What counts as pollution?
Two recent cases have reached opposite conclusions about what counts as a “contaminant” under Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act (EPA). Neither case seems to make much environmental sense. Why is flyrock a “contaminant”, when reflected light that lures millions of birds to their deaths i…
View the post titled What counts as pollution?Air pollution: They're cleaner than you think?
Ontario’s air pollution regulation, 419/05, uses an American computer model to estimate how much air pollution from a stationary source reaches a point of impingement, usually the property boundary. This model, AERMOD, is used to determine whether organizations are complying with air e…
View the post titled Air pollution: They're cleaner than you think?Combined sewer overflows into Great Lakes going down
This month’s issue of Water Canada has some good news about what has been done to cut the flow of untreated sewage into the Great Lakes over the last 40 years. “Curbing the Flow” chronicles the steps that have been taken to slash raw and combined sewer overflows in four Can…
View the post titled Combined sewer overflows into Great Lakes going downAn introduction to the law of noise pollution
Dianne gave a well received introduction to the law of noise pollution at the Ontario Bar Association’s Halloween breakfast. Topics included what is noise, who regulates it, how the Environmental Protection Act applies, enforcement under the EPA, bylaws and the OMB, and civil suits fo…
View the post titled An introduction to the law of noise pollutionEnviro West v Copper Mountain, everyone is liable
A long running lawsuit over liability for PCB wastes may finally be over. In Enviro West Inc v. Copper Mountain Mining Corp. a waste hauler, Enviro West, unknowingly picked up waste oil highly contaminated with PCBs and mixed it with uncontaminated oil, resulting in substantial damages. At …
View the post titled Enviro West v Copper Mountain, everyone is liableWhere are electronic documents for hazardous waste?
Where are electronic documents for hazardous waste? Under Ontario’s Regulation 347, waste generators must keep some documents at the waste generation facility, in either physical or electronic form. Physical storage at each waste generation facility may be challenging. Will cloud (or o…
View the post titled Where are electronic documents for hazardous waste?Can biased sampling create hazardous waste?
One of our current cases deals with a question that is critical to everyone in the waste business: can biased sampling make a non-hazardous waste “hazardous”?
View the post titled Can biased sampling create hazardous waste?Contaminated site lawsuit: How not to win
Owners of a contaminated site are often too optimistic about their “rights” to compensation. Sometimes, chasing compensation for contamination just throws good money after bad. For example, Terrim Properties Ltd. wanted to build a gaming centre in Castlegar, B.C. Their loan fell…
View the post titled Contaminated site lawsuit: How not to winManaging 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 …
View the post titled Managing fill: when is surplus soil “waste”, and where can it go?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.
View the post titled Sustainable remediation: what is the status?Receive Blog Posts
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