How environmental penalties are used in Ontario

When a spill or environmental impact occurs, or when Ontario’s environmental rules are not followed, environmental penalties may be issued.

Environmental penalties can range from $1,000 per day for less serious violations such as failure to submit a quarterly report, to $100,000 per day for the most serious violations, including a spill with a significant impact.

We are delivering on our commitment to continue holding polluters accountable by strengthening enforcement tools that help protect our air, land, and water.

Facilities subject to environmental penalties

Environmental penalties apply to plants in 9 industrial sectors, and specific open and closed landfilling sites. The 9 industrial sectors are as follows:

  • organic chemical manufacturing
  • inorganic chemical manufacturing
  • industrial minerals
  • metal mining
  • metal casting
  • iron and steel manufacturing
  • petroleum
  • pulp and paper
  • electric power generation

Industrial plants

Industrial plants may be penalized for the following violations:

  • Limit exceedance — surpassing the maximum or minimum discharge level as identified in an environmental approval, order or regulation, including exceedances of sulphur dioxide (SO2) limits in the petroleum sector.
  • Acute toxicity — when a sample proves to be lethal for a benchmark species such as, rainbow trout or water flea.
  • Unlawful discharge of a pollutant — the discharge of a pollutant to land or water that causes or may cause an adverse effect or impairs the quality of any waters.
  • Failure to report a spill and failure to clean up following a spill — the Environmental Protection Act requires a person who spills a pollutant to notify the ministry and to clean up following the spill.
  • Operational requirements — the contravention of an environmental compliance approval order or a provision of a regulation that applies to an industrial plant including requirements to monitor, sample and report to the ministry.

Landfilling sites

Landfilling sites (open and closed), may be penalized for the following violations:

  • Contravention of section 27, 40 or 41 of the Environmental Protection Act — the operation or alteration of a landfilling site or the use of equipment or facilities not authorized by the landfilling site’s environmental compliance approval.
  • Unlawful discharge of a pollutant  — the discharge of a pollutant to the natural environment, including odour, that causes or may cause an adverse effect.
  • Failure to report a spill and failure to clean up following a spill — the Environmental Protection Act requires a person who spills a pollutant to notify the Ministry and to clean up following the spill.
  • Operational requirements — the contravention of an environmental compliance approval or order that applies to a landfilling site.

Ontario Community Environment Fund

The Ontario Community Environment Fund uses money collected from environmental penalties to support environmental improvement projects in the region where a violation or environmental impact happened.

Annual report

Ontario is required to release a report annually outlining every environmental penalty issued in the previous calendar year. View Environmental Penalty Annual reports.

Five-year review

An environmental penalty review is required once every five years in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act. The review reports on the use of environmental penalties, including the effect they have on prosecutions. The report also includes recommendations about how and where environmental penalties are applied.