Copyright 2011, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Environmental Law, May 2011
On July 1, 2011, the new Ontario "Brownfields" rules and standards take effect. Enacted, but suspended since December 2009, the amendments to Ontario's contaminated sites remediation regulation represents the latest update to the province's environmental soil and groundwater standards, site assessment procedures and risk assessment rules, to name but a few notable changes.
The existing Ontario Brownfields regulation is named the "Records of Site Condition" regulation (O. Reg. 153/04) after the official record that is available to landowners who wish or need to document a site assessment or remediation that is compliant with the regulation, for the purposes of filing the record with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Such a filing may be required of the landowner by municipal building and land use authorities before certain land use changes can proceed or it may be required by purchasers and lending establishments in order ensure that the site is environmentally clean and to obtain the legal protection from further remediation obligations that is available under the regulations and its enabling statute, the Environmental Protection Act.
An overview of the current Ontario Brownfields regime, including the changes that take effect this July, entitled Brownfields Reform in Ontario, written by Robert Fishlock and published by Canada Law Book as part of Key Developments in Environmental Law 2010, can be accessed here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
