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February 11, 2009 - Volume 6, Number 1 | |
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FEDERAL NEWS
PROVINCIAL NEWSBritish Columbia:
Ontario:
Quebec:
FEDERAL NEWSReminder: Federal PCB Regulations in Effect As previously reported by Environment @ Gowlings, Canada's federal government enacted new PCB legislation to accelerate the removal and safe disposal of PCB wastes in Canada on September 5, 2008. Owners of PCBs and other regulated parties are required to prepare a report that is current to December 31 of each calendar year, this report is due on March 31st of the following year. Therefore, the first set of reports will be due March 31, 2009, reporting on the 2008 calendar year. The regulations also require the removal of equipment with PCBs from service by December 31, 2009. For a longer article, please see: The regulations can be viewed at: Safe Management of Harmful Chemicals in North America Agreement Signed Environment Minister Jim Prentice and his U.S. and Mexican counterparts signed a joint Statement of Intent acknowledging their commitment to develop a regional framework for the safe management of harmful chemicals. In Canada, implementation of the Agreement will be made under the Chemicals Management Plan, ensuring that Canada will share best practices. By 2012, the U.S. has pledged to assess and initiate the need for action on over 6.750 existing chemicals. Canada has pledged to complete the assessment and take regulatory action on substances of highest priority and initiate assessment on medium-priority substances and Mexico has pledged to develop an information system for dangerous materials. By 2020, the three countries hope to achieve the establishment or updating of chemical inventories, enhanced capacity in Mexico, and the sound management of chemicals throughout North America. For further information please see: Regulations Amending the Energy Efficiency Regulations Amendments related to Canada's Clean Air Regulatory Agenda have been made to the Energy Efficiency Regulations under the Energy Efficiency Act. The amendments, which establish more stringent standards and labelling requirements, came into force December 12, 2008, and are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The amendments:
For further information please see: NEWS FROM THE PROVINCESBRITISH COLUMBIA:B.C. Releases Report on Projected Sea Level Change in 21st Century The Province of British Columbia has released a report on projected sea level changes in order to help B.C.'s coastal communities prepare for climate change. The report discusses the natural factors in B.C. which could alter sea levels in ways that vary greatly along the B.C. Coast. For further information please see: The report can be downloaded at www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/climate/reports.htm Emission Offsets Regulation Approved The Emission Offsets Regulation under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act received royal assent on December 3, 2008. This regulation sets out the details of offset creation for the purposes of fulfilling the provincial government's goal of a carbon-neutral public sector by 2010. GHG reductions must be supported by a verified project report; ownership must have passed to the Pacific Carbon Trust; and the reductions must not have been previously recognized by another GHG reduction program. For further information please see: Landfill Gas Management Regulation The Landfill Gas Management Regulation, under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Emissions Standards) Statutes Amendment Act, 2008, became effective on January 1, 2009. It establishes province-wide criteria for landfill gas capture from municipal solid waste landfills in B.C. There will be a phase-in of the new requirements to take into account economic and technical feasibility. For further information please see: B.C. Files Brief in California's Legal Challenge to the EPA Regarding GHG Standards B.C. has filed a legal brief in support of California's challenge to an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to deny a waiver to implement the California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standard for Vehicles. Under the US Clean Air Act, a waiver from the EPA is necessary for a state to adopt vehicle emissions standards, and has always been provided in the past. For further information please see: ONTARIO:Ontario Begins Consultation for Design of Cap-and-Trade System Ontario has begun a consultative process with stakeholders and interested parties related to the development of a cap-and-trade system in the province to be in place as early as 2010. Launched on December 10, 2008, these consultations will also allow discussions and idea-sharing on the cap-and-trade system as well as the retooling of technology in a low-carbon economy. Please see the Gowlings Climate Change Bulletin at: For further information including presentations from the December 10th launch please see: Report on Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan The Ontario Government tabled its first annual report in the Climate Change Action Plan in the legislature on December 10, 2008. Ontario is working toward greenhouse gas emission reductions of 6 per cent below 1990 levels by 2014, 15 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050. Highlights from the report include the following:
