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Published on: 4 Sep 2012 By (Dianne Saxe)

Managing fill: when is surplus soil “waste”, and where can it go?

Soil movement is big business in Ontario, involving perhaps 170 million tonnes/ year, and adding about 15% to infrastructure costs. Last year’s changes to the contaminated sites regulation Reg. 153/04 have made soil movement more difficult and expensive than ever, and further cost increases …

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Published on: 30 Aug 2012 By (Dianne Saxe)

Sustainable remediation: what is the status?

The United Kingdom program, Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments, provides excellent resources on contaminated site remediation. One of their contributors, the University of Cambridge, is now seeking input on sustainable remediation. Study participants will receive the final report.

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Published on: 29 Aug 2012 By (Dianne Saxe)

Environmental Review Tribunal appeal notices must be complete

The Environmental Review Tribunal has dismissed an anti-wind appeal, because the neighbours opposed to the project did not file a proper notice of appeal: Ball v. Director. Several appeals were also dismissed in Monture v. Ontario, Ministry of the Environment, because the notices of appeal w…

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Published on: 27 Aug 2012 By (Dianne Saxe)

New Canadian environmental assessment: a rose by any other name?

Officially, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, has abolished most federal environmental assessment screenings,  but the practical  effect is less than it appears. Parks Canada, for example, has simply replaced the old Canadian Environmental Assessment Act process with its new, …

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Published on: 21 Aug 2012 By (Dianne Saxe)

Liability insurer need not pay for voluntary delineation and cleanup

According to Ontario’s Court of Appeal, General Electric Canada (GE) can’t make its liability insurer pay for the delineation and cleanup of a former GE property contaminated with trichloroethylene (“TCE”), because it voluntarily complied with a Ministry of the Environment …

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Published on: 20 Aug 2012 By (Dianne Saxe)

Certificate of analysis ok as evidence despite minor error and delay?

A court accepted a Maxxam certificate of analysis into evidence in an environmental prosecution, despite a minor error in an internal chain of custody, and a two month delay in issuing the certificate. The decision is useful for anyone who takes samples, analyses them or uses the result in court.

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Published on: 16 Aug 2012 By (Dianne Saxe)

Science, proof and causation: when courts and scientists disagree

Bad science should be thrown out of court. When alleged scientific data fails to meet relevant, objective quality standards specifically developed for that kind of data, no one knows whether the claimed result is either reliable or correct. It is fundamentally unfair to punish anyone base…

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