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GUIDE FOR APPLICANTS
for
EPA s.9
EPA s.27
EPA s.46
OWRA s.34
and
OWRA s.53
Applications
November 1994
Ministry of the Environment
The Environmental Bill of Rights Office
FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . iv
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . vi
1.0 THE IMPACT OF EBR ON THE APPROVALS PROCESS . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 The Type of Proposals that are Subject to the EBR . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 The EBR Requirements for Proposals for Instruments . . . . . . . 1
1.3 The Public's New Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 The Environmental Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.0 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE EBR . . . 4
2.1 Classifications of Prescribed Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Minimum Notification Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.3 Reclassification of Proposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.4 Enhanced Public Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.5 Factors to Consider for Enhanced Public Participation . . . . . . . 6
2.6 Additional Notice for Class II Proposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.7 Additional Time for Public Comments on Class II Proposals . . . 8
2.8 Enhanced Public Participation for Class II Proposals . . . . . . . . 8
3.0 EXCEPTIONS TO THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 10
3.1 Exceptions to the Public Participation Requirements . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.1 Emergency Situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.1.2 Equivalent Public Participation has Already Taken Place
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.1.3 EBR Requirements for 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.1.4 Proposals for Instruments to Implement an
Environmental Assessment Act or Public
Tribunal Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.1.5 Environmentally Insignificant Amendments or
Revocations of Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.0 NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE EBR . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.1 Registry Proposal Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.2 General Rules for the Abstracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3 Proposals Granted Exceptions from the EBR Public
Participation Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.4 Registry Decision File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.0 PUBLIC QUERIES AND COMMENTS ON A PROPOSAL . . . . . . . . 22
5.1 Queries and Requests for Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.2 Requests for Further Information/Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act, (FOIPOP) . . . . . . . . 23
5.3 Consideration of Public Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.4 Clarification/Verification of a Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
6.0 APPEALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 25
6.1 New Appeal Rights Under the EBR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.2 The Types of Decisions that are Subject to Leave to Appeal . . 25
6.3 Who Can Seek Leave to Appeal a Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.4 How to Seek Leave to Appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.5 Grounds for Granting Leave to Appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.6 Instrument Holder (Applicant) Appeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.7 EBR Requirements for Appeal Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6.8 Information to be Placed on the Environmental Registry . . . . . . 31
APPENDICES
A PRESCRIBED INSTRUMENTS
B NOTICES ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTRY
C INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE ABSTRACTS OF THE REGISTRY PROPOSAL FILES - RPF's (NOTICE PLACED
ON THE REGISTRY)
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this guide, it should not be construed as legal advice. If applicants have any questions regarding the legal aspects of the EBR, they should consult with their legal counsel.
This guide was prepared to assist the applicants in interpreting the general requirements of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, (EBR) and is subject to change without further notice.
This guide will be of interest to applicants for classified approvals. However, it also applies when the Ministry of the Environment initiates amendments to existing classified instruments.
This guide can be used when applying for EPA s.9, EPA s.27, EPA s.46, OWRA s.34 and OWRA s.53 (1) approvals, and contains:
The guide is comprised as follows:
Sections 1 to 6:general information on the EBR requirements for proposals for prescribed instruments
Appendix A: a list of the prescribed instruments
Appendix B: notices that will be put in the Environmental Registry
Appendix C: guidelines for preparing the "abstract" or description of proposals for prescribed instruments (only EPA s.9, s.27, s.46 and OWRA s.34 and 53(1))
Appendix D: glossary of terms
All applications for prescribed instruments that are received by the MOE starting on November 15, 1994 will be subject to the EBR public participation requirements. Applications received prior to this date or that are already under consideration by the MOE, will be processed in the normal non-EBR manner.
Further general information on the EBR can be obtained by contacting the following:
Environmental Commissioner
of Ontario
1075 Bay Street, Suite 605
6th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2W5
Tel. (416) 325-3377
Fax (416) 325-3370
Public Information Centre
Ministry of the Environment
135 St. Clair Ave. W
1st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4V 1P5
Tel. (416) 323-4321
Toll Free:
1-800-565-4923
For information on the EBR requirements for applications, please contact:
Environmental Assessment & Approvals Branch
Ministry of the Environment
Floor 12A
2 St. Clair Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario M4V 1L5
Tel. (416) 314-8001 or (Toll Free) 1-800-461-6290
Fax (416) 314-7231
The most recent legislation to impact on the approvals process is An Act Respecting Environmental Rights in Ontario, or the Environmental Bill of Rights, (EBR). The EBR was proclaimed in February 1994 and it allows the residents of Ontario to participate in government decisions that have a significant effect on the environment.
The Ministry of the Environment (MOE), issues a large number of instruments (permits, licences, approvals, directions and orders) each year. Many of these instruments are prescribed under the EBR. The EBR requirements for proposals for instruments become effective on November 15, 1994. The EBR changes the existing processes for obtaining approvals by allowing for public participation in the decision making.
This guide addresses instruments prescribed for Part II of the EBR - Public Participation in Government Decision-Making. The prescribed instruments are listed in a regulation entitled "MOE's Classification of Instruments". The instruments are classified as Class I, II or III, depending on the required level of public participation.
