dsaxe

A reminder to those posting or reading comments on this blog. We spend a great deal of time writing this blog, pro bono, as a service to the environmental community and to participate in the public debate on issues of importance. We don’t provide free legal advice, and we delete post comments that are insulting, irrelevant, spam and/or anonymous. If you think that inappropriate comments have been posted, please let us know. Another reminder: we do accept a number of well written comments... Read Full Story

The oddest things breach MOE soil cleanup standards. Compost, for example. Licensed compost makers operating with specific Ministry of the Environment approvals are permitted to sell “finished” compost for unrestricted agricultural use, as long as it meets the standards in the 2004 INTERIM GUIDELINES FOR THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF AEROBIC COMPOST IN ONTARIO . The 2009 Draft GUIDELINES FOR COMPOSTING FACILITIES AND COMPOST USE IN ONTARIO, uses the same criteria for finished AA compost, the... Read Full Story

One of the issues in the Northern Gateway pipeline hearing is the threat that oil tankers will pose in the dangerous channels and sensitive ocean environments near the proposed port, Kitimat. Enbridge soothingly predicts that major spills will be inconceivably rare: “under our proposed marine safety program, the probability of a “large” spill of 20,000 cubic metres (126,000 barrels) is once in 2,800 years, and the probability of a “major” spill of 40,000 cubic metres (252,000 barrels) is... Read Full Story

Off shore wind turbines in designated Wind Energy Areas have cleared a major environmental review , according to the US  Department of the Interior  and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). BOEM’s   National Environmental Policy Act   (NEPA) assessment found that there would be no significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts from issuing wind energy leases in designated Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) areas off the mid-Atlantic Coast. NEPA is the US equivalent to our Canadian... Read Full Story

In  St. Mary’s Cement v. Clarington (Municipality) , 2011 ONSC 4631, an industrially zoned, operating cement company proposed to supplement its fuel with alternative fuel derived from recycled materials. Alternative fuels are used as fuel extensively in US and UK cement kilns, but they are not typical in Ontario. The municipality argued this would constitute operating a waste disposal area, which was not permitted by the zoning bylaw. The court found that burning alternative fuels (within... Read Full Story

According to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver , “Anyone looking at the record of approvals for certain major projects across Canada cannot help but come to the conclusion that many of these projects have been delayed too long.  In many cases, these projects would create thousands upon thousands of jobs for Canadians…Unfortunately, there are environmental and other radical groups that would seek to block this …  Their goal is to stop any major project no matter what the cost to Canadian... Read Full Story

As climate change increases the intensity of storms, and as insurers become more reluctant to insure basements that are known to flood , we notice more and more lawsuits against municipalities for basement floods . Municipalities generally benefit from statutory immunities against lawsuits in nuisance for water escaping from lawfully operated sewage works. However, they enjoy no such protection against claims in negligence. One key feature of negligence claims is foreseeability. In Southern... Read Full Story

Forty years ago,  The Limits to Growth   explored what would happen if we allowed the world’s population and industry to continue to grow rapidly. They compared humanity’s use of energy and materials to the globe’s long-term, sustainable capacity, and concluded that urgent action was needed to avoid catastrophic collapses. Were they right? A retrospective in the New Scientest concludes that they were. Four decades ago, “few believed that there were any limits to growth – some economists... Read Full Story

Class actions for historic contamination:  Sydney Tar Ponds and Smith v. Inco The class action by neighbours of the notorious tar ponds in Sydney, Nova Scotia, is going ahead, although neighbours of Inco’s Port Colborne plant have lost theirs.  The Sydney Steel plant was built in 1900, next to a creek flowing into the harbour. Coke, made from local coal, fuelled the plant’s blast furnaces, and many coke ovens were built on land next door. Air emissions from both were hazardous to human... Read Full Story

Is spilling drinking water an offence? Clark Builders , construction managers for a new pool building at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton in 2009, hired a subcontractor to dig the foundation pilings.  Clark had failed to locate underground water mains before digging began, and the subcontractor  hit a water main.  This released around 12 million litres of chlorinated water into the North Saskatchewan River, waters known to have the greatest diversity of fish species of any river in... Read Full Story