SOR-2025-279 Landfill Methane Regulations

in respect of an owner or operator who is an individual, that individual or another individual who is authorized to act on their behalf;

in respect of an owner or operator that is a corporation, an officer of the corporation who is authorized to act on its behalf; and

in respect of an owner or operator that is an entity other than a corporation, an individual who is authorized to act on its behalf. (agent autorisé)

a surface methane concentration, a concentration of 500 ppmv or more; and

a zone-average surface methane concentration, a concentration of 25 ppmv or more. (dépassement)

landfill gas recovery wells required under subsection 10(1);

equipment components required under subsection 13(1); or

surface methane concentrations and zone-average surface methane concentrations required under subsection 17(1). (activité de surveillance)

section 8.3.1 is to be read without regard to the fifth sentence of that section; and

the reference to “an increased meter reading” in that section is to be read as a reference to “a reading of 200 ppmv of methane or more”.

the instrument detector referred to in section 6.1 must respond to methane;

the instrument referred to in section 6.2 must be capable of measuring 500 ppmv of methane;

the scale of the instrument meter referred to in section 6.3 must be readable to ±2.5 % of 500 ppmv of methane;

the reference to “VOC” in section 7.1.1 is to be read as a reference to “methane”;

the references to “calibration gas” and “the applicable leak definition specified in the regulation” in section 7.1.2 are to be read as references to “500 ppmv of methane”;

in section 7.2, the requirement to have cylinder calibration gas mixtures analyzed and certified is to be read as a requirement to analyze and certify 500 ppmv of methane;

the reference to “calibration gases” in section 7.3 is to be read as a reference to “500 ppmv of methane”;

in section 8.1.1.1, the reference compound is methane and the references to the “the calibration gas mixture” and “the calibration gas” are to be read as references to “500 ppmv of methane”;

section 8.1.1.2 is to be read only with reference to the first sentence of that section and the instrument response factor referred to in that sentence must be in relation to 500 ppmv of methane and be less than 10;

the calibration precision test referred to in section 8.1.2 must be performed before the instrument is first used on any day;

the reference to “the specified calibration gas” in section 8.1.2.1 is to be read as a reference to “500 ppmv of methane”;

the reference to “the calibration gas value” in section 8.1.2.2 is to be read as a reference to “500 ppmv of methane”;

the response time test referred to in section 8.1.3 must be performed before the instrument is first used on any day;

the reference to “the specified calibration gas” in section 8.1.3.1 is to be read as a reference to “500 ppmv of methane”; and

the references to “the calibration gas” and “the calibration gas value” in section 10.1 are to be read as reference to “500 ppmv of methane”.

the reference in Section 6.1.2 to “the operational limit of 500 ppm specified in the regulation” is to be read as a reference to “500 ppmv of methane”; and

the reference in Section 7.1.2 to “the 500 ppm above background operational limit specified in the regulation” is to be read as a reference to “500 ppmv of methane”.

establish requirements to limit methane emissions from certain landfills; and

designate the contravention of certain of its provisions as serious offences by adding them to the schedule to the Regulations Designating Regulatory Provisions for Purposes of Enforcement (Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999).

any landfill in which any quantity of municipal solid waste was disposed of after January 1, 2010 and that has more than 450 000 tonnes of municipal solid waste in place; and

any landfill in which more than 20 000 tonnes of municipal solid waste was disposed of in 2025 or is disposed of in any subsequent calendar year and that has more than 200 000 tonnes of municipal solid waste in place.

hazardous waste;

non-biodegradable waste, such as soil, rock, asphalt, concrete, brick, glass, ceramics, clay products, inert slag, asbestos-containing waste and metals;

waste produced by forest products operations; or

construction and demolition waste.

that is not contiguous with any other portion of the landfill;

in which no municipal solid waste was disposed of after January 1, 2010; and

that is under final cover.

calculate the quantity of methane generated at the landfill in the previous calendar year, in tonnes, using the methane modelling tool; and

submit to the Minister

the quantity of methane calculated under paragraph (1)(a) in respect of the previous calendar year is 664 tonnes or more and the landfill was open at the end of that year; or

the landfill was closed at the end of the previous calendar year.

for any portion of the landfill to which a registered offset project does not apply on the day on which these Regulations come into force,

for any portion of a landfill to which a registered offset project applies on the day on which these Regulations come into force, on the later of

the landfill is closed in any calendar year before that date and the quantity of methane generated at the landfill in that calendar year is less than 1 000 tonnes as calculated using the methane modelling tool; and

the owner or operator submits to the Minister the information and documents referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) for that calendar year.