Notice of proposals for prescribed instruments will be placed on the Environmental Registry (ER) for a minimum of 30 days. The ER is a computerized bulletin board which enables residents of Ontario to gain access to information when proposals for prescribed instruments are under consideration. Access to the information on the ER is available through a number of networks, directly via modem and selected public libraries. The phone numbers to connect to the ER are: local 416 area code: EBR - 3000, long distance: 1-800-667-9979.
During the time that the notice of the proposal is on the ER, the public will be able to submit comments on the proposal to the issuing office. In addition, the public will be able to view parts of the application submission at the issuing office as well as at the MOE District Office in the vicinity of the proposal.
The comments that are submitted by the public will be considered in the decision-making. Notice of the final decision and the effects of the comments on the final decision will also be placed on the ER when a decision has been rendered on the proposal.
Once the final decision is put on the ER, the EBR provides rights for third parties to apply for leave to appeal or permission to appeal decisions on Class I and II instruments, where such appeal rights already exist for the instrument holders. The individual seeking leave to appeal must demonstrate that the decision was made without regard to the relevant law and policies and that significant environmental damage could occur as a result of the decision which was made. The Environmental Review Tribunal has the responsibility to review and decide whether to grant leave to appeal. In addition, notice of appeals on Class I and Class II instruments will also be put on the ER and the public may be able to participate in the appeal hearings.
Public participation is already included in the approvals process for some instruments applications. However, the EBR standardizes the public participation requirements for all prescribed instruments while allowing for enhanced public participation for more environmentally significant applications.
An "instrument" refers to a licence, permit, approval, order or other document of legal effect issued under an Act but does not include a regulation.
A list of the proposals for instruments that are subject to the EBR are listed in Appendix "A". These instruments are listed in O. Reg. 681/94, titled "Classifications of Proposals for Instruments".
Under the EBR, for proposals for prescribed instruments the Ministry and the applicants will have the following responsibilities:
Under Part II of the EBR, the public will have the following new rights when the MOE is considering a proposal for a prescribed instrument:
The EBR requires the establishment of an Environmental Registry, (ER). This is a computerized bulletin board which enables residents of Ontario to gain access to information when specific ministries in the government are making environmentally significant decisions. For proposals subject to the EBR, the ER will be used to provide the public the following information: initial notices, updates, final decisions and appeal information.
The ER is part of the government-wide Bulletin Board Service being operated by Management Board Secretariat. Users will be able to gain access to information on the ER through a number of networks and directly via modem. The public will be able to gain access to the ER through: home, office and select library computers; the Government of Ontario Network; the Ontario-based InterNet system; the Free-net and the WEB technical network.
Detailed information on the ER is available in a document entitled " Guide to Access and Use of the Environmental Registry". Copies of this document can be obtained from the Public Information Centre, at the address given in the "Foreword" section.
Not all instruments are issued as a result of an application being submitted by an applicant. Orders are issued at the MOE's initiative. Existing instruments may also be amended by the MOE without an application being submitted by the applicant. Regardless of whether a proposal for a prescribed instrument is under consideration as a result of the MOE's or an applicant's actions, the EBR requirements apply.
The minimum public participation for prescribed instruments is notification to the Environmental Registry, ER, of the proposal allowing the public 30 days to comment on the proposal.
The EBR has provisions to enhance the minimum public participation (the 30 day comment period), and these will be explained later in this section. (Other laws may prescribe additional notice requirements.)
The notification requirements for an instrument are based on the classification of the instrument and the requirements under the EBR, the environmental significance of the proposal and the public concern and interest in the proposal. The proposals for instruments prescribed under the EBR are classified as Class I, Class II or Class III.
The following are the minimum notification requirements for each class of instruments:
Class I minimum 30 days notice on the ER
Class II minimum 30 days notice on the ER plus additional public notice (see Section 2.6)
Class III minimum 30 days notice on the ER plus a public hearing
Under section 26 of the EBR, the Minister, or delegate, may treat a Class I proposal as a Class II proposal, if it is advisable to do so for the purpose of protecting the environment. As an example, if it is decided that a public meeting is to be held for a Class I instrument, then that proposal would be considered as a Class II proposal.
If a decision is made to hold a hearing for a Class II proposal, then the proposal shall be regarded as a Class III proposal.
If a decision is made not to hold a hearing for a Class III proposal, it is treated as a Class II proposal. The significant difference in the treatment by the EBR of Class II and Class III proposals, is that decisions on Class III proposals do not give rise to the possibility of a third party application for leave to appeal. Third parties will have already had a right to participate in the public hearing for Class III proposals.
The Minister, or delegate, may decide to enhance the public participation by means of the provisions provided in subsections 23(1) and 24(1) of the EBR. This section allows the Minister to provide any additional rights of public participation that the Minister considers would facilitate more informed public participation. If the Minister decides to enhance public participation (e.g., an open house, public meeting, committee hearings, etc.) then notice of the enhanced public participation must be put on the ER. This is done by the MOE.
If the MOE decides to enhance the public participation, the applicant will be advised.