The full report and other information can be accessed through the following link: Cosmetic Pesticide Ban The Ontario government remains committed to implementing a cosmetic pesticide ban through legislation expected in the Spring of 2009. The public comment period closed on December 2, 2008. Comments that have been received will be reviewed and regulations finalized in the coming months. The ban would eliminate the use of cosmetic pesticides on lawns, gardens, school yards and parks. It includes exceptions for golf courses, agriculture, forestry, health or safety, specialty turf, trees and protection of natural areas. For further information please see: Lake Simcoe Protection Legislation Passed The Lake Simcoe Protection Act was passed by the Legislature on December 2, 2008. The Act will require the creation of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan and sets out criteria that must be addressed in the plan. The Act also provides the authority to municipalities to regulate activities that will affect the health of the watershed and, in turn, the lake. For further information please see: Amendments to EA Codes of Practice Amendments have been made to the Codes of Practice for Ontario's Environmental Assessment Process: Preparing and Reviewing Environmental Assessments and Class Environmental Assessments. These amendments strengthen the wording of the codes, provide greater clarity, address identified concerns with the codes, and update relevant information. The Class EA Code specifically clarified the discussion about Aboriginal Consultation confirming that proponents are responsible to plan for and engage in meaningful Aboriginal Consultation. For further information and links to the amended codes please see: Reminder: Spill Prevention and Contingency Plans The Spill Prevention and Contingency Plan Regulation, under the Environmental Protection Act came into force September 1, 2008. This regulation requires those currently subject to Ontario Regulation 222/07 (Environmental Penalties), also referred to as MISA companies, to review plans on a yearly basis. On January 1, 2009, regulated entities were required to prepare a written statement regarding adequacy of the plans. This statement must be retained at the plant for five years. For further information please see the regulation at: Toronto City Council Adopts Community Right to Know By-Law On December 1, 2008, Toronto adopted an Environmental Reporting, Disclosure and Innovation Program. The associated by-law will require businesses and City operations to publicly report their use and release of 25 hazardous chemicals that are in Toronto's environment at levels of concern. Whether a facility will have reporting obligations will depend on the amounts and sources of chemicals manufactured, processed, used or released. Some facilities will be exempted from the reporting requirements, including retail stores, medical offices, gas and service stations. The by-law will come into effect on January 1, 2010 and reporting will be phased in over four years. For further information please see: QUEBEC:Éco Entreprises Québec Following mediation by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks to break the impasse in negotiations between Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) and the two municipal associations designated by law as the negotiating entities to establish the net costs incurred by municipalities to recover and reclaim "containers", "packaging" and "printed matters" classes of residual materials for the year 2006, the parties finally came to an agreement that established the net costs at $109 million. The companies represented by ÉEQ are required to compensate 40% of that amount (80% of half of the net costs) or a total of $43.6 million which served as a basis for calculating the 2007 Fee Schedule. The 2007 net costs giving rise to the 2008 Fee Schedule will be negotiated only after an independent study is conducted on the administrative expenses and costs related to managing and monitoring curbside recycling programs that were at the heart of the mediation process. The 2007 Fee Schedule of contributions was adopted by ÉEQ's Board of Directors on December 12, 2008 and submitted to RECY-QUÉBEC for analysis and recommendation to the Government of Québec for it to come into force. For further information about the contribution required to be paid under the 2007 Fee Schedule, please see: Energy Produced by Biomass Cogeneration Last September, the Québec Government adopted the Regulation respecting energy produced by biomass cogeneration made under the Act respecting the Régie de l'énergie. This Regulation replaces the former Regulation respecting energy produced by cogeneration and is made pursuant to the powers of the Government to make regulations determining, for a particular source of electric power supply, the corresponding energy block and maximum price established for the purpose of fixing the cost of electric power, for the purposes of a supply plan or for the purposes of tender solicitation by the electric power distributor (i.e. Hydro Québec). Biomass under the Regulation means (1) residual forest biomass consisting of bark, sawdust, shavings, trim ends, scraps, primary, secondary and de-inking sludge, cooking liquors from pulp and paper mills, and timber from silvicultural treatments or logging such as trunks, limbs, tree tops, short logs, slash and culls referred to in Section 94 of the Forest Act and timber intended for or taken from Québec landfills, (2) biodegradable residual materials rejected or not accepted following reclamation activities and intended for disposal in landfill sites or incinerators and, as the