Canadian Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations and to which the Federal offset protocol : landfill methane recovery and destruction, published by Environment and Climate Change Canada, applies;

Greenhouse Gas Emission Control Regulation, B.C. Reg. 250/2015, and to which the British Columbia Greenhouse Gas Offset Protocol: Methane from Organic Waste, published by the Government of British Columbia, applies;

Regulation respecting landfill methane reclamation and destruction projects eligible for the issuance of offset credits, CQLR, c. Q-2, r. 35.5, and the Regulation respecting the cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emission allowances, CQLR c. Q-2, r. 46.1; or

Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation, Alta. Reg. 133/2019, and to which the Quantification Protocol for Landfill Gas Capture and Combustion, published by the Government of Alberta, applies.

the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and email address of the owner or operator, the owner or operator’s authorized official and a contact person, if different from the authorized official;

the name of the landfill and any identification numbers used for reporting to federal and provincial authorities;

the landfill’s civic address and latitude and longitude coordinates, expressed in decimal degrees to five decimal places;

the reasons for their request;

a description of the measures required to comply with sections 7 to 24;

the expected date for completion of the measures and the reasons why it is the earliest feasible date to do so; and

a description of what will be done to minimize methane emissions until the measures are completed.

an outstanding provincial or territorial regulatory permit or approval; or

the delayed procurement, delivery or installation of necessary equipment.

when it is necessary to do so to conduct repairs, equipment maintenance or active landfill gas recovery system expansions;

when it is necessary to do so to avoid serious risk to human health or safety or to prevent the subsurface migration of landfill gas offsite; or

in portions of the landfill that are under final cover, if the methane concentration in landfill gas in the venting location is below 25% by volume in four consecutive quarterly measurements taken using an instrument documented by the manufacturer to be capable of measuring the methane concentration in landfill gas and that is calibrated and operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.

an enclosed flare;

an open flare;

an energy recovery device, including gas turbines, internal combustion engines, boilers and steam turbine systems;

a treatment system that processes recovered landfill gas for subsequent sale or use;

if the methane concentration in the recovered landfill gas is below 25% by volume, a biofilter; or

any other device or system that has a methane destruction efficiency of at least 98%.

treatment process emissions that contain methane; and

any processed landfill gas that is not sold or used.

the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and email address of the owner or operator, the owner or operator’s authorized official and a contact person, if different from the authorized official;

the name of the landfill and any identification numbers used for reporting to federal and provincial authorities;

the landfill’s civic address and latitude and longitude coordinates, expressed in decimal degrees to five decimal places; and

a description of the device or system, including the make and manufacturer of any equipment, the calculated or estimated methane destruction efficiency, in percentage, and supporting measurements, calculations and documents, as well as a description of annual or periodic tests to measure destruction efficiency and the estimated days of operation during a calendar year.

at least on a monthly basis, the methane concentration in recovered landfill gas that is conveyed to each of the devices or systems referred to in subsection (1), at a location that is either specific to each device or system or common to every device or system; and

at least every 15 minutes, the volumetric flowrate of that recovered landfill gas at a location specific to each device or system.

when venting of landfill gas occurs, the location of the venting, the dates on which it took place and the reasons why it took place;

any measurements taken that demonstrate that the condition set out in paragraph 7(2)(c) has been met;

the measurements taken under paragraph 8(4)(a) or the monthly average of them;

the volume of landfill gas that is conveyed each day to each of the devices or systems referred to in subsection 8(1); and

the dates on which the active landfill gas recovery system and the devices or systems referred to in subsection 8(1) were shut down and the reasons for each shutdown.

monitor each landfill gas recovery well to determine

inspect each wellhead to identify damaged equipment components.

with paragraph (1)(a) or (b), for a landfill gas recovery well that

with paragraph (1)(a), for a wellhead in which equipment is operating that continuously monitors the gauge pressure, oxygen concentration and volumetric flow rate and adjusts pressure in the well.

demonstrate that none of the conditions still exist; or

determine

whether there are methane leaks in any equipment components at the wellhead based on measurements taken using an instrument and method referred to in paragraph 13(1)(a) or (b); and

whether there are exceedances in any landfill cover penetrations associated with the wellhead based on measurements taken using an instrument and method referred to in paragraph 19(1)(a) or (c).