The Minister, or delegate, may consider factors such as environmental significance, complexity of the matter, public interest, and time the public requires to make informed comments in making the decision to enhance public participation.
As an example, a particular proposal may have generated significant interest or concern from the public, even before notice is given on the ER or prior to the submission of the application. The Minister may decide to extend the minimum 30-day notice to a longer notice period to allow for more time for public comments.
If an applicant is aware of public interest/concern in a particular proposal, the applicant is encouraged to conduct public notification/consultation prior to the submission of the application. The public concerns can then be addressed upfront and the proposal modified, as required, prior to submission. By addressing public concerns upfront, the impact on the turnaround times may also be minimized.
Once notice is given on the ER, the public may indicate that they have a number of concerns about the proposal. This may lead to the MOE deciding to enhance the public participation. As an example, it may be decided to hold a public information meeting. The notice on the ER would be amended by the MOE to provide the information on the time and location of the public meeting and indicating that the proposal is now a Class II proposal.
The applicant may be required to participate in public information meetings and other enhanced public participation.
The EBR requires that additional notice must be provided for Class II proposals.
Additional notice for Class II proposals must include at least one of the following [subsection 28(1), EBR]:
The existing procedures for some Class II proposals already include some public notice and this additional requirement may already be met. As an example, the applicants notify the adjacent property owners when applying for EPA s.27 approvals. The applicants should contact the MOE office that will process the application to discuss the type, if any, of additional public notice that may be required for Class II proposals.
In order to permit more informed public participation, the Minister, or delegate, may allow for more than 30 days for public comment on a proposal [subsection 23(1), EBR].
In order to determine how much more time ought to be allowed, the Minister shall consider the following factors [subsection 8(6), EBR]:
If the Minister decides to provide additional time for public comment, the extended period would be indicated on the notice that goes on the ER and the applicant will be advised.
Under subsection 24(1) of the EBR, in order to allow for more enhanced public participation in decision making, the Minister, or delegate, may provide one or more of the following:
Again, if it is decided to enhance the public participation, notice would be given to the public on the ER and the applicants advised.
The public participation for Class I, Class II or Class III proposals can be enhanced by the means discussed in sections 2.6, 2.7 and 2.8.
Although a proposal may be for a prescribed instrument, as listed in Appendix "A", the EBR allows for exceptions to the public participation requirements that were described in the last section.
If an applicant believes that the proposal applied for should be given an exception from the EBR requirements, then information to substantiate or verify the exception must be submitted with the application. The type of information that is to be included is summarized in Table 2 at the end of this section and is also listed in the guides to completing the application forms.
The Minister or delegate will review the information submitted and decide if the exception is to be granted.
There are four types of exceptions from the public participation requirements of the EBR, and they are as follows:
The EBR recognizes that there may be occasions that preclude the public participation requirements for instruments because an instrument is required as a result of an emergency situation.
Subsection 29(1), EBR provides that (not a direct quote):
The requirement for public notice of proposals for instruments does not apply where, in the Minister's opinion, the delay involved in giving notice to the public, in allowing time for public response to the notice or in considering the response to the notice would result in,
Any of the prescribed instruments in Appendix "A" could be issued in emergency situations. Certain types of proposals because of their special nature are issued only under emergency situations and these are identified in Appendix "A" - example - EPA s.31 approvals.
In deciding whether or not to grant an exception to the public participation requirements, the Minister or delegate will review the information submitted by the applicant and ensure that the following criteria are met.
Under subsection 30(1) of the EBR, if the environmentally significant aspects of a proposal have already been considered in a process of public participation that was substantially equivalent to the requirements under the EBR, then, the public participation requirement under the EBR can be omitted.
In order for the exception to be granted, the Director will review the supporting information to ensure that the following criteria are met:
The EBR requirements for emergency instruments or instruments where equivalent public participation has already been completed, are as follows, for the MOE issuing office:
As soon as possible after the exception is granted and the MOE has decided that an approval will be issued, or has been issued, notice is put on the ER to advise that an approval will be/has been issued and the public will not have an opportunity to comment.
Section 32 of the EBR exempts from the notification requirements proposals for instruments that are a step towards implementing:
If the exception is granted, based on the information the applicant has provided, these types of proposals are processed in the normal non-EBR manner and notice is not given on the ER.
Subsection 22(3) of the EBR, states that:
Despite subsection (1), the Minister need not give notice of a proposal to amend or revoke an instrument if the Minister considers that the potential effect of the amendment or revocation on the environment is insignificant.
The type of proposals that could fall under this exception could include:
If the exception is granted, based on the information the applicant has provided, these types of proposals are processed in the normal non-EBR manner and notice is not given on the ER.
| TYPE OF EXCEPTION | INFORMATION/DOCUMENTATION TO BE PROVIDED WITH THE APPLICATION SUBMISSION |
|---|---|
Emergency situations |
Information that demonstrates/explains that the delay involved in public participation
would result in an emergency situation as defined in |
Equivalent public participation has already taken place |
Details of the completed public participation |
Proposals for instruments as a result of an |
A copy of the EAA or tribunal decision and |
Environmentally insignificant amendments or |
An explanation of the proposal that demonstrates that there will be no significant impact on the environment. |
The EBR requires that notice be given to the public, on the Environmental Registry (ER), for the following:
Actual examples of notices can be viewed by accessing the ER, after November 15, 1994.
