Environmental Review Tribunal
Tribunal de l’environnement
ISSUE DATE:
April 04, 2018
CASE NO.:
17-047
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 100(4) of the Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.40, as amended
Appellant:
GolfNorth Properties Inc.
Respondent:
Director, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
Subject of appeal:
Terms and conditions of a Permit to Take Water
Reference No.:
3605-AM6MHH
Property Address/Description:
Lot 89, 91, Concession German Company Tract
Municipality:
Township of Woolwich
Upper Tier:
Regional Municipality of Waterloo
ERT Case No.:
17-047
ERT Case Name:
GolfNorth Properties Inc. v. Ontario (Environment and Climate Change)
Heard:
March 9, 2018 by telephone conference call
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel/Representative+
GolfNorth Properties Inc.
Doug Breen+
Director, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
Jessica Rosenberg
Participant
Regional Municipality of Waterloo
Richard Brookes
ORDER DELIVERED BY MARLENE CASHIN, JUSTIN DUNCAN AND HELEN JACKSON
REASONS
Background
1On June 8, 2017, Brookfield Country Club Limited, owned by GolfNorth Properties Inc. (“GolfNorth” or “Appellant”), was issued Permit to Take Water No. 3605-AM6MHH (“PTTW”) for its golf course located at 400 Golf Course Road in Conestogo, Township of Woolwich, Ontario.
2On July 4, 2017, GolfNorth appealed to the Environmental Review Tribunal (“Tribunal”) Conditions 4.4 and 4.5 of the PTTW, relating to a requirement to install a nested bedrock monitoring well, under s. 100(4) of the Ontario Water Resources Act.
3On November 8, 2017, a Pre-hearing Conference (“PHC”) was held in Cambridge, Ontario at which time the Tribunal added the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (“Region”) as a Participant to the appeal. During the PHC, the Tribunal also set a date for the disclosure of relevant documents and scheduled a continuance of the PHC to take place on March 9, 2018 by telephone conference call (“TCC”) following mediation between the Parties and the Region. Further information on this appeal can be found in an Order dated December 5, 2017.
4During the March 9, 2018 TCC, the Parties advised that, although the mediation was helpful, the Parties had failed to reach a settlement of the appeal. As a result, the Parties requested that dates be set for a hearing and filing dates be scheduled. After hearing from the Parties, the Tribunal set dates for a hearing to take place during the week of July 9 to 13, 2018, a schedule for the remaining steps of this proceeding and a further TCC, as set out in the order below. The purpose of the next TCC will be for the Parties and Region to provide an update to the Tribunal as to whether a full week remains necessary for the hearing, to finalize a detailed schedule for the hearing and to resolve any preliminary issues prior to the commencement of the hearing.
5Finally, after hearing from the Parties, the Tribunal directed that the order of evidence at the hearing will be as follows: the Director will present evidence first, the Region second, the Appellant third, and any reply evidence from the Director or Region will be presented last.
ORDER
6The Tribunal directs that the proceeding be conducted in accordance with the following schedule, as may be varied by agreement of the Parties and the Region, and confirmed by the Tribunal:
April 6, 2018
Parties to exchange any outstanding disclosure of relevant documents
April 27, 2018
Parties and Region to exchange witness lists, including the proposed qualifications of any experts
May 11, 2018
Director and Region to serve and file witness statements and any documents to be relied upon at the hearing
June 1, 2018
Appellant to serve and file witness statements and any documents to be relied upon at the hearing
June 20, 2018 at 1 p.m.
Telephone conference call with the Tribunal
June 22, 2018
Director and Region to serve and file reply witness statements and documents, if any, to be relied upon at the hearing
July 9 - 13, 2018
Hearing – City Hall, 200 King Street West, Kitchener, ON N2G 4G7
Procedural Directions Ordered
Hearing Scheduled
“Marlene Cashin”
MARLENE CASHIN
MEMBER
“Justin Duncan”
JUSTIN DUNCAN
VICE-CHAIR
“Helen Jackson”
HELEN JACKSON
MEMBER
If there is an attachment referred to in this document,
please visit www.elto.gov.on.ca to view the attachment in PDF format.
Environmental Review Tribunal
A constituent tribunal of Environment and Land Tribunals Ontario
Website: www.elto.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-866-448-2248