A reader writes about environmental management systems
Dear Dianne Saxe, I read some of your postings this am. I cannot help but think that if robust, credible and reliable EMS (aligned to ISO 14001) were more wide spread that some of these challenges could have been avoided. Not only would they have avoided the environmental damage, but the fin…
View the post titled A reader writes about environmental management systemsWhen can municipalities regulate environmental impacts?
Eleven years after the landmark Spraytech case, how far have municipalities been able to go in regulating environmental impacts of federally and provincially regulated activities? The people who must live closest to a resource or energy project often turn to their municipalities to protect t…
View the post titled When can municipalities regulate environmental impacts?Combined sewer overflows into Great Lakes going down
This month’s issue of Water Canada has some good news about what has been done to cut the flow of untreated sewage into the Great Lakes over the last 40 years. “Curbing the Flow” chronicles the steps that have been taken to slash raw and combined sewer overflows in four Can…
View the post titled Combined sewer overflows into Great Lakes going downInnocent victim, Kawartha Lakes, gets leave to appeal spill cleanup order
The Ontario Court of Appeal has granted leave to appeal the Ministry of the Environment Order requiring an innocent victim of a spill, the City of Kawartha Lakes, to clean up oil from a domestic fuel spill.
View the post titled Innocent victim, Kawartha Lakes, gets leave to appeal spill cleanup orderTown liable for negligence re developer's storm sewer
Property owners often suffered damage when storm and sanitary sewers malfunction. Canadian municipalities are generally exempt from civil suits in nuisance relating to their sewers, due to special statutes adopted across the country. However, they can be successfully sued in negligence. Such…
View the post titled Town liable for negligence re developer's storm sewerWaterpower projects can't be reviewed because they don't get review?
So, waterpower development can't be reviewed by the ERT, because it gets only minimal scrutiny under the Environmental Assessment Act. Given the substantial adverse environmental impacts that waterpower development can have, it is incongruous to exempt it so fully from public review.
View the post titled Waterpower projects can't be reviewed because they don't get review?Enforcement of PCB Regulations ramping up
Environment Canada is ramping up its enforcement of the federal PCB regulations. Surprisingly, they are finding illegal PCBs in municipal facilities. This could have serious consequences for municipalities, and for the individuals in charge.
View the post titled Enforcement of PCB Regulations ramping upNew Canadian environmental assessments exclude stakeholders and issues
The new standing rules in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, have now been interpreted the first two times, with contradictory results. The Prosperity Mine panel, in BC, has wisely interpreted the new standing rules broadly, including experts, Non-Governmental Organizations, Fi…
View the post titled New Canadian environmental assessments exclude stakeholders and issuesA small exemption from approvals fees
The Minister’s Requirement for Fees sets out the fees that the MOE may charge for its review of Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) applications. These fees can run into the thousands of dollars depending on what the MOE is asked to review. For example, review of combustion equipment cos…
View the post titled A small exemption from approvals feesSupreme Court will hear important appeal: is flying rock a discharge?
When governments adopt surprising new interpretations of existing laws, shouldn’t they have to tell the regulated community before they start prosecuting them?
View the post titled Supreme Court will hear important appeal: is flying rock a discharge?Receive Blog Posts
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