Copies of the blank notices are in Appendix B for the purposes of showing the type of information that is put in the notices.
The flow chart in the next page summarizes the type of notification that the MOE must put on the ER depending on the type of proposal.
ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTRY NOTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS - GENERAL GUIDE
The notice referred to as the Registry Proposal File, RPF, is placed to the ER when the MOE is considering a proposal subject to the EBR.
Most of the information that is placed on the ER is taken from the application form.
The applicants should ensure that a complete application is submitted and that the abstract is prepared in accordance with the guidelines in Appendix "C". The guidelines are also available in the guide for completing the application forms.
If an RPF contains incorrect information and is submitted to the ER, it may be necessary to send a corrected RPF and restart the thirty day comment period.
Section 27 of the EBR details how to give notice of proposals and the types of information that should be included in the notice.
The statement which tells the public how they may participate should include:
Most of the information that is required for the Registry Proposal File is straightforward with the exception of the "abstract" or the description of the proposal. The abstract that the MOE will use in the notice will be taken from the application form, under the section entitled "Project/Application Description" or other appropriate section of the submission that describes what is being applied for. If the abstract provided by the applicant does not accurately describe the proposal, the MOE will modify the abstract to accurately describe what is being applied for, before the notice is put on the ER.
Appendix C contains guidelines for preparing the abstracts and examples of abstracts for each type of prescribed instrument. The following are some general guidelines for preparing the abstracts:
To avoid delays in the processing of the application, applicants should provide an accurate, concise and easy to understand description of the proposal.
The notice referred to as the Registry Exception File is submitted to the ER when the MOE will be approving or has approved a proposal subject to the EBR, but an exception to the public participation requirements has been granted.
This notice is submitted to the ER as soon as reasonably possible after the decision not to allow for public participation is made and it has been decided that an approval will be issued.
NOTE: There are four possible exceptions to the EBR public participation:
Only for (1) and (2) above is the exception notice put on the ER. Proposals granted an exception as a result of (3) or (4) are processed in the normal non-EBR manner and there are no notice requirements on the ER.
Once all of the comments have been considered, the comment period has ended and a decision has been made on a proposal, the issuing office prepares a Registry Decision File for notice on the ER.
The decision notice contains information including the number of comments received, the impact of the comments on the final decision and what the final decision was. The notice is appended to the original proposal notice that is already on the ER.
The final decision on an application can be one of the following:
* If the application is withdrawn or cancelled, the notice of the final decision can be put on the ER before the comment period has ended.
Once the proposal notice, Registry Proposal File (RPF), for an application is put on the Environmental Registry (ER), the public will have an opportunity to send in comments on the proposal as well as to view parts of the application submission.
For exceptions to the public participation requirements, the Registry Exception File, REF, is submitted to the ER to notify the public that an approval will be/has been issued. In this case, the public does not have an opportunity to submit comments in advance of the decision on the proposal.
The EBR provides for the submission of comments to the issuing office on proposals that are listed on the ER during the comment period indicated in the RPF.
The EBR also provides for the viewing of proposals that are listed on the ER during the comment period noted on the RPF.
Copies of applications for proposals listed on the ER will be available for public viewing at:
The applicant must ensure that a copy of the application submission is sent to the District Office in the area where the proposal is to be implemented, for public viewing.
In the event that questions/requests are received, the MOE will attempt to provide a response in a timely manner.
The applicants may be contacted for assistance in providing responses to the public queries and requests for further information, including additional copies of the application submission.
The application forms have been designed so that the information contained in the form itself is available for public viewing. However, the supporting information that the applicant provides is identified and referenced in a table on the form. The applicant indicates on this table which of the supporting information is proprietary and cannot be released for public viewing.
If a member of the public requests to view the information that is listed as proprietary, the request will be processed in the same manner as any other FOIPOP request.
If there are any questions regarding FOIPOP, the MOE FOIPOP Coordinator should be contacted for further information and clarification:
Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Office
9th Floor
40 St. Clair Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario
Tel.: (416) 314-4075
Fax.: (416) 314-4285
Each individual comment that is received by the issuing office will be reviewed and considered in the assessment of the application.
It is expected that some comments will not be relevant to the proposal and that the MOE will have to use discretion in deciding whether or not certain comments should be considered in the decision making. Section 35 of the EBR states that:
" (1) A minister who gives notice of proposal under section 15, 16 or 22 shall take every reasonable step to ensure that all comments relevant to the proposal that are received as part of the public participation process described in the notice of the proposal are considered when decisions about the proposal are made in the ministry.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a comment on the legislative or regulatory framework within which the decision whether or not to implement a proposal for an instrument is to be made is not a comment relevant to the proposal for the instrument."
At times, it may be necessary to obtain verification/clarification of a comment from other Ministry staff/offices or the applicant.
In order to minimize any impacts on the processing time for the application, the applicants are encouraged to provide a speedy response to any requests for clarification, verification of public comments, or submissions of additional information.
