Notice

On June 29, 2012, the Fisheries Act was amended. Policy and regulations are now being developed to support the new fisheries protection provisions of the Act (which are not yet in force). The existing guidance and policies continue to apply. For more information, see Changes to the Fisheries Act.

DFO Expert Support for the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP)

In Canada, there are thousands of contaminated sites for which the federal government has accepted responsibility. The FCSAP was developed to provide funding and support to federal departments, agencies, and consolidated Crown corporations (i.e., custodians) in mitigating human health and ecological risks associated with their contaminated sites while reducing federal financial liability.

A portion of FCSAP sites contain aquatic components (Definition of an Aquatic Site). With the goal of protecting fish and fish habitat that support fisheries, DFO expert support provides scientifically sound, and nationally consistent advice. Specifically, we provide support to custodial departments during the investigation and assessment of FCSAP sites, in the planning of remedial activities, and in site-specific risk management in both the short and long term.

• Supporting Documents
• Expert Support Contacts

FCSAP 10-Step Approach

In the FCSAP program, federal contaminated sites are managed according to a common 10-step approach (for terrestrial sites: A Federal Approach to Contaminated Sites, 1999; or aquatic sites: Framework for Addressing and Managing Aquatic Contaminated Sites Under the FCSAP [PDF 276 KB], 2011). DFO expert support can help custodians identify and protect the aquatic resources located on or near their contaminated site. Consultation with DFO expert support early in the 10 step process will lead to the effective and streamlined assessment and management of these sites.

The following pages describe each of the 10 steps and provide common examples of activities conducted during each of these steps. This overview is not intended to provide a complete list of possible activities.