Glossary — FCSI terms explained

The key terms, codes, and classifications used in Canada's Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory and throughout this site.

FCSI / RSCF

The Federal Contaminated Sites Inventory (French: Répertoire des sites contaminés fédéraux) is the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's public inventory of contaminated sites, suspected contaminated sites, and closed sites on land owned or leased by the federal government, plus certain non-federal sites where the Government of Canada has accepted responsibility. It records each site's location, custodian, classification, contaminants, management strategy, and reported expenditures.

FCSAP / PASCF

The Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (French: Plan d'action pour les sites contaminés fédéraux), established in 2005, is the Government of Canada's dedicated funding program for assessing and remediating federal contaminated sites, prioritizing those posing the highest risk to human health and the environment. In the inventory, sites and annual expenditures are flagged when FCSAP-funded; this site's "FCSAP-funded" filter and figures come directly from those flags.

Custodian (custodian department)

The federal department, agency, or Crown corporation responsible for a site — for example National Defence, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, or Indigenous Services Canada. The inventory calls this the "reporting organization". Browse sites by custodian.

Classification (priority for action)

Sites are classified using the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) National Classification System for Contaminated Sites, which scores contaminant characteristics, exposure pathways, and receptors:

• Class 1 — High Priority for Action: available information indicates a high potential for adverse off-site impacts; action is warranted.
• Class 2 — Medium Priority for Action: action is likely required, though the site is not a high concern.
• Class 3 — Low Priority for Action: the site is not a high concern, but additional work may be conducted.
• Class N — Not a Priority for Action: based on available information, action is not required.
• Class I — Insufficient Information: more data is needed before the site can be classified.

Status

• Suspected: contamination is suspected but not yet confirmed by testing.
• Active: contamination is confirmed and the site is being assessed, remediated, or monitored.
• Closed: assessment or remediation is complete and no further action is currently required.

The 10-step process

Federal sites are managed through the ten-step process set out in A Federal Approach to Contaminated Sites. The inventory records each site's highest completed step:

1. Identify suspect sites
2. Historical review
3. Initial testing program
4. Classify the site (CCME National Classification System)
5. Detailed testing program
6. Reclassify the site
7. Develop a remediation / risk management strategy
8. Implement the strategy
9. Confirmatory sampling and final reporting
10. Long-term monitoring

Contaminants and media

The inventory groups contaminants into broad categories — petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals and metalloids, and others — and records the affected media where each was found: soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, or air.

Expenditures

Custodians report annual amounts per site across four activities: assessment, remediation, care & maintenance, and monitoring. This site sums them across fiscal years 1993-1994–2025-2026, in nominal (unadjusted) dollars.