The EBR enhances the appeal rights for certain Class I and II instruments by:
The EBR allows for residents of Ontario to appeal the decisions on certain types of proposals. That right is not automatically granted. Instead, residents of Ontario must first "seek leave to appeal the decision" from the appellate tribunal. The appellate tribunal for MOE instruments is the Environmental Review Tribunal.
If the leave to appeal is granted, the appeal is conducted in accordance with the current procedures of the Environmental Review Tribunal. Because notice of the appeal is placed on the ER, additional members of the public may be able to participate in the appeal process.
The EBR allows residents of Ontario to seek leave to appeal Class I and Class II instruments if:
All decisions for proposals for prescribed instruments that were granted an exception from the public participation requirements (there was no notice given on the ER allowing for a minimum 30 day comment period) are not subject to the EBR's appeal provisions.
The flow chart on the next page illustrates the types of decisions that are subject to the EBR appeal/seek leave to appeal provisions.
GUIDE FOR EBR’S APPEAL/SEEK LEAVE
TO APPEAL PROVISIONS
Residents of Ontario may seek leave to appeal a decision if the following two conditions have been met (EBR, s. 38):
The Environmental Review Tribunal decides whether or not the person(s) seeking leave to appeal will be given leave to appeal.
The notice of the final decision on a proposal will indicate whether or not residents of Ontario may seek leave to appeal the decision, the parties to whom the notice shall be sent to and the type of information that is to be provided. These instructions are as follows:
Any resident of Ontario may seek leave to appeal this decision, by serving written Notice, within 15 days of the Decision Notification Date noted above. The Notice must be served upon the following:
1. Environmental Commissioner:
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
1075 Bay Street, Suite 605,
6th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2W5
2. Issuing Director:
3. Applicant:
4. Appellate Body:
Environmental Review Tribunal
P.O. Box 2382
2300 Yonge St. Suite 1201
Toronto, Ontario
M4V 1N3
The Notice must be signed and dated and include all of the following information:
The leave to appeal will be granted if (EBR, s.41):
The Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) may make the decision on the leave to appeal based on the information provided by the appellant or the ERT may allow the Instrument Holder (Applicant), the
Appellant and the MOE to provide submissions and make its decision based on these submissions.
By regulation, the ERT is required to make a decision within 30 days of the ERT receiving the notice of the leave to appeal. However, the regulation does allow extensions to the 30-day period.
If the Instrument Holder appeals a decision that is subject to the EBR appeal provisions, then:
Instructions on how to appeal decisions subject to the EBR will be provided on the approval issued to the Instrument Holder. The public will have to contact the ERT if they wish to participate in the appeal.
If the MOE and the Instrument Holder are negotiating the appeal, the public who has advised the ERT that they wish to participate in the appeal may be given the opportunity to participate in the discussions.
If the appeal cannot be resolved through negotiations between the involved parties (public, instrument holder and the MOE), appeal hearings will have to be conducted and the ERT will make the decision.
If the instrument is to be amended or revoked as a result of a hearing, notice does not have to be put on the ER. However, if as a result of the negotiations between the MOE, the applicant and possibly the public, the instrument is to be amended or revoked, and if that amendment or revocation is not excepted from the public participation requirements (e.g., it is not environmentally insignificant), notice will be placed on the ER.
There are three types of files that are used to notify the public of appeal matters:
Copies of these notices are in Appendix "B".
The notices regarding leave to appeal appeals are appended to the proposal decision file that is already on the ER.
| SECTION | PROPOSALS FOR INSTRUMENT | CLASS |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection Act | ||
section 7 |
All proposals for an order to control contaminant discharge (e.g., an order to control discharge of waste leaking from drum located on property) |
2 |
section 8(1) |
All proposals for a director's stop order to avoid or control damage to the environment. (Emergency situations) |
2 |
section 9 |
All proposals except for the following:
|
1 |
section 10 |
All proposals for approval of a program to prevent, reduce, or control |
2 |
section 17 |
All proposals for an order to prevent or repair the damage or provide alternate water supplies (e.g., an order to provide bottled water to affected residences) |
2 |
section 18 |
All proposals for an order for preventative measures to reduce the risk or |
2 |
section 27
|
All proposals for the use, operation, establishment. alteration, enlargement or extension of a waste disposal site, except for the following:
|
2 |
All proposals for the use, operation, establishment, alteration, enlargement or extension of a waste disposal site for which a hearing will be held. |
3 |
|
section 31 |
All proposals for emergency certificates of approval for the use, operation, |
2 |
section 43 |
All proposals for an order to remove waste and restore the site (e.g., an order to remove stockpiled hazardous industrial waste) |
2 |
section 44 |
All proposals for an order to take action to bring a waste management system or a waste disposal site into conformity with the Act (e.g., an order to store waste in accordance with Act) |
2 |
section 46 |
All proposals for approval to use a former waste disposal site for a different use (e.g., an order to approve a site and its use for a golf club) |
1 |
section 94 |
All minister's orders for directions to employees and agents of the ministry to restore the environment after a spill. (Emergency situation) |
2 |
section 97 |
