The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) has released a status report on a series of policy reviews it is conducting in response to Applications for Review filed by the public under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 (EBR).1 The Ministry is attempting to resolve a number difficult and long-standing issues, ranging from the cumulative impacts of air pollution, to the "fracking" of oil and gas reserves in Ontario, to increasing the diversion of commercial waste from landfills. Some of these reviews have been underway for years. For example, MOECC agreed to undertake the air pollution review back in May 2009,2 and the final report is not expected until early 2017.

Past EBR-mandated reviews have resulted in significant changes in the way MOECC administers key environmental statutes and regulations. The Ministry's draft framework for managing excess soils, released earlier this year, was the product of a similar policy review requested under the EBR.3

The updates are contained in an Information Notice posted to the Environmental Registry (EBR# 012-7383) on June 17, 2016.4 The Ministry is currently undertaking reviews of the following issues:

  •  the ways that the cumulative effects of air pollution are considered in Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) applications, particularly in highly industrialized "hot spots," such as Sarnia and Hamilton;
  •  the use of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract oil and gas;
  •  ways to increase waste diversion through industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) source separation programs;
  •  methods for digital public consultation and engagement under the Environment Bill of Rights, as well as several additional EBR-related issues;
  •  further prohibitions on the siting of landfill operations on hydrogeologically unsuitable sites;
  • certain technical issues related to the Wells Regulation (Regulation 903) and the wells section of the Ontario Water Resources Act;
  •  the environmental penalties associated with spills from provincially-regulated hydrocarbon pipelines; and
  •  the current ECA issued to Ingram Asphalt in Toronto.

Part IV of the EBR provides the formal process for members of the public to request that a ministry prescribed under the Act review existing or the need for new policies, acts, regulations or instruments to ensure the protection of the environment.5 The list of prescribed ministries is set out in section 5 of O. Reg. 73/94, the general regulation under the Act.6 Details of the on-going reviews, including the current status of each, are set out in the attached table.7

Download - MOECC's Policy Review on Air Pollution, Fracking, Spills and Waste Diversion

Footnotes

1 Information Notice, June 17, 2016. The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change has published a status update of reviews undertaken as a result of Applications for Review received under the Environmental Bill of Rights (012-7383), Government of Ontario, online: http://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTI4Mzc3&statusId=MTk0MDYx&language=en  [Information Notice 012-7383]

2 Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, 2016. Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR Requirements), online: http://eco.on.ca/government-performance/moecc/

3 Policy Proposal Notice, January 26, 2016. Excess Soil Management Policy Framework (012-6065), Government of Ontario, online: https://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTI2OTM0&statusId=MTkxNjU3

4 Information Posting 012-7383

5 Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, SO 1993, c 28, Part IV

6 O. Reg. 73/94, s 5

7 Compiled from: MOECC, June 17, 2016. Status Report on Reviews Undertaken by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) as the Result of Applications for Review under the Environmental Bill of Rights, online: http://www.downloads.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/er/documents/2016/012-7383.pdf

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