for each monitoring event,

the measurements taken for the purposes of subparagraph 10(3)(a)(v), along with the dates and locations of those measurements and the instruments and calibrations used; and

any measurement taken for the purposes of subsection 11(1) or (2) and

an instrument referred to in paragraph 19(1)(a) in accordance with section 8.3.1 of EPA Method 21, with the probe inlet of the instrument held no more than 2 cm from the equipment component or no more than 5 cm from the surface of a vault containing equipment components; or

any methane leak detection instrument and method approved by the Minister under subsection (2).

is capable of detecting the same methane leaks as could be detected if the equipment component were monitored in accordance with paragraph (1)(a); and

includes

repair the equipment component and confirm that the leak has been eliminated by measuring the methane concentration at the location of the leak using an instrument and method referred to in paragraph 13(1)(a) or (b); or

prepare a plan that includes

within 90 days after the day on which it is first detected, if it can be eliminated while the equipment component is still operating; or

during the next planned shutdown of the landfill gas management system, if that shutdown is for the purpose of inspecting and maintaining the landfill gas management system.

the date of the monitoring event and the name of the individual who conducted it;

the type of each monitoring instrument used, including its make and model and the results of each calibration;

any equipment component that is not monitored due to the application of subsection 13(3); and

for each methane leak detected,

a landfill cover or an active landfill gas recovery system is under construction; or

an active landfill gas recovery system is not operating due to measures taken to extinguish or prevent a fire at the landfill or due to normal servicing or repairs.

in the case of the first monitoring event, during the period beginning on January 1 and ending on May 31;

in the case of the second monitoring event, during the period beginning on June 1 and ending on August 31; and

in the case of the third monitoring event, during the period beginning on September 1 and ending on December 31.

confirm that the exceedance has been eliminated by measuring the methane concentration at the location of the exceedance using an instrument and method referred to paragraph 19(1)(a) or (c); or

prepare a plan that includes

in relation to a surface methane concentration, if the surface methane concentration where the exceedance was detected is less than 500 ppmv; and

in relation to a zone-average surface methane concentration, if the zone-average surface methane concentration in the zone where the exceedance was detected is less than 25 ppmv.

a portable methane monitoring instrument that

a methane monitoring instrument that

any methane monitoring instrument and method approved by the Minister under subsection (2).

are capable of detecting the same exceedances as could be detected if the landfill were monitored in accordance with paragraph (1)(a) and subsections (3) and (5);

in the case of the instrument, is capable of taking surface methane concentration measurements in accordance with subsection (5); and

includes

surface methane concentrations must be measured within 5 m of the location of that measurement to identify the maximum surface methane concentration within that radius; and

at the location of the maximum surface methane concentration, the probe must be maintained in a stationary position for twice the instrument response time before a measurement is taken.

the drone must be flown at a constant height above ground level and at a speed such that the instrument-only response time multiplied by the forward flight speed does not exceed 4 m;

during flight, using the drone’s gimballed camera, geo-referenced pictures must be taken of features that indicate elevated concentrations of landfill gas, such as distressed vegetation and cracks or seeps in the landfill cover;

if a measurement above 200 ppmv is taken, within 48 hours after it is taken, surface methane concentrations must be measured within 15 m of the location of that measurement in a spiral or serpentine pattern at intervals of 3 m using an instrument referred to in paragraph (1)(a); and

if a measurement above 200 ppmv is taken under paragraph (c), the surface methane concentration measurements described in paragraphs (3)(a) and (b) must be taken.

at intervals of no more than 2 m along the entire perimeter of the portions of the landfill where municipal solid waste is in place;

at intervals of no more than 2 m along a pattern that traverses the landfill, at intervals of no more than 30 m that are offset by 10 m for each successive monitoring event;

at all landfill cover penetrations and where indications of elevated concentrations of landfill gas are present, such as distressed vegetation and cracks or seeps in the landfill cover, using an instrument referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (c), and

if a location of concern is detected during a monitoring event, at that location as part of the next monitoring event.

in any portion of a landfill where a landfill cover or an active landfill gas recovery system is under construction; or

where doing so poses a serious risk to human health or safety.

there is standing water on the landfill surface at the measurement location; or

the average wind speed measured during a 15-minute interval using an anemometer equipped with a continuous recorder and data logger exceeds 30 km per hour.

