Appendices
Appendix A: Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Offices
For project-specific inquiries, please contact the relevant Environmental Assessment Coordinators listed below. For general questions regarding the interpretation of the guide, regulations, or requirements, please reach out to the EA Branch.
Environmental Assessment Branch
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
135 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, ON M4V 1P5
Website
Environmental Assessment Branch
Central Region Environmental Assessment Coordinator
Eastern Region Environmental Assessment Coordinator
Northern Region Environmental Assessment Coordinator
Southwestern Region Environmental Assessment Coordinator
West Central Region Environmental Assessment Coordinator
Appendix B: Thermal treatment sites
Classes of thermal treatment sites in Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Projects Regulation
Class A thermal treatment site
These are thermal treatment sites that use coal, oil or petroleum coke as the fuel source for thermal treatment of waste. Except for a few situations, a proponent seeking to establish a Class A site will be required to undertake a Comprehensive Environmental Assessment (that is, seek an approval under part II.3 of the act) regardless of the amount of waste being thermally treated.
Class B thermal treatment site
These are thermal treatment sites where the fuel source for thermal treatment of the waste is not coal, oil or petroleum coke. A Class B site is defined as one that does not have the principal purpose of recovery of materials, and all of the energy generated by thermal treatment is used on-site to dispose of waste. Establishing a Class B site is subject to the environmental screening process if it thermally treats 10 or fewer tonnes of waste per day. A comprehensive environmental assessment is required (that is, a requirement to obtain an EA approval) if greater than 10 tonnes per day is thermally treated. There are a few exceptions to this that are set out in the regulation.
Class C thermal treatment site
These are thermal treatment sites where the fuel source for thermal treatment of the waste is not coal, oil or petroleum coke. There is a possibility for this type of site to generate energy alone, or energy and a recovered material (that is, material that meets the criteria in section 19(2)). The descriptions of the two types of Class C sites are:
- A site where thermal treatment is used for the principal purpose of recovering material that meets the criteria in subsection 19(2)) where some or all of the energy generated by thermal treatment is used off-site
- A site where the principal use of thermal treatment is not the recovery of material (that is, material that meets the criteria in subsection 19(2)) and the energy generated by the thermal treatment is used on-site for a purpose other than disposal of waste (for example, other than to fuel the thermal treatment) or is used off-site.
Establishing a class C site is subject to the environmental screening process, regardless of the amount of waste to be treated per day, except for the situations where the site is unconditionally exempt.
Prior to the amendments to the Waste Management Projects Regulation (O. Reg. 101/07) which took effect on July 1, 2022, EA quirements for establishing or changing a thermal treatment site which generates fuel were the same as establishing or changing a thermal treatment site which generates energy. Since July 1, 2022, fuel that meets the specified criteria (set in subsection 19(2) of the regulation), generated from a thermal treatment site is treated as a recovered material and the EA requirements for establishing or changing a thermal treatment site which generates fuel are therefore the same as establishing or changing a thermal treatment site which generates other recovered material.
Class D thermal treatment site
These are thermal treatment sites where the fuel source for thermal treatment is not coal, oil or petroleum coke. A class D site uses thermal treatment for the principal purpose of advanced recycling (that is, for the recovery of materials described in subsection 19(2) of the regulation).
A proponent proposing to establish a class D site is required to undertake the applicable EA process, except for those sites that are not designated or are unconditionally exempt. The applicable EA process is based on the maximum amount of waste that may be thermally treated and the projected percentage of material recovered:
| Processed waste amount <=10 TPD | Processed waste amount >10 - <=100 TPD | Processed waste amount >100 - <=1000 TPD | Processed waste amount >1000 TPD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projected annual recovery rate <70% recovery | Not a Designated Project | Environmental screening process | Comprehensive EA | Comprehensive EA |
| Projected annual recovery rate >=70% Recovery | Not a Designated Project | Not a Designated Project | Environmental Screening Process | Comprehensive EA |
Application of regulation to anaerobic digestion
For the purposes of this guide, anaerobic digestion has the same definition as in Ontario Regulation 267/03: General under the Nutrient Management Act, 2002: Anaerobic digestion is the decomposition of organic matter by bacteria in an oxygen-limiting environment. Anaerobic digestion can be used to process a variety of waste and non-waste sources (for example, crops grown to generate energy). Anaerobic digesters are not considered to be thermal treatment and would not be subject to the thermal treatment provisions in the Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Projects Regulation.
