Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan: the Government of Canada's funding and management program for assessing and remediating contaminated sites for which federal departments are legally responsible. FCSAP sets risk-based classification and prioritization rules and co-funds eligible assessment and remediation work.
FCSAP was established in 2005 and is jointly led by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat. Custodian departments (DND, Indigenous Services, Crown-Indigenous Relations, Transport Canada, Parks Canada, and others) propose sites against the FCSAP Site Classification System, which scores risk to human health and ecological receptors. Sites that meet thresholds are eligible for cost-shared assessment, remediation, and risk-management funding.
FCSAP is distinct from the Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory (FCSI), which is the public registry of federal sites. FCSI is the inventory; FCSAP is the program that funds work on FCSI sites. Procurements under FCSAP typically reference the CCME Canada-Wide Standards or jurisdiction-specific Tier 1 / Tier 2 frameworks for cleanup criteria, with strong recent emphasis on permanent destruction outcomes for PFAS, dioxins, and other persistent contaminants.
Also known as: FCSAP, Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan.
A regulatory designation for the most effective and advanced stage of development of activities and operating methods. Regulators use BAT to set minimum performance standards for pollution control and contaminated-site remediation, anchored in technical and economic feasibility rather than vendor preference.
The U.S. federal law passed in 1980 that establishes liability, cleanup standards, and the Superfund program for sites contaminated with hazardous substances. The foundational statute for U.S. environmental remediation and the basis for the 2024 designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances.
A 2001 international treaty in force since 2004 that requires signatory countries to eliminate or restrict the production, use, and release of designated Persistent Organic Pollutants, including PCBs, dioxins, furans, and a growing list of PFAS compounds.
An independent third-party verification process for environmental technology performance, originally administered by the U.S. EPA and now operated by national and international programs in Canada, the European Union, and Asia. ETV documents what a technology actually achieves under defined conditions, separate from vendor marketing claims.