Environmental management issues go beyond a cut-and-dried reading and application of the regulations. Often there is more than just “scientific facts” and a strict reading of the regulations. Sometimes perceptions and sentiment trump facts, and sometimes the regulations have not caught up with the science. This extra-regulatory approach to environmental management is often lumped under what is referred to as a social licence. Defining Social Licence The idea of a social...
Read MoreLimiting Environmental Events and More Fines
The Professor of my graduate class in Principles of Pollution Control stated if we can eliminate preliminary events (e.g., long working hours, poor maintenance, etc.), initiating or triggering events never occur; nice concept, but not so easy to execute. In an earlier blog, we said that, more often than not, human error (including communications) plays a key role in mishaps. These errors can be dangerous, costly, and can pose public relations challenges to the companies...
Read MoreEnvironmental Liability: Communities, Buyers, Sellers, and Consultants
Environmental liability protection seems to be nothing more than paperwork … until it’s not. Who Pays for Environmental Damages? We often discuss issues surrounding environmental liability, because every time a property changes hands, this is, potentially, a very big deal. Earlier this year, my colleague Allan Clifford Lawton, discussed the Redwater Energy Case and who will pay for abandoned oil wells when an oil company goes bankrupt. The Redwater Decision has potentially...
Read MoreEnvironmental Enforcement News Across Canada
We are taking a break from news regarding vapour intrusion, managing excess soils, and the hot button issue of PFAS to provide a brief update on environmental enforcement activity. Below are just a few of our environmental enforcement observations. Pipeline Release How we move natural resources from their point of extraction to refinement and then to actual distribution is an important issue. Mishandling these products can affect human health and the environment. We move a...
Read MoreEnvironmental Regulatory Bans, Delays, and Changes
Our monthly environmental compliance tips are typically focused on daily compliance issues for the regulated community. However, it’s also important to monitor the bigger-picture environmental issues as well. Before we look at some of those larger issues we want to mention the change at Ontario Ministry of the Environment. As of June 29, 2018, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) has been renamed to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and...
Read MoreManaging Excess Soils in Ontario
How you manage excess soils is increasingly important to the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP). The MECP might be more recognizable under its former name, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC). If it’s important to the MECP, it’s important to the regulated community. Concerns about managing excess soils was mentioned as one of the top environmental management priorities for the regulated community in our recent survey. That’s...
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