Small Things Matter Annual Report 2014/2015 Supplement Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Annual Report Supplement 2014/2015 ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................... v SECTION 1 ................................................................................................................... 1 REVIEWS OF SELECT DECISIONS ON ACTS, REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND INSTRUMENTS ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs ..................................................................... 2 1.1.1 Regulatory Framework for the Application of Greenhouse Nutrient Feedwater to Agricultural Land …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2 1.1.2 Revisions to the Noxious Weeds List ............................................................................................. 13 1.2 Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change ............................................................... 22 1.2.1 Orders to Provide Financial Assurance and Remove Woodwaste from a Closed Sawmill Site ...... 22 1.2.2 Regulatory Framework for the Application of Greenhouse Nutrient Feedwater to Agricultural Land ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………28 1.2.3 8th Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health ............... 29 1.2.4 New Regulations to Enable Continued Research in the Experimental Lakes Area ........................ 43 1.2.5 Introduction of the Living List Framework under the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009 .......................... 49 1.2.6 Water Taking and Transfers: Implementing Ontario’s Commitments under the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement ................................................. 61 1.3 Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry ........................................................................ 74 1.3.1 Policy Guidance on “Harm and Harass” under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 .......................... 74 1.3.2 Range Management Policy in Support of Caribou Conservation and Recovery ............................ 84 1.3.3 Ontario Protected Areas Planning Manual 2014 Edition and Planning Guidelines ........................ 99 1.3.4 Presqu’ile Provincial Park Management Plan Amendment ......................................................... 109 1.3.5 Government Response Statements for Species at Risk ............................................................... 116 1.3.6 Expansion of Wild Turkey Hunting Opportunities....................................................................... 126 1.3.7 Black Bear Management Pilot Project ......................................................................................... 133 1.3.8 New Regulation Prescribing Habitat for Five Species at Risk ....................................................... 147 SECTION 2 ............................................................................................................... 159 REVIEWS OF APPLICATIONS FOR REVIEW ................................................................ 159 2.1 Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs ................................................................. 160 i Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Annual Report Supplement 2014/2015 2.1.1 Soil Management in Agricultural Operations .............................................................................. 160 2.2 Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change ............................................................. 161 2.2.1 Classification of Chromium-Containing Waste as Hazardous ...................................................... 161 2.2.2 Air Pollution Hot Spots Regulatory Reform ................................................................................ 164 2.2.3 Providing for Stays Pending Decisions on Leave to Appeal Applications under the EBR ............. 167 2.2.4 Review of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 ........................................................................ 169 2.2.5 Regulations Related to Hydraulic Fracturing ............................................................................... 171 2.2.6 IC&I Source Separation Programs ............................................................................................... 172 2.2.7 Amendments to Waste Disposal Site Provisions under the EPA .................................................. 173 2.2.8 Regulation of Compromised Soil ................................................................................................. 174 2.2.9 Amendments to the OWRA and its Wells Regulation .................................................................. 175 2.2.10 Notifying the Public of Sewage Bypasses at Wastewater Treatment Plants .............................. 176 2.2.11 Soil Management in Agricultural Operations ............................................................................. 177 2.3 Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing ........................................................................ 178 2.3.1 Regulation of Compromised Soil ................................................................................................. 178 2.3.2 Soil Management in Agricultural Operations .............................................................................. 179 2.4 Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry ...................................................................... 180 2.4.1 Regulations Related to Hydraulic Fracturing .............................................................................. 180 SECTION 3 ............................................................................................................... 181 REVIEWS OF APPLICATIONS FOR INVESTIGATION ................................................... 181 3.1 Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change ............................................................. 182 3.1.1 Abandoned Wood Disposal Site.................................................................................................. 182 3.1.2 Facility Operating without Environmental Compliance Approval ................................................ 183 3.1.3 Bird Injury and Death Caused by Reflected Light ......................................................................... 187 3.1.4 Compliance of Richmond Landfill Site with its Public Notification Plan ....................................... 193 3.1.5 Groundwater Contamination from a Landfill .............................................................................. 198 3.1.6 Discharge of Contaminated Water from a Municipal Drain ........................................................ 205 ii Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Annual Report Supplement 2014/2015 3.1.7 Violation of a Landfill’s Environmental Compliance Approval ..................................................... 210 3.1.8 Clarington Transformer Station Environmental Assessment ...................................................... 214 3.1.9 Illegal Waste Disposal ................................................................................................................. 220 3.2 Technical Standards & Safety Authority ........................................................................... 221 3.2.1 Abandoned Wood Disposal Site ................................................................................................. 221 SECTION 4 ................................................................................................................ 225 SELECT SIGNIFICANT ISSUES .................................................................................... 225 4.1 Making Polluters Pay: Collecting Adequate Financial Assurance for Environmental Rehabilitation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………226 4.2 Systemic Insecticides: A Primer .................................................................................................... 232 4.3 A Problem Too Big to Ignore: Microplastics in the Great Lakes ..................................................... 240 4.4 Implementation of Ontario’s Plan to Conserve Biodiversity ...........................................................247 4.5 When Darkness Doesn’t Fall: The Ecological Importance of Nighttime Darkness in Ontario ......... 256 4.6 The Ecological Impacts of Waterpower Projects on Fish Passage ................................................. 262 iii Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Annual Report Supplement 2014/2015 Select citations have been provided in this Supplement to the Annual Report. They are intended to help readers understand where the information the ECO cites comes from and to assist them in investigating an issue further should they be interested. Citations may be provided for: quotes; statistics; data points; and obscure or controversial information. Footnotes for these facts are generally only included if the source is not otherwise made clear in the body of the text and if the information cannot be easily verified. iv Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Annual Report Supplement 2014/2015 ABBREVIATIONS Legislation Terms and Titles EAA Environmental Assessment Act AOC Areas of Concern EBR Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 BMPs Beneficial Management Practices EPA Environmental Protection Act CAZ Contaminant Attenuation Zone ESA Endangered Species Act, 2007 COA Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great FWCA Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem 1997