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Maintaining Your Environmental Obligations During Difficult Times
What are Canadians concerned about as we are dealing with COIVD-19? According to Statistics Canada, 84% of us are concerned about overloading the healthcare system and 54% are concerned about the health of a loved one. However, we are being proactive. 92% of us are washing our hands more frequently and 87% are maintaining social-distancing requirements. Environmental Obligations Remain If you are in charge of environmental compliance/management, you may have other concerns as well, including maintaining compliance. Based on our...
read moreFinancial Institutions Put Pressure on Environmental Programs
There are many environmental laws and regulations that apply to a variety of activities at companies. These laws may require filing for permits with local, provincial, or federal regulators. Laws and regulations apply to everyone. From local ordinances that may dictate the height of a fence on your property to speed limits on roads, we are required to be aware and comply with laws. Enforcement from Regulators We routinely report in our blogs about various environmental enforcement actions – some, likely most, are accidents or mishaps that...
read moreEnvironmental Preparations for Construction-Related Projects in Ontario
Much of the world seems to have come to a complete standstill. We all share a singular priority – stop the spread of COVID-19. For nearly everyone, this means there is no business as usual. Some are working at home, some are experiencing layoffs, and everyone has experienced drastic changes to every imaginable aspect of life. While we continue to work on projects, we do so with a great deal more caution to protect everyone from this pandemic. While we don’t know when life will return to some semblance of normalcy, we will continue to offer...
read moreEnvironmental Health and Safety Issues in the News
Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) issues have all been in the news of late. Dominating the health part of EHS is the Coronavirus, or COVID 19, which is currently a significant challenge for companies and governments worldwide. Infectious diseases aside, there were other EHS items in the news recently. Hydrogen Cyanide Release As recently reported in a couple of different publications, Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, had a release of hydrogen cyanide that affected employees and contractors at the plant. SOOTODAY reports,...
read moreProblems with Soil Dumping and Leachate Mismanaged
While there is a lot of press over big-pictures issues, including PFAS, climate change, and pollution from plastic waste, environmental management issues; however, are not nearly as lofty or newsworthy. Environmental management issues are likely to be far more pedestrian, like “What do we do with all this soil?” Dumping Soil and Debris in Open Lots One of those management issues that we talked about on numerous occasions is the soil and debris from construction activity (see Management of Excess Soils in Ontario: Official Changes Begin in...
read moreReleases Impacting Surface Waters in Canada
Releases to the subsurface (from underground storage tanks, pipelines, etc.) are far less visible to the public. Often these releases, which can lead to groundwater remediation, can go undetected for hours, days, weeks, or even years. Surface water releases, on the other hand, can be very visible and can quickly get the attention of Environmental Health and Safety professionals, regulators, and the public. There were several releases to surface water reported that did get attention. These releases remind us why it is important to have a...
read moreChanges to Industrial Effluent Program in Ontario
The proposal on October 22, 2019 (comment period closed on December 6, 2019) to revoke (and replace with Environmental Compliance Approval) the Municipal Industrial Strategy for Abatement (MISA) has been met with opposition from some environmental groups. This is not too dissimilar to just about any proposed changes to environmental regulation. Proposed Changes to Industrial Effluent Program The summary of the proposed regulation on Ontario’s Regulatory Registry reads, “We are proposing to transfer requirements from Ontario’s sector-specific...
read moreMore Environmental Regulatory Changes in Ontario
In our December 20, 2019, blog we discussed some of the changes to the (Ontario) Environmental Protection Act. Most notably, we provided information with respect to excess soils management; however, the government of Ontario revealed other changes at the end of 2019. In the Backgrounder titled, “Regulations and Statues in Force as of January 1, 2020,” a list of changes (across several ministries) were shared. With respect to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP), there were several updates. Below are some of these...
read moreManagement of Excess Soils in Ontario: Official Changes Begin in 2020
As anticipated, management of excess soils in Ontario has officially been changed. On December 4, 2019, the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP) filed the On-Site and Excess Soil Management Regulation. This includes associated changes to Ontario’s Record of Site Condition and Waste Management Regulation. Statement from the MECP In the official release from the MECP Minister, Jeff Yurek states, “As Ontario’s population continues to grow, we need to ensure our valuable resources and prime land don’t go to...
read moreMore Environmental Enforcement News and Update on Air Release in Hamilton
The Environmental Emergency regulations are not brand new. Yes, these regulations did go through the repeal and replace process this past summer (August 24, 2019), but they were enacted in 2003, and we were discussing the E2 Regulation in 2016. In general, we have been suggesting that our clients be watchful with respect to the potential for more environmental enforcement action. With that said, the recent E2 enforcement action, which you may have read about in the news, dates back to a July 2016 order. Nevertheless, it should serve as a...
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