case may be, vapours generated by the incineration of those materials, and (3) recovered biodegradable residual materials for which other reclamation methods are not subject to economically viable technology. Under the Regulation, the energy block produced by new biomass generation facilities corresponds to a total quantity of 125 MW. The biomass used in a new cogeneration facility must correspond to a minimum of 75% of the fuel used by the facility to produce electric power. The biomass cogeneration projects following the tender solicitation must be carried out so that deliveries begin no later than December 1st, 2012. The Regulation had initially provided that the electric power distributor must solicit tenders for these 125 MW no later than January 8, 2009. On January 7, 2009, the Government adopted a decree in order to change this deadline for the electric power distributor to solicit tenders to April 15, 2009. 2006 Québec Greenhouse Gas Inventory Ms. Lise Beauchamp, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks tabled last November the Inventaire québécois des émissions de gaz à effet de serre en 2006 et leur évolution depuis 1990 (Québec 2006 Québec Greenhouse Gas Inventory). According to the Inventory, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per habitant have decreased 7% in Québec since 1990. In 2006, Québec registered 84.7Mt GHG emissions representing 11.7% of the total Canadian emissions. The inventory also shows that Québec's increase of GHG emissions has been only 1.6% between 1990 and 2006 while registering an economic increase of its GNP of 41.3% and an increase in population of 9.2%. The transportation sector remains the one with the most GHG emissions representing 40% of the Province's emissions while the industry sector represents 33.6% of total emissions. According to the inventory, GHG emissions have been reduced by 5.5% in Québec since 2003 as a result mainly of the reduction of emissions from fossil fuels for home heating, businesses and institutions. For further information about the Inventory please see: Energy Efficiency: Heavy Oil Consumption Reduction and Support for the Manufacturing Sector Programs Heavy Oil Consumption Reduction Program The Agence de l'efficacité énergétique du Québec recently announced the creation of its Heavy Oil Consumption Reduction Program. This program helps consumers of heavy oil to reduce their oil consumption. Financial aid is available for conducting analyses and for implementing energy efficient measures that target heavy oil or that focus on switching to less polluting sources of energy, such as natural gas and the forest biomass. The program is financed through the Québec's Green Fund under Québec's Climate Change Action Plan for 2006-2012. Any corporate entity with premises in Québec that consumes targeted heavy oil is eligible for the program that covers the four following components: (1) energy efficiency, (2) switching to forest biomass, (3) switching to natural gas or (4) switching to other fuels. Generally, eligible projects aimed at reducing consumption of heavy oil will involve either replacing equipment with more energy efficient equipment, modifying existing equipment or installing new equipment and retrofits that combine different energy sources. The costs that are eligible under the program are:
The financial aid granted by the Agence de l'efficacité énergétique is limited to the lesser of the following amounts:
For further information about the program please see: Support for the Manufacturing Sector Program The Support for the Manufacturing Sector Program also offered by the Agence de l'efficacité énergétique is dedicated to helping manufacturers move towards reducing their consumption of certain target fuels (light fuel oil, propane and butane). The financial help that is offered can be used for conducting analyses and for implementing energy efficiency measures with respect to those fuels. This program is also financed through the Green Fund. Any corporate entity with premises in Québec that consumes light fuel oil, propane and butane for its heating and manufacturing requirements is eligible for the program. Only the manufacturing sector can benefit from the program. The cost of outside consultation, compensation of in-house employees directly involved in analysis work and the costs of renting equipment or measuring devices to determine the possibilities of improving the energy efficiency of an industrial site or building are eligible. The eligible analyses or studies under the program are those aimed at energy analyses of target fuels, analyses of various fuels in terms of overall value, feasibility studies of target fuels and analyses, carried out by a specialized firm, of the integration of fuel consumption procedures for an existing plant, the addition of a production line or the expansion of a manufacturing plant. Depending on the type of analysis, the financial aid offered is limited to the lesser of the following amounts: (1) for energy analyses, value analyses or feasibility studies: a maximum of 50% of the eligible costs of the analysis of target fuels or a maximum accumulation of $25,000 per site, and (2) for an integration analysis: a maximum of 50% of the eligible costs of the analysis of target fuels or a maximum accumulation of $100,000 per site. The focus of eligible projects should be to replace equipment with more efficient equipment as regards consumption of target fuels, to modify existing equipment so as to reduce consumption of target fuels or to install new equipment for existing procedures that leads to a reduction and consumption of fuels when implementing the results of an analysis. The eligible costs in this regard are:
