New brownfields rules
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has quietly adopted sweeping changes to the regulation of brownfields and other contaminated sites. Some of the changes were extensively reviewed with stakeholders during the past three years; others were surprises: See the 87 pages of Regulation 511/09 at http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_040153_e.htm. The most important change will be the new standards...
Continue reading the post titled New brownfields rulesPaul Ekins and green taxes
Prof John Ekins told a packed house today that wetern economies have to improve the productivity of carbon by a factor of 10 by mid century. Every knowledgeable person knows that depends on pricing carbon. Prof Ekins cites numerous studies that green tax shifts can also produce the necessay carbon reductions with higher employment and...
Continue reading the post titled Paul Ekins and green taxesMore about Oakville
Dear Readers, Since you have shown so much interest in the Oakville air permit bylaw, here is some additional information:
Continue reading the post titled More about OakvilleWhy do new fuel tanks leak?
New fuel tanks leak because our safety standards are too lax, according to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In Muskoka Fuels v Hassan Steel Fabricators, the plaintiff petroleum distributor purchased a fuel tank manufactured by Hassan. Diesel oil leaked from the tank into a bog less than 5 months after installation. The tank had...
Continue reading the post titled Why do new fuel tanks leak?What do we owe our neighbours?
Property owners must not worsen problems faced by their neighbours. In Donley Investments Ltd. v. Canril Corp., Canril owned a vacant commercial property at 90 George Street in Ottawa, one inch west of the Donley building. The Donley basement began flooding in February 2003, after a broken City water main flooded the Canril building. No...
Continue reading the post titled What do we owe our neighbours?New cars: greenhouse gas limits and ethanol
Canada will control greenhouse gases, although only when the US does. Last week, Canada and the US jointly announced stricter limits on GHG emissions from new cars (light-duty vehicles). This is the first-ever federal regulation to directly control GHG emissions across Canada. Our federal government also announced proposed regulations to require an average renewable fuel...
Continue reading the post titled New cars: greenhouse gas limits and ethanolBetter Ontario toilets
Conserve water: us? Ontario residents and businesses have never worried much about conserving water; as a result, we are among the world’s most wasteful water users: a drowning 260 litres per person per day. Calls for voluntary conservation have had little effect. Now, water conservation rules are being tightened.
Continue reading the post titled Better Ontario toiletsDistinguished Service Award
Dianne thanks everyone who came out to see her receive the Ontario Bar Association Distinguished Service Award last night. Jon Clancy’s photos are posted at http://www.oba.org. Also, now that I am emerging from the first three weeks of my eight week trial in Ottawa, I will start catching up on other things. Trial work is...
Continue reading the post titled Distinguished Service AwardWorld's Leading Women in Business Law
Another honour, thank you so much to those who recommend us: Dear Ms. Saxe, I take great pleasure in congratulating you on your selection into the inaugural edition of the Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law– the first-ever guide dedicated to the world’s leading female practitioners. This unique publication provides expert guidance to the...
Continue reading the post titled World's Leading Women in Business LawContaminated sites: which cleanup standards?
More stringent cleanup standards for contaminated sites will come into effect July 1, 2011, under 2009 amendments to Regulation 153/04. Some property owners with ongoing cleanups may prefer to use the old numbers, i.e. the “March 9, 2004 Soil, Ground Water and Sediment Standards” (“2004 standards”) to obtain a record of site condition after July...
Continue reading the post titled Contaminated sites: which cleanup standards?Receive Blog Posts
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