If a proponent has any questions regarding the establishment of a site with anaerobic digestion of waste, please contact the Environmental Assessment Branch of the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Recovered material
The Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Projects Regulation sets out the criteria that must be met in order for material that is recovered from thermal treatment (output material) to be considered recovered material, in the context of being a site where thermal treatment is used for the primary purpose of recovering material (subsection 19(2) of the regulation).
There are two criteria that must be met:
- The first criterion is that there must be a demonstrated market demand for the material. Market demand is satisfied when a proponent demonstrates that the recovered material from an advanced recycling site can be viably used by the receiver. Reliable end markets support positive waste management outcomes through a steady and stable demand for a recovered material.
The proponent can analyze the strength and stability of the market prices to determine the reliability of the end market for the recovered material. A positive market value will indicate that an end market is available for the recovered material. The strength of the market value (that is, a value that is sufficiently high) is key in determining the reliability of the market price, as well as the ability to maintain current operations and future investments in technologies/systems to enhance long-term outcomes. The proponent can review a multi-year history of the market prices to validate its stability. This data can be supplemented with examples of a similar material being successfully used to replace a virgin material.
A market demand can be also demonstrated by one or more potential receivers of the material providing a written statement that the receiver would accept the material and how the receiver proposes to use the material. The written statement could indicate that the recovered material will meet the parameters agreed to by both parties which ensures the recovered material is appropriate as a replacement for virgin feedstock. Storing output material in the hope of a future demand is not considered as meeting the criterion of demonstrating a market demand.
- The second criterion relates to the quality of the output, namely that it can meet at least one of the following three criterion:
- Meet a standard – the regulation references ASTM standards, but the regulation also contemplates the proponent meeting another standard that is an equivalent standard. ISO or CSA may be equivalent standards. Output material may also meet a material specific standard, for example standards for chemicals, plastic monomers, fuels (liquid or gaseous), or other materials (for example, carbon black).
- Gaseous emission – this type of output material can be: a ready-to-use gas (for example, renewable natural gas, hydrogen) that meets a standard as stated above and can immediately replace an existing fuel (for example, replacing natural gas when injected into a distribution pipeline). The other acceptable form of gaseous emission is a gas that can be upgraded that meets the requirements of a standard as mentioned in section (a) above.
- A feedstock – the feedstock does not have to meet a specific standard, but the receiver must meet any requirements to safely manage the output of a thermal treatment site.
It is the responsibility of a proponent completing the environmental screening process to include documentation in the environmental screening report demonstrating that the output material meets the criteria indicated above to qualify as recovered material. A proponent completing a comprehensive EA in respect of a class D thermal treatment site will be expected to include documentation in the EA demonstrating that the output material meets the above criteria.
As noted in section A.4.3, information required for the EA process, including information about recovered material, may be used in obtaining other environmental permissions.
Calculating recovery rate
The regulation establishes the annual recovery rate for a class D thermal treatment site as A/B x 100. Where A is the mass of the output that meets the requirement of recovered materials and B is the total mass of the input to the thermal treatment process. The input mass must be calculated based on the projected mass to be thermally treated. The projected mass to be thermally treated would not include the mass of any moisture or contaminants that are removed in any pre-processing activity that occurs prior to thermal treatment. A site that accepts materials with higher moisture or contaminant content and subsequently thermally treats the materials may see its recovery rate calculation result in a lower percentage; whereas, a site that undertakes some form of pre-processing may see their recovery rate increase.
If the material recovered will be in a different state (that is, gas, liquid, solid) than the material subject to thermal treatment, conversion factors will need to be used in the calculation of the recovery rate. A proponent completing the environmental screening process is required to include in the environmental screening report any conversion factors and documentation supporting the use of the conversion factor(s). A proponent completing a comprehensive EA in respect of a class D thermal treatment site will be expected to include that documentation in the EA.
The Comprehensive Environmental Assessment Projects Regulation establishes the recovery rate as that which is projected to be recovered under normal operations. This term is intended to convey operation after it the facility is in a steady state, namely at the capacity that the proponent projects when conducting its analysis to determine which, if any, EA is required under the regulation. There are no requirements for a proponent to seek a third-party audit of its projected recovery rate.
As noted in section A.4.3, information required in the environmental assessment process, including the projected recovery rate, may be used in the process of obtaining other environmental permissions.