Contaminated 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 sta…
View the post titled Contaminated sites: which cleanup standards?Cleaning up contamination – extra time has a price
Owners of contaminated sites face stringent new cleanup standards, effective July 1, 2011, under Reg. 153/04. Many owners want to cleanup under the existing, less stringent standards, but cannot finish the cleanup by next July. They can buy an extra 18 months to finish the cleanup, but only …
View the post titled Cleaning up contamination – extra time has a priceWhy 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 th…
View the post titled Why do new fuel tanks leak?Regional official plans and the ANS
These kinds of errors can make a Record of Site Condition contain "false or misleading" information or certification.
View the post titled Regional official plans and the ANSEnvironmental insurance getting cheaper?
Last week, insurance representatives told the Ontario Bar Association that environmental cleanup insurance has become much less expensive, perhaps 1 cent per square foot per year for large property portfolios. The available coverages have also expanded. This is good news. Environmental insur…
View the post titled Environmental insurance getting cheaper?Making parent companies pay: a sting in the tail of approval reform
This should add some surprising complications to a wide variety of transactions.
View the post titled Making parent companies pay: a sting in the tail of approval reformFalse or misleading Records of site condition
Is a site really clean? Can you trust a Record of Site Condition? We keep finding examples of why the Ministry of the Environment had to tighten the obligations of Qualified Persons in Regulation 153/04, the regulation that governs contaminated sites. The regulation requires a Qualified Pers…
View the post titled False or misleading Records of site conditionWhat's an ANS?
Here’s another fun question about Reg. 511/09, the recent amendments to Reg. 153/04: what’s an “area of natural significance” (ANS)? S. 1 now defines ANS to include “an area which is habitat of a species that is classified under section 7 of the Endangered Speci…
View the post titled What's an ANS?Better ideas about liability, allocation and fairness
Kudos to the Nova Scotia Law Reform Commission for its thoughtful and groundbreaking report on how to encourage redevelopment of contaminated sites. Unlike the recent decision of Ontario’s Environmental Review Tribunal in Kawartha Lakes, the commission recognizes that uncertain and unf…
View the post titled Better ideas about liability, allocation and fairnessHow much is nuisance worth?
In Blatz v. Impact Energy Inc., the Alberta Court of Queen’s bench found a gas drilling company liable for contaminating a well on the landowners’ property. As a result, the landowners had to drill a new well and also suffered weeks of health problems, such as diarrhea, mouth sores, and blad…
View the post titled How much is nuisance worth?Receive Blog Posts
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