Antarctic permit and waste rules updated

Summary#

These are final amendments to the Antarctic Environmental Protection Regulations and the Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations (SOR/2025-195). They took effect on September 26, 2025 and mainly clarify which type of environmental review is needed for different activities in Antarctica, tighten how waste plans must be written, and change how some waste breaches are penalized.

What it does#

• Clarifies the three levels of environmental evaluation required before activities in Antarctica:
  • A preliminary evaluation for activities likely to have less than a minor or transitory impact.
  • An initial evaluation for activities likely to have no more than a minor or transitory impact.
  • A comprehensive evaluation for activities likely to have more than a minor or transitory impact.
• Adds timing rules for decisions and notices:
  • The Minister must acknowledge an application within 30 days.
  • If an initial or comprehensive evaluation is required, the Minister issues a notice within 90 days.
  • The Minister must decide on an application after a comprehensive evaluation within 19 months of receiving it.
• Makes waste management plans more specific. Plans must now explicitly cover:
  • removal, reduction, recycling, safe storage, incineration and disposal options required by the Regulations;
  • a requirement that combustible wastes burned in an incinerator have their solid residue removed from Antarctica.
• Sets limited exceptions for disposal:
  • deep ice-pit burial only for inland stations on ice where it is the only practicable option, with location limits;
  • sea disposal from vessels allowed only if it meets MARPOL Annex V or an applicable Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 permit;
  • sewage from larger stations (average weekly summer occupancy of at least 30 people) must be macerated before disposal in certain cases;
  • treated sewage by specific biological processes can be discharged if it won’t harm the local environment and meets Annex IV rules.
• Updates the content of permit applications by replacing a rigid form with a flexible list of required information (expedition details, people, vessels, aircraft, insurance, itinerary, waste and emergency plans, etc.).
• Replaces fixed lists of historic sites and specially protected areas with a reference to the lists published by the Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty on its website (so they stay current).
• Requires permits to include a condition that holders must follow their waste management plan.
• Adjusts the administrative-penalty rules so failures to meet waste management requirements are treated as more serious violations under the Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations.

Who's affected#

• Organizations and individuals who need a Canadian permit to operate in Antarctica, such as:
  • research institutions and scientists,
  • expedition and tour operators,
  • vessel and station operators.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada, which manages permits and compliance.
• A small number of applicants: the Department receives about 4–7 permit applications per year.

Why it matters#

• It makes the permit and review process clearer. Low-impact trips should face lighter paperwork than higher-impact projects.
• It forces clearer waste plans and lets officials treat waste breaches more seriously. That can reduce pollution and long-term contamination risks in a fragile environment.
• It modernizes applications (for example, allowing email attachments) and keeps protected-area lists up to date by linking to the international Secretariat’s website.
• According to the government, these are mainly administrative changes that do not lower existing environmental protections, but they do change how waste non-compliance is classified for penalties.