Detailed information and requirements for managing releases of a contaminant with limited environmental impacts, including undesignated sites and limited impact release files.
When a release is reported, the Department of Environment and Local Government (DELG) initiates a file and evaluates the incident based on the information provided to determine the severity and magnitude of the incident. If it is determined that the incident is unlikely to have any impact on the environment, the site will not be designated as a contaminated site and will not be subject to the DELG Contaminated Sites Regulation – Clean Environment Act. The DELG and parties responsible for the clean-up of the release will be required to follow the Guideline for Undesignated Releases of Contaminants, which can be found in Appendix A of Ministerial Protocol – Limited Impact Releases.
If a release of a contaminant may cause adverse environmental impacts, the site will be designated as a contaminated site and the DELG will screen the incident to determine if it can be managed as a Limited Impact Release (LIR) file or if the release must be managed as a Contaminated Sites Management (CSM) file.
In general, a spill may be handled as an LIR file if the release is current (not historical contamination), the contaminant is a petroleum hydrocarbon, only the soil is contaminated, there are no impacts to groundwater or ecological receptors, and the spill can be cleaned up within 30 days.
If it is determined that a release can be managed as an LIR file, the Responsible Party must engage a Site Professional to remediate the release. The DELG expects releases managed to an LIR file to be remediated within 30 days. After site clean-up, the Site Professional must submit a summary of the work completed in an LIR Closure Report.
Ministerial Protocol – Limited Impact Release contains information on the LIR criteria, timelines, and Closure Report requirements.
Contact the contaminated sites program at