Waste exemption becomes less useful: what is "wholly used"?
The Environmental Review Tribunal has reduced the usefulness of an important exception to the “waste” rules in Regulation 347.
View the post titled Waste exemption becomes less useful: what is "wholly used"?Town liable for negligence re developer's storm sewer
Property owners often suffered damage when storm and sanitary sewers malfunction. Canadian municipalities are generally exempt from civil suits in nuisance relating to their sewers, due to special statutes adopted across the country. However, they can be successfully sued in negligence. Such…
View the post titled Town liable for negligence re developer's storm sewerWhen will Ontario courts refuse to impose minimum environmental fines?
Now that mandatory minimum environmental fines are so high, courts occasionally refuse to impose them. For example, in R v. KIE Farms Ltd., a justice of the peace refused to impose a $25,000 minimum fine on a local farm, even though seepage from its corn silo made a local watercourse toxic…
View the post titled When will Ontario courts refuse to impose minimum environmental fines?Large personal and corporate fines for importing refrigerant
Velocity Inc., in Valleyfield, Quebec, and Stéphane Poirier, its President, were fined $37,200 after pleading guilty to illegally importing 600 cylinders of a popular refrigerant chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22, or R?22). R-22 is one of many refrigerants whose import, export, use and sale in …
View the post titled Large personal and corporate fines for importing refrigerantCongratulations to Melancthon – no MegaQuarry!
Congratulations to Melancthon Township on the official announcement that the Highland Companies‘ Mega Quarry proposal has been abandoned. Large areas of Melancthon depend on drinking water from highly vulnerable aquifers, which would have been endangered by the mega-quarry. The proposa…
View the post titled Congratulations to Melancthon – no MegaQuarry!New Guidance for Excess Soil management
The Ministry of the Environment has released its draft Best Management Practices for Soil Management in Ontario for two more months of public comment. The document outlines the MOE’s “recommendations” and “expectations” for managing the reuse of excess soils, a hugely important issue for the…
View the post titled New Guidance for Excess Soil managementWaterpower projects can't be reviewed because they don't get review?
So, waterpower development can't be reviewed by the ERT, because it gets only minimal scrutiny under the Environmental Assessment Act. Given the substantial adverse environmental impacts that waterpower development can have, it is incongruous to exempt it so fully from public review.
View the post titled Waterpower projects can't be reviewed because they don't get review?Stadacona: Do employees know what samples to take?
Last fall, Stadacona was convicted under the (former) Fisheries Act and the Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations. According to Environment Canada, “Stadacona General Partner Inc. pleaded guilty to having released one million litres of untreated process water into the Saint-Charles River…
View the post titled Stadacona: Do employees know what samples to take?Want to hear my presentation on why water rates will keep going up?
Dianne’s presentation on the panel of the Financial Impact of Regulation session at the Drinking Water Leadership Summit was “exceptionally well received”, according to attendee feedback. The huge costs of the new duty of care under the Safe Drinking Water Act, which comes …
View the post titled Want to hear my presentation on why water rates will keep going up?Renewable Energy Approvals regulations amended again
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has made more amendments to O. Reg. 359/09, the Renewable Energy Approvals Regulation. As a result of concerns raised during the last round of amendments (July 1), these amendments focus on: Re-issuance of draft site plans to reflect changes to the loc…
View the post titled Renewable Energy Approvals regulations amended againReceive Blog Posts
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