Environment Act (S.N.S. 1994-95, c. 1).

The purpose of the present Act is to support and promote the protection, enhancement and prudent use of the environment while recognizing the following goals: a) ensuring environmental protection as essential to the integrity of ecosystems, human health and the socio-economic well-being of society; b) maintaining the principles of sustainable development; c) the polluter-pay principle confirming the responsibility of anyone who creates an adverse effect on the environment to take remedial action and pay for the costs of that action; d) taking remedial action and providing for rehabilitation to restore an adversely affected area to a beneficial use; e) Government having a catalyst role in the areas of environmental education, environmental emergencies, environmental research and the development of policies, standards, objectives and guidelines and other measures to protect the environment; f) encouraging the development and use of environmental technologies, innovations and industries; g) providing access to information and facilitating effective public participation in the formulation of decisions affecting the environment; i) providing a responsive, effective, fair, timely and efficient administrative and regulatory system, recognizing that, wherever practical, it is essential to promote the purpose of this Act primarily through non-regulatory means such co-operation, communication, education, incentives and partnerships, instead of punitive measures. The Act consists of 151 sections divided into 16 Parts as follows: Introduction (I); Administration (II); Environmental education and research (III); Assessment process (IV); Approval and certificate (V); Release of substances (VI); Dangerous goods and pesticides (VII); Contaminated sites (VIII); Waste resource management (IX); Water resource management (X); Air quality management (XI); Inspections and investigations (XII); Orders (XIII); Appeals (XIV); Civil remedies (XV); Transboundary pollution (XVI).