Actions tracking

Streamline and communicate the approvals process for installing on-site renewable energy sources

Status: Action tracking

What we heard

The approvals process for installing and using small-scale (<500kWh) biomass combined heat and power units on-site is complex, costly, uncoordinated and time consuming.

Our plan

Ontario recognizes the current approval process to develop renewable energy projects can be difficult to navigate. Support services have been created to make the process easier for applicants, including:

  • The Renewable Energy Facilitation Office – a one-window access point where individuals, communities and municipalities with projects of all sizes can obtain information and connect with the appropriate government and agency resources.
  • The Technical Guide to Renewal Energy Approvals – a guide on the rules and requirements for completing an application for a Renewable Energy Approval available at ontario.ca.
  • In-person meeting at a local ministry office to discuss the project, or a multi-ministry consultation meeting arranged by that office.

One kind of renewable energy – small scale ground-mounted solar to produce electricity – has a faster approvals process. These projects can register on the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) instead of applying for an Environmental Compliance Approval.

Over the next year the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change will be consulting on additional EASR proposals that will result in facility owners being able to proceed with installing other renewable energy sources in a timely manner.

Update as of October 31, 2017: Over the next year MOECC will undertake a technical analysis to determine the possibility of an additional EASR proposal that will allow facility owners to install combined heat and power units in a timely manner. The ministry is also looking for ways to further streamline the EASR process for small wood fire combustors.

Communicate new requirements for environmental handling fees under the Waste-Free Ontario Act, 2016

Status: Action tracking

What we heard

Businesses find reporting and audit requirements for electronics recycling and environmental handling fees to be difficult and complex to comply with, especially for small businesses with limited staff and resources.

Our plan

Until recently, Ontario diverted waste according to type or streams, such as tires, paper and packaging (blue box program), electronics and municipal hazardous waste. Each stream had its own overseeing body, funded by the industry producing the material. This body set the fees, rules and processes that producers would follow. Often fees were passed along to consumers.

Ontario completely revamped this system in 2016 to move towards a zero-waste future. In this future, waste is seen as a resource that can be recovered, reused and reintegrated into the production stream.

The new system does not require producers to pay environmental fees. Instead, producers are responsible for reducing, recycling or safely disposing of the goods and packaging they market. Also, producers as well as retailers must accurately represent any fees and costs they intend to pass on to consumers.

It will take two to four years to fully transition each existing waste diversion program, including the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment one, to the new zero-waste approach. During that time, stakeholders will have their say on how materials will be regulated when Ontario conducts consultations. In February 2017, wind-up of the used tires program began. Other waste types will follow.

Review the municipal class environmental assessment process

Status: Action tracking

What we heard

Municipal class environmental assessments now take 40% longer than they did four years ago – an average of 27 months compared to 19 months previously. This causes delays, higher costs and more uncertainty for businesses that bid on municipal infrastructure projects.

Our plan

Recently, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change committed to review the environmental assessment program and adopt recommendations made in 2016 by the Ontario Auditor General.

To do this, the ministry will make improvements in the short term to the environmental assessment program within the existing legislative framework. Substantial reforms that would require amendments to the act are being considered for long-term improvements.

The environmental assessment process is complex, and any changes involve consultation with a broad range of external stakeholders, such as industry, environmental and community groups, and Indigenous communities. That is why the ministry is taking a phased approach to reform, looking to ways it can further improve the existing program now, and tackling major changes later.

The ministry is committed to acting upon the Auditor General’s recommendations by fall 2018.

No action recommended

Address liability concerns around the purchase of contaminated land

Status: No action recommended

What we heard

Businesses feel that it is unfair for land owners to be held responsible for the clean-up of contaminated land if they did not cause the contamination. This discourages businesses from investing in land suspected of being contaminated.

Our plan

The Environmental Protection Act states that if a property is contaminated and poses a threat to human health or the environment, the government can require the owner to clean up the property. This rule applies to the owner who caused the contamination and all subsequent owners.

 If we removed this requirement – even for new owners – the government would likely become responsible for the cleanup at tax payers’ expense.

Real estate professionals are obligated to look for and share with their client any information that would affect a buying decision.

Potential buyers can also:

  • find information about previous owners and land uses from the municipality and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
  • search for records of site condition and transition notices filed in the Environmental Site Registry

Ontario provides the following supports to boost investing in brownfields (contaminated property):

  • a new tool helps owners to more easily determine property-specific ground water and soil standards that meet requirements for protecting human health and the environment
  • Investment Ready, a site certification program, helps qualified owners of remediated brownfields with global promotion and funding to clean up the site, making the decision-making process for potential investors easier
  • the Brownfields Financial Tax Incentive program offers qualified brownfield owners relief from a portion of the site’s property taxes for up to three years