New neonic pesticide controls in Ontario
On July 1, 2015, new regulatory requirements for the sale and use of neonicotinoid-treated seeds in Ontario will start to come into effect, to protect bird and bee health. Ontario wants to reduce the number of acres planted with neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed by 80 per cent by 2…
View the post titled New neonic pesticide controls in OntarioHuge manure spill fines: $120,000 plus surcharge
Two hog farming businesses and a Director must pay manure spill fines of $120,000, plus $30,000 victim fine surcharges, for discharging pig manure into the Thames River and Sweets Creek. The manure impaired the quality of water, contrary to the Ontario Water Resources Act. The individual Dir…
View the post titled Huge manure spill fines: $120,000 plus surchargeManaging fill- an update
A knowledgeable reader brings us up to date about “Managing Fill: when is surplus soil a “waste”, and where can it go?” Hello Dianne, You have done an excellent job of briefly capturing the excess soil handling issues in Ontario including the high costs, the continui…
View the post titled Managing fill- an updateManaging fill: when is surplus soil “waste”, and where can it go?
Soil movement is big business in Ontario, involving perhaps 170 million tonnes/ year, and adding about 15% to infrastructure costs. Last year’s changes to the contaminated sites regulation Reg. 153/04 have made soil movement more difficult and expensive than ever, and further cost increases …
View the post titled Managing fill: when is surplus soil “waste”, and where can it go?New rules on soil movement
Ontario has struggled for many years to provide clear, consistent, effective rules to govern the huge amount of soil that contractors move from place to place. Is it a product? a waste? Where can it go? How clean is clean? There is so much confusion that municipalities, such as Clarington, a…
View the post titled New rules on soil movementThe up to date brownfields tables, with 2004 comparisons
Maxxam Analytics has kindly allowed me to post their very useful Reg 153 Comparison Charts (2004 vs 2011) tables, comparing the 2004 soil and groundwater cleanup standards to the new ones that came into effect July 1, 2011. The Ministry of the Environment confusingly named these the Soil, Gr…
View the post titled The up to date brownfields tables, with 2004 comparisonsAlgonquin Park and the Crown Forest (Un)Sustainability Act
In 1994, Ontario adopted the grandly named Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA). A long, bruising environmental assessment (the Timber Management EA) had shown that we were ravaging Crown forests with a short term focus on extracting the most timber now, damaging the future of the forests …
View the post titled Algonquin Park and the Crown Forest (Un)Sustainability ActRedefining conservation, or waste and duplication?
Redefining Conservation is the Ontario Environmental Commissioner’s annual report for 2009/ 2010. The report is full of good advice on the usual themes, including the chronic shortage of resources for environmental protection, the many ways that our land use planning fails to protect h…
View the post titled Redefining conservation, or waste and duplication?Receive Blog Posts
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