Ontario online registry for environmental permits

Ontario's Regulation 1/17 replaces Environmental Compliance Approval permit with an online risk based environmental approvals program for select facilities

The Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) is a risk-based environmental approvals program, requiring businesses to register prescribed activities in the EASR instead of obtaining an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA). The EASR is an online self-registration system implemented by the MECP and is part of Ontario's Business Growth Initiative to reduce unnecessary regulatory requirements, eliminate duplication and improve the delivery of government services.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP), formerly known as the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) has finalized changes to EASR, which allows facilities to register under an Air & Noise EASR, removing the requirement for a facility to obtain an ECA, formerly Certificate of Approval (C of A), under Section 9 of the Environmental Protection Act. The changes allow low-to-medium risk facilities to register through EASR, providing that the facility maintains an accurate and up-to-date Emission Summary and Dispersion Modelling (ESDM) Report and Acoustic Assessment Report (AAR) that have been reviewed and certified by a professional engineer.

By applying for registration under the Air & Noise EASR, a facility is able to self-approve changes in the future and is not required to submit an ECA (C of A) Application to the MECP for approval. The ESDM Report and AAR do not need to be submitted to the MECP (MOECC) but must be signed and sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario (P.Eng.).

After January 31, 2017, new and existing facilities that make modifications are required to register their activities under the Air and Noise EASR. By January 31, 2027, existing ECAs issued for any activity to which this regulation is applicable, will cease to apply.

Facilities that are excluded from the new EASR based on NAICS Codes are Schedule 4 and 5 Facilities and other NAICS Codes that are considered high-risk or complex. The full list of NAICS Codes excluded from the regulation are summarized below:

Additional specific activities excluded from the regulation which are also not eligible for registration in the EASR include: 

1.  Activities engaged in at a Facility whose primary NAICS code begins with 3212 (Veneer, plywood and engineered wood product manufacturing), except 321211 (Hardwood veneer and plywood mills)
2. An activity engaged in at a facility where at least one of the following takes place:
• Land disposal of waste
• Thermal treatment of waste, other than fuel in a small wood-fired combustor installed at the facility on or after January 31, 2017
• Use of a wood-fired combustor, except if it's a small wood-fired combustor installed at the facility on or after January 31, 2017 that exclusively burns one or more of:
• Wood briquettes*
• Wood chips*
• Wood pellets*
• * that meet the specifications set out in Chapter 5 of the EASR publication
• Plating processes that use cadmium, cyanide, chromium, or nickel
• Electrolytic stripping process that removes cadmium, chromium, or nickel
• Outdoor metal processing, including torching, shearing, shredding, or plasma cutting, except routine maintenance
• Operation of an alternative low-carbon fuel site as described in Ontario Regulation 79/15
• Operation of an end-of-life vehicle waste disposal site as described in Ontario Regulation 85/16
• Operation of a fossil-fuel electric power generation facility with a maximum output ≥25 MW
• Operation of a combustion sources that uses biogas, biomass, coal, petroleum coke, or waste as fuel, or that uses fuel derived from biogas, biomass, coal, petroleum coke, or waste, except the operation of a small wood-fired combustor installed at the facility on or after January 31, 2017 and that exclusively uses on of the fuels described in item 4, above
• Use of a combustion turbine
3. An activity engaged in at a facility if a landfilling site that is no longer permitted to accept waste is located on the site
4. An activity engaged in at a facility if a site-specific air standard is or has been set under section 35 of Ontario Regulation 419/05 for a contaminant emitted from the facility
5. An activity engaged in at a facility if they are or have been previously registered in the Ministry's Technical Standards Registry under section 39 of Ontario Regulation 419/05
6. A discrete activity involving the use of mobile equipment to be moved from one site to another to perform the same function at each site (e.g. mobile rock crushing equipment, mobile PCB destruction equipment)
7. An activity engaged in at a facility that is located on a property that is one of a group of properties deemed to be a single property under subsection 4(2) of Ontario Regulation 419/05
8. An activity exempt from subsection 9(1) of the Act, other than an activity exempt by operation of subsection 9(4) of the Act

How can GHD help?

We can help determine if your facility is eligible for an Assessed Air and Noise EASR Registration or needs to apply for an Air and Noise ECA. 

Need additional assistance? Our Air and Noise team also offers the following services:

• ECA Permit Applications
• AERMOD air dispersion modelling
• Emission inventories
• Acoustic Assessment Reports
• Environmental Noise Modelling using CADNA
• Acoustic Audits
• Long-term (background / ambient) Noise monitoring
• Road traffic noise modelling
• Noise Abatement Program Design and implementation
• Odour Impact Assessments and Community Monitoring Programs
• Source testing and monitoring programs
• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Indoor Noise Exposure Assessments
• Land-use Compatibility and Impact Assessments (Dust, Odour and Noise)
• Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting and Verification
• National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) and Reg.127 Reporting

Please contact a GHD Air & Noise Associate to determine how we can help.

Erik Martinez, P.Eng., C.E.M.
T: 519 340 4213 | M: 519 807 8786 | Erik.Martinez@ghd.com

Matthew Griffin, P.Eng.
T: 519 340-3794 | Matthew.Griffin@ghd.com