All minister's orders regarding spills to prevent adverse effects. (Emergency situations) |
2 |
section 130 (2) |
All proposals for an order to revoke a stop order. (Emergency situations) |
2 |
section 136 |
All proposals for an order for performance of environmental measures and |
2 |
Regulation |
All proposals for minister's orders regarding the air pollution index. |
2 |
Regulation 350 |
All proposals for Director's orders regarding the Lambton Industry |
2 |
| Ontario Water Resources Act | ||
section 31 |
All proposals for an order prohibiting or regulating discharge of sewage into water (e.g., an order to cease all waste water discharges into the |
2 |
section 32 |
All proposals for an order for preventative measures for facilities discharging into water (e.g., an order to install storm water treatment) |
2 |
section 34 |
All proposals for a permit to take more than 50,000 l/day of water (e.g., permit for the irrigation of a golf course) except for the following: |
1 |
section 34(7) |
All proposals for a notice to regulate water diversion (e.g., a notice to a |
2 |
section 52(3) |
All proposals for an order or direction for unapproved water works that may ask for an investigation of the works and direct changes to be made (e.g., an order to install further treatment on the unapproved water works) |
2 |
section 52(6) |
All proposals for direction to maintain water works (e.g., direction to |
2 |
section 53(1)
|
All proposals that would set limits for the discharge of specific contaminants from a discharge point unless: |
2 |
All proposal for the establishment of sewage works in or into another |
3 |
|
section 53(3) |
All proposals for an order for unapproved sewage works which may ask for an investigation of the works and direct changes to be made (e.g., an order to install further treatment on the unapproved water works) |
2 |
section 61 |
All proposals for a direction to maintain sewage works (e.g., direction to |
2 |
section 62(2) |
All proposals for a direction to municipalities on a report respecting sewage works or water works (e.g., a direction to a municipality to implement a report to establish a water works) |
2 |
section 74(2) |
All proposals for an order designating public water or sewage service area (e.g., an order designating an area of public water service where several municipalities cannot agree as to how this area should be serviced) |
3 |
section 91 |
All proposals for a direction for sewage disposal (e.g., a direction to a |
2 |
section 92 |
All proposals for an order to stop or regulate discharge of sewage into sewage works which may interfere with the proper operation of the works (e.g., an order to improve operation of waste water treatment by requiring that a substance which is being added to the treatment be handled in another manner) |
2 |
Regulation |
All proposals for a direction to abandon a well |
2 |
| Pesticides Act | ||
section 13(7) |
All proposals for director's emergency orders/notices. (Emergency situation) |
2 |
section 27 |
All proposals for director's or provincial officer's order for stopping the use of pesticides. (Emergency situation) |
2 |
section 28 |
All proposals for an order controlling the handling, storage, use, disposal (etc.) of pesticides (e.g., an order to be issued to a vendor to display pesticides on higher shelving) |
2 |
section 30(1) |
All proposals for minister's orders to prevent or repair damage. (Emergency situation) |
2 |
Regulation 914 |
All proposals for an interim status pesticide where the active ingredient has not been previously regulated |
1 |
The MOE prepares all notices and ensures that they are placed on the Environmental Registry. This section is to provide the Proponents with an understanding of the type of information that will be available to the public accessing the Environmental Registry.
The notices regarding instruments that are put on the Environmental Registry include:
NOTICE PAGE #:
Registry Proposal File (RPF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
Registry Exception File (REF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3
Registry Decision File (RDF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4
Leave to Appeal an Instrument File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6
Appeal of Instrument File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-7
Decision on Appeal File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-8
This is the notice that is put on the Environmental Registry when proposals for an instrument are under consideration.
PROPOSALS FOR INSTRUMENTS
(1) EBR Registry Number:
(2) Ministry:
(3) Type:
(4) Instrument:
(5) Ministry Instrument Reference:
(6) Status:
(7) Proposal Notification Date:
(8) Proponent:
(9) Proponent Location:
(10) Location of Activity (City/Town/Municipality)
(11) County/District/Region:
(12) Other activity location identifiers:
(13) Description:
(14) Other pertinent information:
(15) Comment Period:
(16) Contact:
All comments will be considered as part of the decision-making by the
Ministry if they:
No acknowledgement or individual response will be provided to those who comment.
This is the notice that is put on the Environmental Registry when a proposal for a prescribed instrument has been excepted from the public participation requirements of the EBR (the public is not given a minimum of 30 days to comment on the proposal) and the ministry has decided that an approval will be or has been issued.
(1) EBR Registry Number:
(2) Ministry:
(3) Type:
(4) Instrument:
(5) Ministry Instrument reference:
(6) Status:
(7) Proposal Notification Date:
(8) Proponent:
(9) Proponent Location:
(10) Location of Activity (City/Town/Municipality):
(11) County/District/Region:
(12) Other Activity Location Identifiers:
(13) Description:
(14) Other Pertinent Information:
(15) Comment Period:
(16) Decision Date:
(17) Proposal Decision:
(18) Contact:
The EBR recognizes that there may be occasions that preclude the public participation requirements as a result of an emergency situation (s.29, EBR) or when the environmentally significant aspects of the proposal have been considered in a process of public participation that was equivalent to the EBR [s. 30(1), EBR].
