Contents 1 2010/2011 Articles 2 2009/2010 Articles 3 2008/2009 Articles 4 2007/2008 Articles 5 2006/2007 Articles 6 2005/2006 Articles 7 2004/2005 Articles 8 2003/2004 Articles 9 2002/2003 Articles 10 2001/2002 Articles 11 2000/2001 Articles 12 1999/2001 Articles 13 Air Quality in Ontario 13.1 The Environmental Protection Act 13.2 ECO Reports

2010/2011 Articles

2009/2010 Articles

• Not Airtight: Amendments to Ontario’s Air Quality Regulation

• How’s the Air on Your Street?

• The Potential Impacts of Electricity Projects on the Environment

2008/2009 Articles

• Too Close for Comfort: Separation Distances between Industrial Facilities and Residences

• Air Pollution: Hot Spots, Soot, Dust and Smoke

2007/2008 Articles

• Air Quality Monitoring and Reporting in Ontario – Fostering a False Sense of Security

• Ground Level Ozone and PM2.5

• Dofasco KOBM Meltshop

• Black sooty fallout events in northeast Hamilton

• Burning of Used Oil in Space Heaters is Banned in Southern Ontario

• Developing an Odour Policy Framework

2006/2007 Articles

• Creating a sustainable transportation system, or Paving over the landscape?

• Portlands Energy Centre

• Interesting instruments on the Registry: Waste Pelletization

2005/2006 Articles

• Ontario Regulation 419/05 (Air Pollution – Local Air Quality)
• Ontario’s Industry Emissions Trading System for Nitrogen Oxides and Sulphur Dioxide

2004/2005 Articles

• MOE Plans to Control Industrial Air Emissions

2003/2004 Articles

2002/2003 Articles

• Ontario's Anti-Smog Action Plan

2001/2002 Articles

• Monitoring and Reporting of Emissions of Airborne Contaminants: O.Reg. 127/01

• Emissions Reduction Trading and NOx and SO2 Emission Limits for the Electricity Sector: O. Reg. 397/01

• Emission Limits: The Lakeview Thermal Generating Station

• Review of the SWARU Incinerator

• Air Emissions and Odours from Cabinet Manufacturing

2000/2001 Articles

• Air Issues 2001 Update

1999/2001 Articles

• Air Pollution and Electricity Restructuring

This is an overview of the ECO's past reporting on air quality regulation in Ontario. Click here for more information about the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and our activities.

Air Quality in Ontario

The quality of the air Ontarians breathe is a vital issue of public health. Reports estimate that, in 2005, more than 29 million minor illnesses, 59,000 emergency room visits, 16,000 hospital admissions and more than 5,800 premature deaths in Ontario were caused by smog. As of 2008, the number of annual premature deaths caused by smog has risen to 9,500. The environmental, health care and societal costs of smog to the Ontario economy have been estimated to be in the billions annually. Unless air quality improves, these numbers will continue to rise.

Over the last decade, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has made numerous changes and undertaken several new initiatives related to the air quality regulatory framework in Ontario. Consequently, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) has discussed air quality issues and initiatives in many of its Annual Reports, as described below.

The Environmental Protection Act

Starting in the mid-1970s, facilities that generated air emissions were required to comply with Regulation 346 (General – Air Pollution) made under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). Regulation 346 required facility owners to assess, for each contaminant, how diluted the emissions from their facilities would be once they reached either an off-site location or the nearest human receptor, using a mathematical model called an air dispersion model. Facility owners then compared the modeled concentrations against the list of air standards in the regulation and guidelines. However, this regulatory framework for industrial air emissions was considered to have many weaknesses. In particular, the framework relied on outdated air standards and dispersion models, which meant that the environment was not always adequately protected. Further, because approvals for industrial facilities were not subject to automatic periodic reviews or updates, some older facilities were permitted to operate under very outdated requirements.

In 1996, MOE launched a three-year plan to develop or update a variety of air, water, soil and sediment standards, with priority given to air standards. In our 1998 Annual Report, Open Doors, the ECO reviewed this plan.

ECO Reports

In our 1999/2000 Annual Report, Changing Perspectives, the ECO reviewed MOE’s Environmental Standards plan, a revised version of the proposed three-year plan for standard setting. MOE made changes to the 1996 plan in response to negative feedback from stakeholders on the earlier proposal.

In our 2000/2001 Annual Report, Having Regard, the ECO published an extensive update on air quality regulation in Ontario. Among other things, the ECO reviewed the Ontario Drive Clean program, MOE’s new strategy for controlling industrial emissions, and MOE’s new approach for setting standards for air contaminants. The ECO also described a number of new air quality initiatives proposed by MOE.

