Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan and Oakville's Health Protection Air Quality Initiatives Implementation Update
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REPORT COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: AUGUST 9, 2011 FROM: Environmental Policy DATE: July 25, 2011 SUBJECT: Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan and Oakville's Health Protection Air Quality Initiatives Implementation Update LOCATION: Town wide WARD: Town wide Page 1 RECOMMENDATION: 1. That the report on Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan and Oakville Health Protection Air Quality Initiatives Implementation Update, dated July 25, 2011, be received; 2. That a multi-year prioritized road shoulder paving program, be referred to the town’s annual capital budget review process for consideration; 3. That the Region of Halton be requested to consider implementing road shoulder paving of regional roads in the Oakville-Clarkson area as recommended in the Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan including Ford Drive from Sheridan Garden Drive to Upper Middle Road and Ninth Line from Upper Middle Road northerly; and 4. That a copy of this report be provided to the Honourable Dalton McGuinty, Premier, the Honourable John Wilkinson, Minister of the Environment, the local Members of Provincial Parliament, MPPs Kevin Flynn, Ted Chudleigh and Charles Sousa, and to the Regions of Halton and Peel, and City of Mississauga. KEY FACTS: The following are key points for consideration with respect to this report: • An overview of the Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan (OCAAP) implementation progress by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and the town is provided. • The Province is working with the federal, and other provincial and territorial governments on a new collaborative air management approach to better protect human health and the environment. COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE From: Environmental Policy Date: July 25, 2011 Subject: Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan and Oakville's Health Protection Air Quality Initiatives Implementation Update Page 2 • The town is addressing nine OCAAP recommendations including actions related to dust control, fleet greening, public transit, planning and land use, the Health Protection Air Quality By-law (HPAQB) and outreach and education. • For improved dust control, a multi-year road shoulder paving program is recommended for roads with unpaved shoulders in the Oakville-Clarkson area. • A brief update on the implementation of the HPAQB is provided. • The town remains committed to protecting the health of its residents by implementing the OCAAP recommendations and other initiatives to improve air quality in Oakville. BACKGROUND: On November 24, 2009, the province appointed Dr. David Balsillie to develop a comprehensive action plan that would lead to reduced emissions from local industry, traffic, residences, and transboundary sources, and improve air quality in the Southwest GTA. To assist in the development of the action plan, Dr. Balsillie formed a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) involving local representatives of municipalities, health units, industry, and local community groups. On June 24, 2010, the Southwest GTA Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan (OCAAP) was issued. The Southwest GTA OCAAP proposed 35 recommendations for actions aimed at preventing air pollution as well as abating emissions by every sector in the community. The report is available on the Ministry of the Environment’s website at http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/publications/7651e.pdf. On August 30, 2010, Council passed a resolution regarding the OCAAP calling for a moratorium on further development of the proposed Oakville Generating Station until actions were taken to address the risk to the health of residents living in the overtaxed Oakville-Clarkson airshed (OCA) from fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and other air emissions. On October 7, 2010, the Provincial Government announced the cancellation of proposed Oakville Generating Station. On October 20, 2010, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) announced the intent to create a new collaborative air management approach to better protect human health and the environment. The Air Quality Management System (AQMS) seeks to establish regionally coordinated airsheds and airzones to better manage air quality in Canada. COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE From: Environmental Policy Date: July 25, 2011 Subject: Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan and Oakville's Health Protection Air Quality Initiatives Implementation Update Page 3 On November 15, 2010, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) responded positively to the town’s request for a provincial review of the policy framework with regard to PM2.5 and indicated it would take 15 to 18 months to complete their review. On December 20, 2010, Council approved transitional implementation of certain sections of the Health Protection Air Quality By-law 2010-035 until the MOE review of PM2.5 was completed allowing staff to participate in all consultative activities around these provincial and federal reviews. The purpose of the by-law can then be considered in relation to the outcomes of these MOE reviews. On January 20, 2011, Council approved support for the Oakville-Clarkson airshed as the first pilot airzone in the regionally coordinated airshed management system, with commitment to actively engage in consultative activities around this initiative. The town remains committed to implement initiatives to improve air quality in Oakville and to address the recommendations for municipal actions in the Oakville- Clarkson Airshed Action Plan (OCAAP). This report provides an overview on progress in the implementation of air initiatives by the Ministry of the Environment and the town in the Oakville-Clarkson area. COMMENT/OPTIONS: Since Council nominated the Oakville-Clarkson airshed as the first pilot airzone for regional airshed management, staff has met with the MOE on several occasions to update and coordinate efforts to implement the OCAAP recommendations and establish a pilot airzone. The initial meeting was on February 17, 2011 with town staff. Since then, the MOE has organized a series of meetings (one in May, two in June and the next one will be on August 10) to discuss details of the pilot airzone, by inviting staff from the Regions of Halton and Peel Public Health Departments, the Town of Oakville, and the City of Mississauga, residents and local community groups in Oakville and Mississauga, the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, and industry representatives from Ford of Canada, Suncor Energy Inc. and Holcim (Canada) Inc. MOE Initiatives Air Quality Management System (AQMS) As announced by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment on October 20, 2010, the MOE has been working with the federal government, other provinces and territories on a new national approach to air management - the Air Quality Management System (AQMS). COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE From: Environmental Policy Date: July 25, 2011 Subject: Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan and Oakville's Health Protection Air Quality Initiatives Implementation Update Page 4 The AQMS builds on the proposed Comprehensive Air Management System (CAMS) as a new national approach to managing air quality, based on an April 2010 framework. The five main elements of AQMS are to: 1. Establish airshed coordination across Canada (federal lead); 2. Develop regional/local airzone management (provincial lead); 3. Review and update Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS); 4. Create base-level industrial emissions requirements (BLIERs) for major industrial sectors; and 5. Address transportation emissions by aligning the federal standards for transportation sources. The major system elements are expected to be developed by 2011 with implementation beginning in 2013. Consultations for CAAQS and BLIERs are currently in progress involving multi- stakeholder groups facilitated by the Canadian Environmental Network (RCEN). Also, a formal stakeholder advisory group was formed by representatives from environmental and health non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and industry. Information on these initiatives and the consultative process can be found at http://www.ccme.ca/assets/pdf/cams_proposed_framework_e.pdf and http://rcen.ca/public-participation/environment-canada-multi-stakeholder- consultation-series-to-finalize-elements-o. Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan (OCAAP) In January 2011, the Minister of the Environment, restated the Ministry’s commitment to continually improving air quality in Ontario and extended an invitation for municipalities to work with the provincial government, especially with the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) to implement OCAAP recommendations in the Oakville- Clarkson airshed. This correspondence is included in Appendix A. A number of OCAAP recommendations align with the concepts of the Air Quality Management System and airzones. The following summarizes several key recommendations and the actions taken by the MOE to date: • Develop and implement a new form of governance and an Airshed Management System in the Oakville-Clarkson airshed (Recommendations 1 and 2) Since the town and the City of Mississauga formally nominated the Oakville- Clarkson airshed as the pilot for regional airshed management (on January 20, COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE From: Environmental Policy Date: July 25, 2011 Subject: Oakville-Clarkson Airshed Action Plan and Oakville's Health Protection Air Quality Initiatives Implementation Update Page 5 2011 and March 23, 2011, respectively), town staff met with the MOE and other stakeholders on several occasions to discuss details on what would be involved and the way forward to establish a pilot airzone. The meetings