Amendment to Ontario Regulation 153/04
Amendments were made to Ontario Regulation 153/04, records of site condition, to implement reforms that the Ontario government announced in the spring of 2007. These reforms reaffirm the government’s commitment to put more brownfields into productive use while safeguarding public health, the environment and public safety. Some of the benefits of the amendment include:
- Ensuring record of site condition integrity
- Making "modified generic risk assessments" faster and more cost-effective
- Strengthening environmental site condition standards
Ensuring record of site condition integrity
Improvements to the record of site condition (RSC) process include a more predictable and transparent process that clarifies what environmental site assessment work must be done to submit an RSC. The Ministry of the Environment will also check – and in some cases review – an RSC before it is filed to the brownfields environmental site registry to ensure its integrity.
Making "modified generic risk assessments" faster and more cost-effective
A new, streamlined, "modified generic risk assessment" has been created to provide an alternative to meeting generic standards and the traditional risk assessment, where appropriate. This streamlined approach will be timelier and more cost-effective.
Strengthening environmental site condition standards
As part of the amendments, site condition standards in the Soil, Ground Water and Sediment Standards for Use Under Part XV.1 of the Environmental Protection Act (Revised: April 15, 2011) were updated to reflect advances in science and to strengthen protection of human health and the environment.
The new standards reflect input received through extensive consultations, including meetings with stakeholders and the brownfields redevelopment community and postings to the environmental registry.