This is the notice that is put on the Environmental Registry when a decision has
been rendered on a proposal. This notice also provides instruction to residents
of Ontario on how to seek leave to appeal decisions that are subject to the EBR's
leave to appeal provisions.
EBR File Number:
Ministry Instrument Reference:
Decision Notification Date:
Proposal Decision:
Number of Comments Received:
Effect(s) on Decision:
May a resident of Ontario seek leave to appeal this decision (s.38, EBR).
Contact:
**** Only comments which were relevant to the proposal were considered in this decision.****
The EBR stipulates that the Ministry must take every reasonable step to ensure that all comments relevant to the proposal received as part of the public participation process are considered in this decision (s.35, EBR).
NOTE: This section is added if residents of Ontario can seek leave to appeal.
Any resident of Ontario may seek leave to appeal this decision, by serving written Notice, within 15 days of the Decision Notification Date noted above. The Notice must be served upon the following:
1. Environmental Commissioner:
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
1075 Bay Street, Suite 605,
6th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2W5
2. Issuing Director:
3. Proponent:
4. Appellate Body:
Environmental Review Tribunal
P.O. Box 2382
2300 Yonge St. Suite 1201
Toronto, Ontario M4V 1N3
The Notice must be signed and dated and include all of the following information:
1. The EBR Registry Number, the Ministry Instrument Reference, the name and location of the Proponent to whom the instrument was issued. (All available on the Registry)
2. A copy of any comments that were submitted on the original proposal, if comments were not submitted, an explanation of your interest in seeking leave to appeal the decision is required.
3. A description of the grounds for the application for leave to appeal
including information that demonstrates that:
(a) there is good reason to believe that no reasonable person,
having regard to the relevant law and to any government
policies developed to guide decisions of that kind, could have
made the decision; and
(b) the decision in respect of which an appeal is sought could
result in significant harm to the environment.
4. The portions of the instrument or each term or condition in the instrument in respect of which the leave to appeal is applied for.
5. The grounds on which you intend to rely at the hearing, in the event that the leave to appeal is granted, in relation to each portion that you are seeking leave to appeal.
This is the notice that is put on the Environmental Registry when a resident of Ontario has applied for leave to appeal an instrument. Once a decision has been made on the leave to appeal, notice of that decision is placed on this notice.
1. Application Date:
2. Appellate Body:
3. Name of Applicant:
4. Grounds for Appeal:
5. Decision:
There is no appeal from a decision whether or not to grant an application for leave to appeal. (S. 43, EBR)
This is the notice that is placed on the Environmental Registry when an Instrument Holder is appealing a decision subject to the EBR appeal provisions or when a resident of Ontario has been granted leave to appeal a decision.
1. Application Date:
2. Appellate Body:
3. Appeal Initiated By:
4. Grounds for Appeal:
5. Date of Hearing:
6. Location of Hearing:
7. Contact:
The "Contact" should be contacted for additional information on
the appeal and any rights to participate in the hearing process.
This is the notice that is placed on the Environmental Registry at the conclusion of an appeal.
1. Date of Appeal Decision:
2. Appeal Decision:
3. Other Relevant Factors:
This appendix contains guidelines to be used when preparing descriptions or abstracts of proposals on the application forms. Guidelines as well as examples are given for the following:
INSTRUMENT PAGE #:
EPA, s.9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2
and C-3
EPA, s.27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . C-4 to C-7
EPA, s.46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . C-8
OWRA, s.34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C-9 and C-10
OWRA, s.53 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. C-11 to C-13
The description or abstract of the proposal forms a part of the notice the MOE puts in the ER to advise the public that a proposal is under consideration.
EPA, S.9 approvals can cover a broad range of plants, structures, equipment, apparatus, mechanisms
or things. For this reason it is very difficult to provide specific details on the type of information that should be provided in the abstracts. The
following general guidelines should be used in preparing the abstracts:
The abstract should be less than 100 words.
EXAMPLES:
The information that should be provided in the abstract includes:
1) Type of facility/site.
2) Scale of facility including:
3) Type of material to be accepted.
4) Service area or source of material.
The abstract should be less than 100 words.
EXAMPLES:
1. The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
The use and operation of a waste disposal site with a total area of 13.5 hectares,
to be used for the transfer of the following waste categories: non-hazardous solid
industrial, commercial and institutional waste including only incidental food waste,
at a maximum rate of 200 tonnes per day and at a maximum total storage of 500
tonnes at any one time, to serve the Province of Ontario.
The information that should be provided in the abstract includes:
(1) Type of facility/site.
(2) Scale of facility including:
(3) Type of material to be accepted.
(4) Service area or source of material.
(5) Type of process(es) to be used.
The abstract should be less than 100 words.
EXAMPLES:
1. The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
The use and operation of a waste disposal site with a total area of ___ hectares within a total site area of ___ hectares, to be used for the processing of nonhazardous solid waste up to 100 tonnes per day. The total amount of waste and processed materials stored at the site will not exceed 300 tonnes at any time. Processes to be used include grinding and shredding. The waste disposal site is to serve the town of _______.
The information that should be provided in the abstract includes:
(1) Type of facility/site.