the date of the monitoring event and the name of the individual who conducted it;

the dimensions of each zone and maps showing each zone and its zone identifier, the surface methane measurement locations, the portions of the landfill that are under final cover and those portions where waste disposal has not taken place in the previous 12 months;

for any portion of the landfill that was excluded under subsection 19(6), the reason for the exclusion and the zone identifier or a description of the portion;

the type of each monitoring instrument used, including its make and model and the results of each calibration;

the time-stamped methane concentrations, with the latitude and longitude coordinates of their locations, expressed in decimal degrees to five decimal places, and any zone-average surface methane concentrations;

the weather conditions, including

for each exceedance detected,

for each location of concern detected, its location, specifying its latitude and longitude coordinates, expressed in decimal degrees to five decimal places, the day on which it was detected and the corresponding surface methane concentration measured, in ppmv.

the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and email address of the owner and operator, the owner and operator’s authorized official and a contact person, if different from the authorized official;

the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and email address of the owner and operator of the equipment components that are part of any landfill gas management system in operation at the landfill, the owner or operator’s authorized official and a contact person, if different from the authorized official;

the name of the landfill and any identification numbers used for reporting to federal and provincial authorities;

the landfill’s civic address and latitude and longitude coordinates, expressed in decimal degrees to five decimal places;

the operational status of the landfill, including the date on which it was closed or is expected to be closed, the quantity of municipal solid waste disposed of at the landfill, in tonnes, and the quantity of municipal solid waste that was in place at the landfill at the end of that year, in kilotonnes;

a description of any active landfill gas recovery system, biocover or other methane control system that was in place or in operation at the landfill, including the first day on which it was in place or commenced operation;

a description of any device or system referred to in subsection 8(1) that was in operation at the landfill, including its type, manufacturer, model, year of installation, location and capacity, and the methane destruction efficiency cited by the manufacturer, if any;

the type of each daily, intermediate and final cover in place at the landfill at the end that year, the area of the landfill under each type of landfill cover and the area of the landfill where landfill gas was being recovered;

the average of the methane concentration measurements taken under paragraph 8(4)(a), in percentage;

the quantity of methane, in tonnes, conveyed to each of the devices or systems referred to in subsection 8(1);

the number of hours during which an active landfill gas recovery system was in operation, the dates on which it was shut down and the reasons for each shutdown;

the information referred to in paragraph 9(a);

a map showing

the information referred to in paragraph 21(c);

for each monitoring event, the date of the monitoring event and the type of monitoring instrument used;

if an owner or operator identified the existence of any of the conditions described in paragraph 10(1)(a) or (b),

for each methane leak identified or eliminated, the information referred to in paragraph 15(d);

for each exceedance identified or eliminated, the information referred to in paragraph 21(g);

for each location of concern identified in the calendar year, the information referred to in paragraph 21(h); and

a map showing the location of each methane leak and exceedance identified or eliminated.

in the case of the time limit set out in subsection 14(2),

in the case of a time limit set out in subsection 18(2),

the owner or operator’s inability to meet the applicable time limit is due to circumstances that are beyond the owner or operator’s control and that arise from

the proposed measures to minimize methane emissions before expiration of the deferred time limit are adequate.

a portion of a landfill at which

a portion of a landfill that is not contiguous with any other portion of the landfill and at which

the quantity of methane

no exceedance has been detected for six consecutive monitoring events referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition monitoring event in subsection 1(1) and no active landfill gas recovery took place in the five days prior to each of the monitoring events.

the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and email address of the owner or operator, the owner or operator’s authorized official and a contact person, if different from the authorized official;

the name of the landfill and any identification numbers used for reporting to federal and provincial authorities;

the landfill’s civic address and latitude and longitude coordinates, expressed in decimal degrees to five decimal places;

an attestation that the landfill meets the requirements set out in subparagraph (1)(a)(i) or (b)(i), as the case may be;

if applicable, the measurements, calculations and supporting documents that demonstrate that the landfill meets the requirements set out in paragraph (2)(a); and

for the monitoring events that demonstrate that there were no exceedances referred to in subparagraph (1)(a)(ii) or (b)(iii) or paragraph (2)(b), the records referred to in paragraphs 21(a) to (e).

make it no later than 30 days after the day on which the information to be recorded becomes available;

keep it for at least five years after the day on which it is made;

keep it at the landfill or, with written notice to the Minister, at any other place in Canada where it can be inspected;

if the record is moved, notify the Minister, in writing, of the civic address of its new location within 30 days after the day on which it is moved;

provide it to the Minister within 60 days after the Minister requests it;

retain it in an electronically readable format if it is made electronically; and

if it is a record of a calculation, retain supporting documents and information that are used to make the calculation.