulation 93-203 under the Clean Water Act, Section 9(1) As of December 2001, New Brunswick Regulation 93-203 under the Clean Water Act, Section 9(1) requires that:9(1) An owner of a regulated water supply system shall ensure that the water in the system is tested in accordance with the sampling plan that applies to that system at a laboratory that (a) is accredited by the Canadian Association of Environmental Analytical Laboratories, (b) is certified by the Canadian Association of Environmental Analytical Laboratories, or (c) is acceptable to the Minister of Health and Wellness. Section 9(1)(c) above is interpreted as: In lieu of CAEAL accreditation or parameter certification, the laboratory must: demonstrate that they are using standard analytical methods;demonstrate that they have trained personnel with adequate knowledge to conduct the analysis;provide copies of their quality assurance manuals; and participate in a round robin acceptable to the Department of Health and Wellness with results provided directly to the Department of Health and Wellness by the Round Robin Program Coordinator. Please refer to the Government of New Brunswick web site http://www.gnb.ca for further information. Compliance to Laboratory Accreditation Condition A municipal drinking water system's Approval to Operate requires the Approval Holder to use laboratories that have obtained accreditation for all parameters listed in the approved sampling plan. The Department of Environment’s Drinking Water Engineers verify this condition when conducting Approval Compliance Evaluations (ACE). Where a laboratory does not have accreditation for all sampling plan parameters that they test on behalf of the municipality, a compliance schedule, which describes how conformance to the lab accreditation condition will be achieved, is required.
	The above is for informational purposes only.

Nova Scotia	Nova Scotia's Policy for the Accreditation of Laboratories Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour has recently released a policy on the accreditation and proficiency testing for competency of laboratories providing analytical results to the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour. You can download the document in .pdf format. Please contact Brent Baxter for further information.
	The above is for informational purposes only.

Prince Edward Island	PEI Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry In 2005, the PEI Environmental Protection Act was updated and now includes a requirement for lab accreditation for drinking and waste water. For more information, please see http://www.canlii.org/.
	The above is for informational purposes only.

Newfoundland and Labrador	Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment and Conservation - Water Resources Management Division requires all laboratories that analyse water samples (including QA/QC samples) as part of the drinking water quality monitoring program must be accredited. You can view Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Manual at http://www.env.gov.nl.ca Please contact Kent Slaney for further information. Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment and Conservation - Pollution Prevention Division Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment has recently implemented a new lab policy. You can download the document in .pdf format. Please contact Angela Burrige for further information. CAEAL has been recognized as an accrediting body by the Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. For more information, download .pdf document.
	The above is for informational purposes only.

Environment Canada The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (see http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C 15.31/29960.html) contains several references to government's ability to stipulate laboratory practices, for example articles 118(1)(c), 135(1)(e), 140(1)(j), 177(e), and 209(2)(v). Environment Canada has a Laboratory Data Quality Policy which applies to all data reported to Environment Canada. The Policy stipulates that "all laboratory data required by Environment Canada must be generated by laboratories that are accredited to ISO/IEC standard 17025 by an accreditation body meeting the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011...". The policy applies to "all analytical data ... generated by Environment Canada's operational laboratories or generated in laboratories outside of the department and reported to Environment Canada specifically intended to support its regulatory, assessment and management activities." Environment Canada has recognized CAEAL as a laboratory accreditation body (view .pdf letter from Dr. Jim Maguire).


Health Canada Health Canada: Water Quality and Health Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality