Version 7.0

Published by the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

October 27, 2020

Cette publication hautement spécialisée Technical Standards to Manage Air Pollution n'est disponible qu'en anglais conformément au Règlement 671/92, selon lequel il n’est pas obligatoire de la traduire en vertu de la Loi sur les services en français. Pour obtenir des renseignements en français, veuillez communiquer avec le ministère de l'Environnement, de la Protection de la nature et des Parcs au 1-800-461-6290 ou par courriel à SDBTechStd@ontario.ca.

Translation: This highly specialized publication Technical Standards to Manage Air Pollution is available in English only in accordance with Regulation 671/92, which exempts it from translation under the French Language Services Act. To obtain information in French, please contact the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks at 1-800-461-6290 or SDBTechStd@ontario.ca.

Minister’s Message

October 2020

As the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, I am pleased to share Version 7.0 of the “Technical Standards to Manage Air Pollution” (the Technical Standards publication) under section 38 of Ontario Regulation 419/05: Air Pollution - Local Air Quality.

The Technical Standards publication has been updated to include a new Chapter 9 for Asphalt Mix - Industry Standard.

All technical standards are available on our ministry website.

Thank you,

Jeff Yurek
Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

Foreword

This document, “Technical Standards to Manage Air Pollution, October 27, 2020, version 7.0” (the Technical Standards publication) sets out the requirements that facilities must follow if they are registered for a technical standard. As per section 38 of Ontario Regulation 419/05: Air Pollution - Local Air Quality, a technical standard can be either an industry standard or an equipment standard. All technical standards will be made available through a website maintained by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and through the Ministry’s Public Information Centre.

The Technical Standards publication will include both industry standards and equipment standards. It will specify the classes of facilities the technical standard applies to, with reference to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes; the contaminants the technical standard applies to; the steps that shall be taken to comply with the technical standard; and, the time periods within which the steps shall be taken. It will describe requirements relating to technology to be used at the facility, the operation of the facility, the monitoring and reporting of information relating to the facility, and any other related matter. In the event of a conflict between this document and the references to sections in O. Regulation 419/05, the language in O. Regulation 419/05 shall be used.

The contents of this document may also be updated from time to time. Any changes will be based upon public consultation consistent with the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights legislation. All web site addresses referred to in this document were current at the time of release.

For any addenda or revisions to the Technical Standards publication, please visit the ministry website or contact:

Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Environmental Assessment and Permissions Division

1.0 Introduction

Ontario Regulation 419/05: Air Pollution – Local Air Quality (the Regulation or O. Reg. 419/05) made under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) is the regulation that is intended to protect communities against adverse effects from local sources of air emissions. The Regulation places limits on the concentration of contaminants in the natural environment that are caused by emissions from a facility. Under certain conditions, the Regulation also allows for a person to register for a technical standard in respect of a facility for certain contaminants, as identified in this Technical Standards publication document. Registering for and complying with a technical standard is an alternative to complying with the air standards that are based on contaminant concentrations.

This Technical Standards publication is published under the authority of section 38 of the Regulation.

Technical Standards publication - O. Reg. 419/05, s. 38.

38. (1) The Minister shall ensure that, with respect to the Technical Standards publication, all of the following criteria are met:

  1. Every technical standard set out in the Technical Standards publication is specifically identified in the publication as an industry standard or an equipment standard.
  2. For each industry standard that is set out in the Technical Standards publication,
    1. the Technical Standards publication specifies which classes of facilities the industry standard applies to, and those classes are identified with reference to NAICS codes,
    2. the Technical Standards publication specifies which contaminants the industry standard applies to,
    3. the Technical Standards publication sets out the steps that shall be taken to comply with the industry standard, and
    4. the Technical Standards publication sets out the time periods, if any, within which the steps specified under subparagraph iii shall be taken.
  3. The Technical Standards publication indicates that, with respect to each class specified under subparagraph 2 i to which an industry standard applies, and with respect to at least one contaminant to which that standard applies, the Minister is of the opinion that,
    1. with respect to at least two facilities in the class that are located in Ontario,
      1. it is not technically feasible to comply with section 19 or 20, whichever is applicable, or
      2. it is not economically feasible to comply with section 19 or 20, whichever is applicable,
    2. compliance, in accordance with subsection 42 (5), with the industry standard that applies to the class and the contaminant,
      1. is technically and economically feasible with respect to at least one facility in the class that is located in Ontario, and
      2. will permit efforts that would otherwise be made to comply with section 19 or 20 to be put to better use to protect the natural environment, having regard to subparagraph I,
    3. including the industry standard that applies to the class and the contaminant in the Technical Standards publication is more efficient than having the Director consider separate requests under section 32 for approval of alterations to the standard for the contaminant that would otherwise apply to facilities in the class.
  4. For each equipment standard that is set out in the Technical Standards publication,
    1. the Technical Standards publication specifies which classes of facilities the equipment standard applies to, and those classes are identified with reference to NAICS codes,
    2. the Technical Standards publication specifies which contaminants the equipment standard applies to,
    3. the Technical Standards publication specifies which sources of contaminant the equipment standard applies to,
    4. the Technical Standards publication sets out the steps that shall be taken to comply with the equipment standard, and
    5. the Technical Standards publication sets out the time periods, if any, within which the steps specified under subparagraph iv shall be taken.
  5. The Technical Standards publication indicates that, with respect to each class specified under subparagraph 4 i to which a equipment standard applies and with respect to at least one contaminant and source of contaminant to which that standard applies, the Minister is of the opinion that,
    1. at least two facilities in the class that are located in Ontario have the source of contaminant, and
    2. compliance, in accordance with subsection 43 (4), with the equipment standard that applies to the class, the contaminant and the source of contaminant is technically and economically feasible with respect to at least one facility in the class that is located in Ontario.

(2) Before a technical standard is set out in the Technical Standards publication, the Minister shall consider whether provisions dealing with the following matters should be included in the technical standard:

  1. Notification of and consultation with affected persons before making an application for registration in respect of the technical standard.
  2. The making and retention of records.
  3. Circumstances in which notice is required to be given to the Ministry.
  4. Progress reports relating to implementation of the technical standard.

(3) Before an industry standard that applies to a class of facilities is set out in the Technical Standards publication, the Minister shall consider whether compliance, in accordance with subsection 42 (5), with the industry standard may reduce the regulatory burden applicable to facilities in that class for which compliance with section 19 or 20 would otherwise be required.

(4) Before an equipment standard that applies to a class of facilities and a source of contaminant is set out in the Technical Standards publication, the Minister shall consider whether compliance, in accordance with subsection 43 (4), with the equipment standard may reduce the regulatory burden applicable to facilities in that class for which consideration of the source of contaminant would otherwise be necessary when using an approved dispersion model for the purposes of this Part.

A facility may be registered for an industry standard, an equipment standard or a combination of industry standard and equipment standard. A brief description of these technical standards is provided below. For more information, please refer to the Regulation.

1.1 Industry Standards

In general, a person is exempt from Part II of the Regulation for a contaminant if the person is registered with respect to a sufficient number of industry standards to address all sources of that contaminant at their facility. Subsections 42(1) and (2) provide that:

42. (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Part, except for this section and sections 24, 27.1 and 38 to 41,does not apply to a person in respect of a facility and contaminant if one or more industry standards set out in the Technical Standards publication apply to the facility and the contaminant, and

  1. the facility is part of only one class identified by a NAICS code, and the person is registered on the Ministry’s Technical Standards Registry – Air Pollution in respect of all of the industry standards that apply to the facility and the contaminant; or
  2. the facility is part of two or more classes that are identified by NAICS codes, industry standards apply to all of those classes and to the contaminant, and the person is registered on the Ministry’s Technical Standards Registry – Air Pollution in respect of all of those industry standards.

(2) This Part applies for the purpose of determining whether the Director may give a person a notice under section 24 or 27.1 and for the purpose of preparing a report required by a notice under section 24 or 27.1

In other words, if all of the sources of a contaminant at that facility are addressed in one or more industry standards, and that facility is registered for all of the industry standards, then that facility is exempt from the air standards in Schedules 2 or 3 of O. Reg. 419/05 for the contaminant(s) for which the person is registered for in respect of the facility. As such, it is not necessary for such a facility to assess any other sources of the contaminant(s) for which the facility is registered.

If a person is registered for an industry standard(s) in respect of a facility and a contaminant, but all sources of the contaminant at the facility are not addressed by the industry standard(s) (i.e. there are sources of contaminant at the facility that are part of another NAICS code), the person may exclude the sources of contaminant that are associated with the NAICS code addressed in the industry standard when modelling under the Regulation. Section 42(4) provides:

42. (4) A person who uses an approved dispersion model for the purposes of this Part in respect of a facility and a contaminant is not required to consider a source of contaminant that discharges the contaminant if,

  1. subsection (1) does not apply to the person in respect of the facility and the contaminant;
  2. the source of contaminant is in a part of the facility that is a part of a class of facilities to which an industry standard applies in respect of the facility and the contaminant; and
  3. the person is registered on the Ministry’s Technical Standards Registry – Air Pollution in respect of the industry standard, facility and contaminant.

1.2 Equipment Standards

In general, a person is exempt from Part II of the Regulation for a contaminant if the person is registered with respect to a sufficient number of equipment standards to address all sources of that contaminant at their facility. Section 43(1) and (2) provide that:

43. (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Part, except for this section and sections 24, 27.1 and 38 to 41, does not apply to a person in respect of a facility and contaminant if,

  1. equipment standards set out in the Technical Standards publication apply to every source of the contaminant in the facility; and
  2. the person is registered on the Ministry’s Technical Standards Registry – Air Pollution in respect of the facility, the contaminant and every equipment standard that applies to a source of contaminant in the facility.

(2) This Part applies for the purpose of determining whether the Director may give a person a notice under section 24 or 27.1 and for the purpose of preparing a report required by a notice under section 24 or 27.1.

However, if an equipment standard or combination of equipment standards does not address all sources of contaminants from that facility, then a person who uses an approved dispersion model for the purposes of Part II of the Regulation in respect of a facility and a contaminant is not required to consider the source of contaminant referenced in the equipment standard(s) for which the person is registered. Section 43(3) of the Regulation provides:

43. (3) A person who uses an approved dispersion model for the purposes of this Part in respect of a facility and a contaminant is not required to consider a source of contaminant that discharges the contaminant if,

  1. subsection (1) does not apply to the person in respect of the facility and the contaminant;
  2. an equipment standard set out in the Technical Standards publication applies to the facility, the contaminant and the source of contaminant; and
  3. the person is registered on the Ministry’s Technical Standards Registry – Air Pollution in respect of the equipment standard, facility, contaminant and source of contaminant.

1.3 Combination of industry standards and equipment standards

In general, a person is exempt from Part II of the Regulation for a contaminant if the person is registered with respect to a combination of one or more industry standards and one or more equipment standards such that all sources of that contaminant at their facility are addressed. Section 44 (1) and (2) provide that:

44. (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Part, except for this section and sections 24, 27.1 and 38 to 41, does not apply to a person in respect of a facility and contaminant if,

  1. the person is registered on the Ministry’s Technical Standards Registry – Air Pollution in respect of one or more industry standards, the facility and the contaminant;
  2. there is one or more sources of contaminant in a part of the facility that is not part of a class of facilities to which any of the industry standards referred to in clause (a) apply; and
  3. with respect to each source of contaminant to which clause (b) applies, the person is registered on the Ministry’s Technical Standards Registry – Air Pollution in respect of an equipment standard, the facility, the contaminant and the source of contaminant.

(2) This Part applies for the purpose of determining whether the Director may give a person a notice under section 24 or 27.1 and for the purpose of preparing a report required by a notice under section 24 or 27.1.

In other words, if all of the sources of a contaminant at that facility are addressed in one or more industry standards and one or more equipment standards, and that facility is registered for all of those industry and equipment standards, then that facility is exempt from the air standards in Schedules 2 or 3 of O. Reg. 419/05 for the contaminant(s) for which the person is registered for in respect of the facility. As such, it is not necessary for such a facility to assess any other sources of the contaminant(s) for which the facility is registered.

1.4 Updating of Technical Standards

Part IV (Application for Review) of the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) gives the people of Ontario a formal process for proposing that an existing policy, Act, regulation or instrument of Ontario should be reviewed, changed or improved in order to protect the environment. A person may also ask the government to consider establishing new ones. Under this authority, any two people may request the Minister to review a technical standard. The following are factors that could be considered in making this request:

  1. The length of time the technical standard has been in place.
  2. New technically and/or economically feasible options that have become commercially available.
  3. Any new scientific information relating to the nature of any contaminant to which the technical standard applies.

For more information on how to request a review, please visit the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario.