Environmental Review Tribunal

The Corporation of the Municipality of Wawa appealed an amendment to its Environmental Compliance Approval regarding the cessation date for accepting waste at its landfill.

The parties subsequently reached a settlement agreement to extend the date to April 16, 2016, allowing time for an environmental assessment for a long-term waste management plan.

The Environmental Review Tribunal reviewed the settlement under Rule 201, found it consistent with the purpose of the Environmental Protection Act and in the public interest, accepted the withdrawal of the appeal, and dismissed the proceeding.

The Appellant appealed the Director's decision refusing to grant a Class 3 Water Treatment Certificate due to insufficient operator-in-charge experience.

The Environmental Review Tribunal held a preliminary hearing by telephone conference call and issued an order setting procedural directions and dates for the exchange of documents and witness statements ahead of the main hearing.

The Tribunal held a preliminary hearing by telephone conference call regarding appeals of a Director's Order related to a spill of environmental contaminants.

Several entities requested party status.

Finding that the entities were named in a Notice of Allegation and could be directly affected by the outcome of the appeal, the Tribunal granted party status to Amercoat Canada, Rubyco Ltd., and Danroh Inc. The preliminary hearing was adjourned to allow for the completion of work required under interim amendments to the Director's Order.

In a preliminary hearing for an appeal of a Renewable Energy Approval for a wind facility, the Environmental Review Tribunal considered requests for participant and presenter status.

The Tribunal granted participant status to the City of Kawartha Lakes, Save the Oak Ridges Moraine Coalition, and a local resident, and presenter status to two other individuals.

The Tribunal also confirmed the procedural schedule leading up to the main hearing.

The appellants appealed a Renewable Energy Approval for a wind farm.

The approval holder brought a motion for particulars regarding the alleged health impacts and a motion to strike certain paragraphs of the notice of appeal relating to environmental issues.

The Environmental Review Tribunal granted the motion for particulars, ordering the appellants to provide specific details about the alleged serious harm to human health.

The Tribunal dismissed the motion to strike the paragraphs relating to environmental issues.

The appellant appealed the Niagara Escarpment Commission's conditional approval of a development permit application to construct an asphalt parking lot for visitors to the Cheltenham Badlands and the Bruce Trail.

Following a telephone conference call, the Hearing Officer issued a procedural order setting the schedule for document exchange, witness statements, and the hearing dates for the appeal.

The Appellant appealed a Renewable Energy Approval (REA) issued for a 5-turbine wind facility, arguing it would cause serious harm to human health and serious and irreversible harm to the natural environment, and that the REA process violated section 7 of the Charter.

The Tribunal reviewed extensive expert evidence on wind turbine noise, infrasound, and health impacts, concluding the Appellant failed to prove on a balance of probabilities that the project would cause serious harm to human health.

The Tribunal also found no Charter violation due to the lack of an evidentiary foundation for serious physical or psychological harm.

Finally, the Tribunal rejected the environmental claims, finding the project would not cause serious and irreversible harm to bird species at risk or their habitat.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant appealed the Director's decision to issue a Renewable Energy Approval for a 9-turbine wind facility on the Oak Ridges Moraine.

The appellant argued the project would cause serious harm to human health due to noise, shadow flicker, and safety risks, and serious and irreversible harm to the natural environment, including groundwater and bird species at risk.

The Tribunal found the appellant failed to meet its onus of proving the statutory tests under the Environmental Protection Act, relying on the expert evidence provided by the approval holder.

The appeal was dismissed and the Director's decision confirmed.

The Tribunal held a telephone conference call to set procedural directions and hearing dates for appeals of a Director's Order issued under the Environmental Protection Act regarding the unauthorized storage of hazardous waste materials at a site in Hamilton.

The Tribunal ordered a schedule for the exchange of witness statements and documents, and set hearing dates for December 2015 and March 2016.

The appellant appealed a Director's Order requiring him to retain a consultant to assess and remediate petroleum impact on groundwater from a 1990 fuel oil spill on his cottage property.

Following a preliminary hearing, the Environmental Review Tribunal issued an order clarifying the scope of the appeal and organizing the issues to be determined at the hearing.

The Tribunal identified seven main issues within the scope of the appeal and excluded issues related to remedy or expanding the Director's Order.

The appellants appealed an order from the Director of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change requiring an environmental investigation program at a former dry cleaning facility.

At a preliminary hearing, the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury requested party status, arguing it owned adjacent property potentially affected by contamination and could provide municipal expertise.

The Tribunal granted the Town party status on consent and adjourned the preliminary hearing to allow the parties to progress on the work items in the order.

The approval holder brought a motion to define the issue to be determined in the remaining portion of the hearing and to strike portions of two witness statements.

The motion was dismissed, with reasons to follow.

The appellants appealed a Director's Order requiring them to secure and remediate a site containing hazardous waste.

During a telephone conference call, the Royal Bank of Canada requested to be removed as a party, which was granted on consent.

The parties also requested an adjournment of the preliminary hearing to continue mediation, which the Tribunal granted.

At a preliminary hearing regarding an appeal of a Director's Order related to an environmental spill, several individuals and entities sought party and participant status.

The Tribunal granted party status to several potential orderees and individuals named in the order, finding their interests could be directly and substantially affected.

The Regional Municipality of Niagara was granted participant status due to its genuine interest as an adjacent property owner.

The preliminary hearing was adjourned to allow ongoing remediation work to proceed.

The appellants requested a hearing regarding an order requiring them to perform work with respect to sewage at a property.

The parties jointly requested an adjournment of the hearing and an interim stay of the order to allow the appellants to obtain a building permit for a sewage system from the municipality.

The Tribunal granted the adjournment and interim stay on consent, finding that the proposed terms met the statutory requirements and would ensure environmental concerns were addressed on an interim basis.

The Environmental Review Tribunal held a preliminary hearing regarding an appeal of a Renewable Energy Approval for a wind facility.

The Tribunal considered requests for participant and presenter status from the City of Kawartha Lakes, Save the Oak Ridges Moraine Coalition, and two individuals.

The Tribunal granted the requests subject to general conditions, finding that the applicants had a genuine interest and would make a relevant contribution to the proceeding.

The Tribunal also confirmed procedural directions and the hearing schedule.

The appellant in a renewable energy approval appeal brought a motion seeking disclosure of the complete Species At Risk Report submitted by the approval holder to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

The approval holder had only disclosed redacted portions it deemed relevant to the appellant's proposed expert evidence.

The Environmental Review Tribunal ordered the disclosure of the report in its entirety, finding it potentially relevant to the appeal.

However, to protect species at risk, the Tribunal ordered that the report be marked confidential and its disclosure limited to the parties' counsel and expert witnesses.

The appellants appealed a Director's Order regarding groundwater contamination at a former manufacturing site.

The parties requested on consent that the proceeding be adjourned and the existing stay of the order be extended to allow time to finalize remedial actions.

The Tribunal found no concerns under section 143(3) of the Environmental Protection Act and granted the requested extension and adjournment.

The appellant appealed a Permit to Take Water issued to the instrument holder for quarry dewatering.

The Environmental Review Tribunal allowed the appeal in part and ordered amendments to the permit.

The amendments included reduced daily water taking limits, enhanced groundwater monitoring requirements, and the implementation of a contingency plan with specific trigger events.