Environmental Compliance Reports

The Ministry of the Environment is committed to keeping the public informed about environmental activities in their communities. The links found in this section provide information about exceedances of contaminant discharges to air and water from industrial and municipal facilities regulated by the ministry. The information is taken from reports and documentation provided by the dischargers. Some discharges may be identified by the ministry.

In past years, Environmental Compliance Reports provided general information based on the following categories: the industrial and municipal facilities, the type of concern, the facility’s remedial action, and the ministry’s response to correct or prevent future exceedances. For 2003, improvements were made by adding the following information: additional discharge and requirements details, the facility location and some explanations and analyses.

This data is provided for information purposes only. Dischargers provide most of the information contained in this summary. Dischargers are accountable for the accuracy of the information that they submit. Some of the information is also derived from ministry data on discharges.

• Environmental Compliance Reports for 2006
• Environmental Compliance Reports for 2005
• Environmental Compliance Reports for 2004
• Environmental Compliance Reports for 2003
• Environmental Compliance Reports for 2002

About the Information

Environmental Compliance Reports provide information about discharges of contaminants to air and water that exceed limits permitted by Ontario regulations or conditions within (provisional) certificates of approval for industrial and municipal facilities (also known as non-compliance) . Generally, the discharges are reported to the ministry by the facilities. Some discharges may be identified by the ministry.

The ministry conducts some verification of information reported to the ministry and prior to posting. If you are interested in an update on any of the entries or if any discrepancies are noted, please contact the appropriate district or area office.

How to Read the Summaries

Within each regional report, facilities are listed alphabetically. For each facility, the following sub-categories are included:

• Contaminant - any solid, liquid, gas, or odour resulting directly or indirectly from a variety of activities that may cause an adverse effect to human health or the environment. Contaminants are listed in the summaries as a sub-heading under each facility.
• Type of Exceedance - the instrument or document that identifies the discharge limit. For example, the term "C of A Non-Compliance" means that the discharge limit was identified in the Certificate of Approval , and there was an exceedance of that limit identified in the discharger's report or by the ministry. Other documents could be Provincial Officers Orders, Directors Orders, regulations or policies. For more information on these documents, go to About the Discharge Requirements.

Under each Type of Exceedance, the following information is provided about the contaminants:

• Date - the month within which the exceeded value (discharges to air or water) occurred. Some reported air non-compliance is based on air dispersion models. For these types of emissions, the incident date refers to the date of the report provided by the discharger that identifies non-compliance.
• Discharge Limit - the maximum, or in some cases minimum, discharge levels (for example, pH levels) as identified in a Certificate of Approval, order, regulation or policy.
• Unit - a determined quantity (length, time, heat or value) adopted as a standard of measurement, for example, milligrams per litre (mg/l). The unit listed in the report should be read in conjunction with the minimum and maximum values of contaminant discharged and the contaminant’s limit.
• Frequency - the sampling or reporting interval during which the contaminant levels cannot be exceeded. For example, if the contaminant limit is 15 mg/l with a monthly average frequency, this means that several samples are collected in a month and the limit is measured against the reported average of the sample results.
  
  Frequency is an important consideration when looking at the number of exceedances. For example, a process upset at a facility may be reported as:
  
  • numerous exceedances if the discharge limit frequency is a half-hour average; or
  • one exceedance if the discharge limit frequency is a monthly average.
    
• No. of Exceedances - the number of exceedances that occurred during that month. Some reported air non-compliance is based on air dispersion models which are counted as one exceedance based on the date the modeling report is received.
• Min. - the minimum (lowest) or only exceedance that month. The minimum value needs to be read with the contaminant unit and the limit frequency (see above). The value may be measured using online analyzers, composite or grab samples, continuous emissions monitors, monitoring stations within the community or air dispersion models.
• Max. - the maximum (highest) exceedance that month. The maximum value needs to be read with the contaminant unit and the limit frequency (see above). The value may be measured using online analyzers, composite or grab samples, continuous emissions monitors, community monitoring or air dispersion models.
• Facility Action - actions the facility took to address or prevent future exceedances. For additional information about the facility’s action, contact the appropriate district or area office.
• Ministry Action - the ministry’s response to address or prevent future exceedances. The level of detail is limited. For additional information about ministry actions, contact the appropriate district or area office. Ministry actions range from compliance-assistance, education and outreach, through to voluntary abatement plans, orders, suspension of Certificates of Approval or permits, issuing tickets and laying charges.

About the Discharge Requirements

The information provided in the Environmental Compliance Reports is about discharges of contaminants to air and water that exceed limits as set out in Certificates of Approvals, orders or regulations.

Certificates of Approvals or orders under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) and the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA) may set site-specific discharge limits. In setting these discharge limits, ministry staff review the existing guidelines and consider the local area to set limits that protect the local environment and human health.

The regulations that set industrial sewage discharge limits are the nine sector Effluent Monitoring or Effluent Limit Regulations (also known as MISA or Clean Water Regulations). The regulations set minimum standards based on a number of factors, including the best available pollution abatement technology achievable.

The General - Air Pollution Regulation sets air emission standards along with several other regulations. Sometimes a reported air non-compliance is based on air dispersion models.

The summaries also include information on municipal or communal sewage treatment plants that report discharges of contaminants higher than the ministry’s policy for sewage treatment.

Glossary

Air Dispersion Models - a computer model/computation method which predicts ground level concentrations, which are then assessed against the air quality standards, guidelines and recommended limits.

Certificates of Approval (C of A) - documents issued by the ministry that set legal requirements on companies/individuals (e.g. sampling and reporting requirements, discharge limits).

Exceedance - an emission or effluent monitoring value above a legal requirement or a ministry policy/guideline.

Non-Compliance - an emission or effluent value, a circumstance, an act or a process that does not comply with a legal requirement.

Orders - there are different types of orders, such as Provincial Officer Orders (issued by Environmental Officers) or Director’s Orders (issued by designated managers). Orders are documents issued by the ministry that list the corrective action the companies/individuals must take, subject to appeal rights, in order to comply with Ontario's environmental laws.