From the Ontario Chamber of Commerce:
Ontario
lowers EA requirements for Waste Management Projects
The
province passed the Waste Management Project Regulation (O. Reg.
101/07) On March 23 which clearly sets out the Environmental
Assessment (EA) requirements for waste diversion and disposal
facilities. In addition, the Environmental ministry has amended
regulations under the Environmental Protection Act to streamline
the approval process for recycling certain materials.
The
newly designed rules will make it easier for municipalities to
find viable solutions for managing waste. Municipalities could
save up to 18 months and thousands of dollars on environmental
screening process for small rural landfills (40,000-100,000 m3).
The
province also exempted from the EA process any recycling
facilities provided that just 1,000 tonnes per day of residual
waste ends up going to disposal. Conditional upon meeting
ministry’s emission standards, new waste technologies could be
piloted without an EA approval; whereas converting certain
wastes into alternative fuels will no longer require waste
management approvals.
Critics
claim that new regulations will contribute to climate change and
pollution, and undermine the province's Blue Box recycling
system. They warn that fast tracking of new waste-to-energy
discourage recycling and waste diversion since incinerators need
a massive guaranteed supply of combustible materials. It could
potentially lead to pressure to burn paper, plastics and other
recyclable materials.
The
OCC is considering shaping an advocacy policy urging the
government to explore new energy-to-waste technologies that have
low levels of emissions and a high-energy return.