The financial aid granted for implementing these measure is limited to the lesser of (1) the amount necessary to reduce the return on investment to one year, (2) a maximum of 75% of eligible implementation costs, (3) $250,000 per project up to a cumulative maximum of $1.5 million per site or (4) the original amount requested by the applicant. For further information please see: IN THE COURTSSupreme Court Rules Against Cement Plant On November 20, 2008 the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in St. Lawrence Cement Inc. v. Barrette, reinstating a lower court ruling that had awarded $15 million in damages against a cement plant for emitting dust, odours and noise over many years. The lawsuit was brought as a class action on behalf of over 2,000 neighbours of the plant. They alleged that the cement plant had contravened Article 976 of Quebec's Civil Code, which provides that "Neighbours shall suffer the normal neighbourhood annoyances that are not beyond the limit of tolerance they owe each other, according to the nature or location of their land or local custom." The Supreme Court held that Article 976 imposes liability for nuisances on a no-fault basis. That is, it is not necessary to establish that the defendant did something wrong - the focus of Article 976 is on "the extent of the annoyances suffered by the victim rather than on the conduct of the person who allegedly caused them". The Court noted that this no-fault liability is consistent with the common law of nuisance which applies in other provinces. Accordingly, the Court ruled against the cement company even though it had made extensive investments in pollution control measures and had complied with environmental regulations, and was authorized to operate the plant in this particular location under provincial law. The Supreme Court's decision is available at: INTERNATIONALWestern Climate Initiative - Essential Requirements of Mandatory Reporting Draft Document Released for Comment The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) released the Background Document and Progress Report for Essential Requirements of Mandatory Reporting for the Western Climate Initiative, Third Draft on January 6, 2009. The WCI is seeking stakeholder input and comments by January 20, 2009. Ontario has flagged this release and comment period on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry. For further information please see: EBR posting 010-5557 or http://www.westernclimateinitiative.org/WCI_Documents.cfm United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland Shows Slow Progress Towards Copenhagen The 14th Conference of the Parties (COP 14) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place from December 1-12, 2008 in Poznan, Poland. Approximately 8,000 representatives from over 190 countries attended. This conference marked the mid-point of the negotiation process of a new international treaty to ensure an international legal regime is in place after the Kyoto Protocol commitment period ends in 2012. The process began in Bali, Indonesia last year and aims to be completed in Copenhagen, Denmark next December. In addition to the negotiation of a post-2012 regime, the session saw the Adaptation Fund become operational, allowing developing countries access to funds to respond to the effects of climate change already underway. Countries also made progress on a number of issues that are important in the short run, including finance, technology transfer and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Many outstanding issues will need to be addressed in the coming year for an agreement to be completed in Copenhagen. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer likened the negotiations to a marathon, saying the fast running will be done at the end. For further more information and links to the decisions from the UN Climate Change Conference please see: http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_14/items/4481.php. An article by Laura Zizzo is available at http://www.gowlings.com/resources/publications.asp?pubid=1743, a version of which will appear in an upcoming issue of the Ontario Bar Association Environmental Law Section's Environews newsletter. What's Happening Mark Madras gave a presentation on December 8, 2008, at the CanSIA 2008 Solar Conference on the subject of Capitalizing on Carbon Markets. Jennifer Mesquita will be speaking at a seminar entitled "Environmental Due Diligence for Property Transaction". There are four scheduled dates for 2009, the first being April 8, 2009. This half-day seminar will examine due diligence related to property transactions, and explore ways to minimize risks to both individuals and organizations. For more information please see: Gowlings -Environmental Law Business, 2009 is an annual seminar presented by the Environmental Group and guests which provides an update on new developments in Environmental Law. The seminar is scheduled for April 9, 2009 and will be held at the Toronto office of Gowlings. Topics include Carbon Finance, an update on Canada's Chemical Management Plan and REACH, Waste Diversion initiatives, Brownfields and What's New. There is no charge for attendance. To receive a complete program or to obtain more information please contact: Jo Anne McDonnell at joanne.mcdonnell@gowlings.com or phone 416 862-3642. |
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