(2) Scale of facility including:
(3) Type of material to be accepted.
(4) Service area or source of material.
(5) Life expectancy of the site.
The abstract should be less than 100 words.
EXAMPLES:
1. The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
The use and operation of a ____ hectare waste disposal site within a total area of
____ hectares and a receiving capacity of ____ cubic metres per day, for the
landfilling of the following categories of waste: stumps, tree trunks, brush, and
construction and demolition materials limited to bricks, mortar, cements and nonreinforced
concrete. The site will have a final volumetric capacity of ____ cubic
metres and an anticipated life expectancy of 10 years to serve the Province of
Ontario.
2. The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
The use and operation of an 18 hectare landfilling site within a total site area of 65
hectares and a receiving capacity of ____ cubic metres per day, for the disposal
of domestic, commercial and non-hazardous solid industrial waste. The waste will
be received at a rate which will not exceed 180 cubic metres per day and 64,000
cubic metres per year. The site will have a final volumetric capacity of ____ cubic
metres and an anticipated life expectancy of five years to serve the town of
_________.
In this case, the information that is required for each type of site, as per the examples above, is to be provided in the abstract.
EXAMPLES:
The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
The use and operation of a waste disposal site with a total area of 13.5 hectares, to be used for the following:
to serve the Province of Ontario.
The information that should be included in the abstracts includes:
(1) A description of what the land is to be used for.
(2) If in the "Other Location Identifiers" section of the RDF, the location
of the land that is being proposed for a particular use is not definitely
identified, then in the abstract the location must be clearly noted.
The abstract should be less than 100 words.
EXAMPLES:
1. The application is for the approval of the following:
The use of the above-noted land for the development of a business park, including office space,
landscaping and utilities corridor within the road right-of-way.
2. The application is for the
approval of the following:
The use of 3 acres of land located on the north west corner of John Street Road
and Third Concession Road for public park land.
The type of information that should be included in the abstract is as follows:
(1) Source of water (ground water or surface water plus the name of the
waterbody).
(2) Location of taking.
(3) Purpose of the water taking (industrial process cooling water,
irrigation of golf course).
(4) Period of the water taking.
(5) Quantity (maximum requested).
The abstract should be less than 100 words.
EXAMPLES:
SOURCE OF WATER: one well
LOCATION OF TAKING: lot 15, in Bruce Energy Centre, Township of Bruce, Ontario
PURPOSE OF TAKING: to provide process cooling water
PERIOD OF WATER TAKING: for 30 years from the date of approval
AMOUNT OF WATER TO BE TAKEN FROM SOURCE (MAXIMUM): 400 litres per minute, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year
SOURCE OF WATER: one well
LOCATION OF TAKING: Lots 1 and 2, Concession II, township of Oxford-on- Rideau, Ontario
PURPOSE OF TAKING: public water supply
PERIOD OF WATER TAKING: 10 years from date of approval
AMOUNT OF WATER TO BE TAKEN FROM SOURCE (MAXIMUM): 78 litres per minute, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year
The information that should be included in the abstracts consists of the following:
(1) What is being applied for including:
(2) Why the proposal is required.
(3) An identification of what is discharging.
(4) Where the effluent is being discharged to.
The abstract should be less than 100 words.
EXAMPLES:
1. Applications for works crossing municipal boundaries:
The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
Sanitary sewers and appurtenances to be constructed in the Village of
__________ by extending the sewage works from the Village of __________.
2. Applications for storm water management systems:
The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
Storm sewers, storm water management and treatments work consisting of
oversize storm sewers to provide subsurface detention storage, a gravel filter and
screen and perforated storm sewer and appurtenances to service __________ ,
in the City of ___________, discharging to __________.
(Assumption: The approval limits the discharge of contaminants.)
The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
Modifications to existing stormwater management facilities, as approved under
Certificate of Approval No. __________. The modifications include an increase
in the in the storage volume of the storm detention ponds discharging to _____
Creek, two concrete structures for the operation and housing of the ultra violet
disinfection facilities and three monitoring stations on the existing inflow sewers to
the ponds, and all necessary appurtenances.
(Assumption: There is an increase in the contaminant discharge from that
previously approved, and the approval limits the discharge of
contaminants.)
The information that should be included in the abstracts consists of the following:
(1) What is being applied for including:
(2) Why the proposal is required.
(3) An identification of what is discharging.
(4) Where the effluent is being discharged to.
The abstract should be less than 100 words.
EXAMPLES:
1. The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
One wastewater treatment system consisting of one gravity-type oil/water
separator and two granular activated carbon filter columns to decontaminate
groundwater contaminated as a result of fuel storage tanks leaks, discharging to
Dead Horse Creek.
(Assumption: The approval limits the discharge of contaminants.)
2. The application is for a Certificate of Approval for the following:
One wastewater treatment system consisting of one extended aeration tank, one
circular secondary clarifier, one continuously backwashed dual media sand filter,
one baffled chlorine contact chamber including a chlorine gas storage room and
chlorinator, one aerobic sludge digester, to serve the poultry processing plant, and
discharging to Cigar Lake.
(Assumption: The approval limits the discharge of contaminants.)
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