Important: Please use the beta version of the new e-Laws at ontario.ca/laws-beta. This version of the e-Laws website will be discontinued in the coming weeks.
O. Reg. 524/98: ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE APPROVALS - EXEMPTIONS FROM SECTION 9 OF THE ACT
under Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19
Skip to contentEnvironmental Protection Act
Loi sur la protection de l’environnement
ONTARIO REGULATION 524/98
Environmental Compliance Approvals — Exemptions from Section 9 of the Act
Historical version for the period November 18, 2012 to March 5, 2015.
Last amendment: O. Reg. 352/12.
This Regulation is made in English only.
1. (1) Section 9 of the Act does not apply to:
1. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing, other than equipment that subjects waste to incineration, gasification, pyrolysis, plasma arc treatment or another method of thermal treatment, that,
i. is associated with a dwelling in a building or structure that contains one or more permanent or seasonal dwellings, and
ii. is used by the occupants of not more than three dwellings in the building.
2. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used, at the site of a building or structure, for the construction, alteration, demolition, drilling or blasting of the building or structure.
3. Fuel burning equipment used to provide comfort heating in a building, if,
i. the equipment uses no fuel other than No. 2 fuel oil that has a sulphur content of 0.5 per cent or less measured by weight, propane or natural gas, and
ii. the total thermal input of all the fuel burning equipment that is used to provide comfort heating in the building is less than 1.58 million kilojoules per hour.
4. A fireplace or wood stove, if the only fuel used is natural gas, untreated wood or manufactured fire logs.
5. An air conditioning unit, other than a ground source heat pump as defined in Ontario Regulation 98/12 (Ground Source Heat Pumps) made under the Act.
6. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used for the transfer of outdoor air into a building or structure that is not a cooling tower.
7. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used for the ventilation of indoor air out of,
i. a space that is used for a purpose other than laboratory analysis, the production, processing, repair, maintenance or storage of goods or materials, or the processing, storage, transfer or disposal of waste,
ii. a space that is used for laboratory analysis, the production, processing, repair, maintenance or storage of goods or materials, or the processing, storage, transfer or disposal of waste, if the equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing does not discharge any contaminant produced by those activities, other than heat or noise, out of the space,
iii. a parking garage, or
iv. a building that is used solely for the purpose of handling or baling empty household aerosol cans.
8. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used for the ventilation of a drainage system as defined in the building code made under the Building Code Act, 1992.
8.1 Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used for the ventilation of emissions from a motor vehicle or locomotive that is used to transport things into, out of or within a warehouse or enclosed storage area.
9. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used for the preparation of food or beverages in,
i. a restaurant, snack bar, cafeteria, banquet hall or similar facility, if the primary business of the facility does not include the preparation of food or beverages for wholesale distribution or for sale to retail facilities,
ii. a place where the food or beverages are sold or distributed solely for charitable purposes,
iii. a facility for consumer production of beer or wine, or
iv. a mobile facility.
10. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used for cleaning operations or for combined cleaning and drying operations, if only aqueous detergent solutions are used for cleaning.
11. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used for fire fighting operations or training exercises, other than a fuel-fired generator set.
12. A forestry burn conducted under the authority of a permit issued under the Forest Fires Prevention Act or the Conservation Authorities Act.
13. Any mobile equipment that is used for,
i. snow-making,
ii. the cleaning of ducts, carpets or upholstery,
iii. the removal of asbestos, or
iv. the crushing or screening of aggregate, if the mobile equipment is located below grade in a pit or quarry that is operated in accordance with a licence or permit issued under the Aggregate Resources Act.
14. A lagoon, clarifier or pond that is used for the treatment or detention of sewage.
15. A source of visible light radiation intended for the purpose of advertising or illumination.
16. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used at a retail facility to dispense natural gas or propane to vehicles or for direct sale.
17. A racecourse that is used for the racing of horses, dogs or motorized or non-motorized vehicles or boats, if the only contaminants emitted from the racecourse, other than contaminants emitted by equipment, apparatus, mechanisms or things that are exempt from section 9 of the Act, are noise, vibration, odour and dust attributable to the races.
18. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used during an outdoor entertainment, artistic or sporting event, including an outdoor festival, fair, parade, fireworks display, art show, air show or car show, but not including a race of horses, dogs or motorized or non-motorized vehicles or boats.
19. An outdoor shooting range, if the only contaminants emitted from the shooting range, other than contaminants emitted by equipment, apparatus, mechanisms or things that are exempt from section 9 of the Act, are attributable to the discharge of firearms.
20. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used solely to mitigate the effects of an emergency declared to exist under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.
21. Any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is part of a large municipal residential system or a small municipal residential system, as those systems are defined in Ontario Regulation 170/03 (Drinking Water Systems) made under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002.
22. Any plant, structure, equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is a part of a solar facility in respect of which activities are prescribed under Ontario Regulation 350/12 made under the Act for the purposes of subsection 20.21 (1) of the Act, unless an order is in effect under section 20.18 of the Act in respect of the facility. O. Reg. 524/98, s. 1 (1); O. Reg. 505/99, ss. 1 (1-5); O. Reg. 273/03, s. 1; O. Reg. 110/07, s. 1; O. Reg. 99/12, s. 1; O. Reg. 352/12, s. 1.
(2) Paragraph 2 of subsection (1) does not apply to any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used for the construction, alteration, demolition, drilling or blasting of a mine shaft. O. Reg. 505/99, s. 1 (6).
(3) Paragraph 4 of subsection (1) does not apply to an outdoor boiler. O. Reg. 505/99, s. 1 (6).
(4) Paragraph 9 of subsection (1) does not apply to any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used in connection with a coffee roasting operation. O. Reg. 505/99, s. 1 (6).
(5) Paragraph 10 of subsection (1) does not apply to,
(a) any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used in connection with a dry cleaning operation; or
(b) any fuel burning equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing, unless,
(i) the equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing uses no fuel other than No. 2 fuel oil that has a sulphur content of 0.5 per cent or less measured by weight, propane or natural gas, and
(ii) the total thermal input of all fuel burning equipment, apparatus, mechanisms and things at the site is less than 1.58 million kilojoules per hour. O. Reg. 505/99, s. 1 (6).
(6) Subparagraph 13 ii of subsection (1) does not apply to any equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that is used in connection with a dry cleaning operation. O. Reg. 505/99, s. 1 (6).
(7) An exemption under this Regulation from section 9 of the Act does not relieve a person of any other legal duty or obligation, including a duty or obligation arising under an existing environmental compliance approval. O. Reg. 505/99, s. 1 (6); O. Reg. 256/11, s. 2.