In our 2001/2002 Annual Report, Developing Sustainability, the ECO reviewed several new air quality initiatives implemented by MOE, as well as revisions made to existing ministry programs. In particular, we reviewed a new regulation made under the EPA, O.Reg. 397/01 (Emissions Trading), which established sector-wide caps on airborne emissions of NOx and SO2 from the electricity sector.

That year also included a review of another new regulation made under the EPA: O. Reg. 127/01 (Airborne Contaminant Discharge Monitoring and Reporting). Under O. Reg. 127/01, facilities in the electricity generation, industrial, municipal and institutional sectors would be required to monitor and report their emissions of airborne contaminants. Facilities’ air quality reports would be made available to the public.

In 2002 the ECO also examined changes made to Ontario’s Drive Clean Program and its regulations, a program intended to address vehicle emissions.

In our 2002/2003 Annual Report, Thinking Beyond the Near and Now, the ECO provided an update on MOE’s Airborne Contaminant Discharge Monitoring and Reporting program. The ECO was troubled to find that not all facilities subject to the reporting requirements had been submitting reports. This report also includes reviews of changes to MOE’s Air Quality Index.

In June of 2004, responding to pressure to update its air quality regulatory framework, MOE posted several new policy proposals on the Environmental Registry. These proposals related to three issues that had been highlighted in previous ECO Annual Reports: new air dispersion guidelines, a guideline to implement a new set of air standards in Ontario; and updates to Ontario’s regulatory framework for local air quality. Also in June 2004, MOE solicited public comments on proposals for new or updated air standards for 28 pollutants and finalized one decision on a standard for n-hexane. In our 2003/2004 Annual Report, Choosing our Legacy, the ECO observed that MOE intended to make the upgrade of its air dispersion models and its air standards a higher priority, and urged MOE to implement the policy changes promptly. The ECO also noted that MOE should continue to involve the public in the process.

MOE was confronted with a variety of concerns from industry and environmental groups over MOE’s proposed plans to change Ontario’s industrial emissions framework. Industry was worried that the initiative would further bog down the ministry’s approval process. Environmental groups, on the other hand, believed that the ministry’s choices of trigger points were not stringent enough. In order to address these issues raised by the two stakeholder groups, MOE proposed a staggered introduction of the new rules and a number of other changes. The ECO conducted a detailed review of these changes in our 2004/2005 Annual Report, Planning our Landscape.

In August of 2005, MOE completed the significant reforms to its regulatory framework for industrial air emissions. The new approach to industrial emission standards was finalized as O. Reg. 419/05, replacing Regulation 346. Under O. Reg. 419/05, new “effects based” air standards were introduced, more accurate dispersion models were implemented, and more detailed emissions reporting was required.

In our 2005/2006 Annual Report, Neglecting our Obligations, we reported on O. Reg. 419/05 and Ontario’s updated regulatory framework for local air quality, hilighting several important improvements, and also recommending some specific actions.

In our 2006/2007 Annual Report, Reconciling our Priorities, the ECO described an application submitted to the ECO for review of the Certificate of Approval (Air) (“C of A”) for the Portlands Energy Centre, an electricity generating station under construction on the eastern lakeshore of the City of Toronto. One of the applicants’ concerns was that MOE did not adequately take into account the cumulative effect of air pollutants (i.e., the emissions generated from the facility, plus background concentrations of contaminants) when approving the C of A and, therefore, that the approvals process does not sufficiently protect the health of Ontario communities.

In our 2007/2008 Annual Report, Getting to K(No)w, the ECO reported on a similar application for review of three Cs of A (Air) issued to ArcelorMittel Dofasco Inc. The applicants asserted that years of visible emissions from the facility, ongoing problems with sooty particulate deposition in nearby neighbourhoods, and a lack of appropriate response from MOE and Dofasco led them to request a review. In addition to concerns about the lack of cumulative effects assessment, the applicants were concerned that the company’s Cs of A were out of date and that MOE has no protocol for regular reviewing or updating of Cs of A.

Also in 2008, the ECO raised concerns about the adequacy of Ontario’s AQI program as a means to informing the public about local air quality conditions. The ECO noted that air quality at street-level, which can be influenced by local sources such as industrial and transportation emissions, can differ significantly from the ambient (average) air upon which MOE’s AQI reports are based.

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Click here for more information about the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and our activities.