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Environmental Regulations: Dry Cleaners and Their Suppliers
In the past few years, we’ve shared observations regarding several cases of enforcement at dry cleaners. The basis for enforcement is the Tetrachloroethylene Regulations, or PERC Regulations (SOR/2003-79). This is a federal (rather than provincial) regulation. It is administered under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. While there is little disputing the potential health and environmental impacts that can result from mishandling PERC or other chlorinated solvents, it’s the regulatory application that becomes more challenging and, at...
read moreCanada-Ontario Draft Action Plan for Phosphorus Control
Walkerton, Ontario – E. coli; Flint, Michigan – lead; and Toledo, Ohio – cyanobacteria. The common denominator is that all were public health issues involving drinking water. With these, in some cases, tragic incidents as background, there is increased focus on public water supply and infrastructure. And because there is a direct correlation between nutrient loading in lakes and algal blooms/cyanobacteria, there is a focus on the impact of nutrients on Lake Erie (and other water bodies). To say that the problem with nutrient loading that...
read moreEnvironmental Protection, Violations, and Enforcement
Environmental protection has a price tag, as do environmental violations. This is not exactly news to anyone involved in environmental protection/management. Staying on the protection side and avoiding the violation side requires constant diligence. Providing tips and reminders regarding compliance/assessment/remediation is one of the goals of our blogs and our monthly environmental compliance tips. On occasion, we also share with you some of our observations on the violation side (see our post from last fall, Environmental Enforcement...
read moreGroundwater Awareness Week – Some Challenges and Advice
Across Canada and the United States, March 5-11 is recognized as National Groundwater Awareness Week (see NGWA). Groundwater protection is one of the most important aspects to any environmental protection program. Once impacted, remediation of groundwater can be a significant challenge and expense. Once depleted, groundwater supply aquifers are forever damaged. For Ontarians, you need only mention “Walkerton” to recall the profound and long-lasting negative impact of failing to adequately protect groundwater. More recently, the Ministry of...
read moreEnvironmental Liability in Ontario and “Big Environmental Litigation in 2017”
Environmental liability and environmental litigation were in the news again recently. Below we share our observations regarding a couple of these developments. Environmental Liability in Ontario The first observation relates to the question of Ontario’s policy related to addressing liability for impacted soil and groundwater. The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Dianne Saxe, discussed the issue of “environmental policy” in the province about a year ago. As Ms. Saxe said, the Province has been “picking innocent people and making them...
read more2017 Reporting for Chemicals Management Plan
The reporting of chemical use, due later this year, will be the third inventory update (IU) (since 2009) of Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan (CMP). The IU is conducted in an on-going, cyclical manner, with reporting to the government every four years. Previously, Health Canada collected information on approximately 550 substances in 2009 and another 2,700 in 2012. In 2017, the IU will collect information on approximately 1,500 chemicals and polymers. The good news is there is an online reporting tool, and Environment and Climate Change...
read moreMOECC Changes the Permitting for Air, Noise, and Odour
For the regulated community in Ontario, the New Year has begun with an environmental regulatory change that specifically affects Air, Noise, and Odour permitting. According to the Government of Ontario, “This Regulation comes into force on the later of January 31, 2017 and the day it is filed.” The changes are spelled out in Ontario Regulation 1/17. The good news is, if your business is eligible, you may no longer be required to obtain an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) for your facility’s emissions to air, noise, and/or odour....
read moreReport: Ontario’s Environmental Approval Process Not Managing Risks
The environmental approval program, according to the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, is, “…not effectively managing the risks to the environment and human health from polluting activities.” The annual report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 30, 2016. The report, which is two volumes with more than 800 pages, has “only” 40 pages focused on Environmental Approvals in Ontario. As related to the Environmental Approvals, the report provides the following: A significant number of emitters may be operating...
read moreAmendments to Export/Import of Hazardous Waste/Recyclables
Earlier in 2016, there was less than favourable press coverage about Canadian household waste shipped to the Philippines back in 2013 and 2014. There were more than 100 containers of waste shipped from Canada to the Philippines that were in international regulatory limbo. Recent amendments to Canadian regulations seek to avoid such issues in the future. On October 21, 2016, the Export and Import of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Materials Regulations were amended. This was subsequently published in the Canada Gazette on November...
read morePBDE: An Emerging Environmental Regulatory Concern?
We often talk about how environmental compliance is never static, because chemicals or compounds that might be acceptable and even lauded one day are a concern the next day. Consider a recent group of chemical compounds that fit this description: Polybrominated Diphenyl Esters (PBDEs). According to the American Council for Science and Health, organic compounds such as PBDEs that contain multiple atoms of bromine and chlorine in their structure usually have two properties: (1) they don’t burn, and (2) they are highly stable in the body,...
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