Action Alert - Environment Ministry Proposes to Exempt Harmful Activities from Licensing Requirements

ACTION ALERT:

Environment Ministry Proposes to Exempt Harmful Activities from Licensing Requirements

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is proposing to exempt certain waste management systems, storm water management, and water-taking from licensing requirements.

The proposal applies to:

certain waste management systems that involve asbestos waste, biomedical waste, treated biomedical waste, hazardous waste, liquid industrial waste, and treated waste that can not be disposed of by land;
stormwater management; and
water-taking for construction sites dewatering activities and foundation drains.

Lack of Government Oversight and Public Scrutiny

If implemented, the specified changes mean there will no longer by an up-front, detailed review by Ministry staff to assess the potential environmental impacts from the specified operations. It also means that the public participation and appeal rights under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 would no longer apply.

In short – the proposed activities would no longer be subject to either government or public scrutiny before commencing operation in Ontario. Instead, the Ministry is proposing to have the specified activities self-registered under the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry.

UPDATE: CELA sent a letter, endorsed by 13 environmental, conservation, and civil society organizations, to the Ministry outlining our concerns and asking them NOT to proceed with the proposed changes. Click here to access the full submission.

To date there has not been a decision posted regarding this proposal.

What is the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR)?

EASR is an online registration system that allows businesses to self-register once they have determined that their proposed activity meets certain eligibility criteria set out in regulation. It will allow businesses to proceed with their activities faster but at the expense of regulatory oversight to ensure the protection of the environment and human health.

TAKE ACTION

View CELA's Informational Webinar

CELA hosted a webinar on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.

CELA staff Ramani Nadarajah and Laura Tanguay explained what types of activities this proposal will impact, the risks of allowing self-registration for the specified activities, and how it will impact government and public oversight.

The webinar recording and slides are available here.

Attend a Government Webinar

The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks is hosting a number of webinars related to these notices. Sign up to learn more about the proposals and to let the government know people are paying attention and are concerned.

Click to learn more and to register:

Submit a Comment

There are TWO ways to submit a comment in response to the postings on the Environmental Registry of Ontario.

First, click on the ERO posting you’d like to reply to (see links below). Then, submit your comments in one of the following ways
Click on the “Submit a Comment” button. You can choose to sign-in, register for an account, or submit a comment without registering, OR
Send an email to permissions.modernization@ontario.ca. Be sure to include the ERO number. For example, ERO 019-6951.

Whichever method you choose, the government is required to consider your comments. It’s important that your comments be individual; form letters are more easily overlooked.

Please refer to the section below titled “Potential Impacts” for ideas on what to include in your comments.

There are four notices on the Environmental Registry of Ontario. All have deadlines of October 30, 2023.

Exploring changes to streamline the permit-by-rule framework, ERO number 019-6951
ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6951
Streamlining permissions for water takings for construction site dewatering activities and foundation drains, ERO number 019-6853 ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6853
Streamlining environmental permissions for waste management systems under the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry, ERO number 019-6963 ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6963
Streamlining environmental permissions for stormwater management under the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry, ERO number 019-6928 ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6928

Potential Impacts

Following are some of the potential environmental impacts from the proposed changes. Please feel free to reference this content when creating your own submission. Note that more detail will be added as CELA’s review of these proposals continue.

Overall:

We have serious concerns with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks’ proposal to expand the permit by rule regime to include waste management systems (involving asbestos waste, biomedical waste, treated biomedical waste, hazardous waste, liquid industrial waste and treated waste that can not be disposed of by land); stormwater management; and water-taking for construction sites dewater activities and foundation drains.
The proposal means the Environment Ministry will no longer undertake an up-front detailed review of applications related to the specified activities, thereby weakening regulatory oversight.
The pemit-by-rule process removes public participation and third-party appeal rights under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993.
The specified activities, which have the potential to cause significant adverse impacts to the natural environment and human health will no longer be subject to either government or public scrutiny prior to commencing operation in Ontario.

Waste:

Waste-management systems that transport and store waste, in particular, asbestos waste, hazardous waste and biomedical waste have the potential to cause serious harm to the natural environment and human health.
Exposure to asbestos can cause serious health impacts, such as lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Hazardous waste includes substances which are classified as “toxic substances” under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and includes metals such as arsenic and chromium that, which are listed as human carcinogens by the International Agency for the Research on Cancer.
Biomedical waste can be infectious or biohazardous and can potentially lead to the spread of infectious diseases.

Stormwater Management:

Improper management of wastewater and stormwater has the potential to cause serious impacts to human and environmental health.
With appropriate regulation and monitoring, stormwater can fulfill public needs, social equity and enhance food security; a lack of proper management results in financial, environmental, and societal costs in terms of human health, mortality, and morbidity.

Water-Taking for Construction Sites Dewatering Activities and Foundation Drains

Regulatory frameworks such as the Clean Water Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act were designed to manage and protect our shared water resources, ecosystems, and health.
Key regulatory tools that currently protect our water include:
- Requirement of permits – including application and approval processes – for extracting more than 50,000 litres of groundwater per day;
- Public consultation that allows local communities to have a say in decisions that may impact them; and
- Requirements for industry to notify local conservation authorities of water-taking practices in order to facilitate collaborative management of water resources and municipal infrastructure, including consideration of drought and flood risks and conditions.
Ontario’s proposal to remove of the limit for groundwater-taking and to allow up to 379,000 litres of groundwater-taking per day without permit, while restricting public consultation and removing the requirement to notify conservation authorities, puts the ecosystem, human health, and municipal infrastructure at risk.