The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) is consulting on four new initiatives, including new guidelines and measures aimed at ensuring compliance with key environmental laws relevant to the development industry. These laws and initiatives are applicable to the land use planning process, affecting municipal decision-making, development guidelines and penalties for non-compliance. The four initiatives, in brief include:
- Providing better tools and creating clear guidelines for municipalities to make land use planning decisions that will reduce noise and odour impacts from industry
- Proposing guidance on how industrial facilities, development proponents and other members of the regulated community can anticipate, prevent, and address odour issues
- Updating the MECP environmental compliance policy to prioritize high-risk incidents and better hold polluters accountable
- Expanding administrative monetary penalties to cover approximately 150,000 regulated entities, including individuals, small businesses and large corporations, as well as public entities like municipalities and crown corporations
The complete bulletin can be found here: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-3268
Below is a brief summary of each initiative and its impact on land use planning. Consultation on the initiatives is underway and continues until July 3, 2021. Links to individual bulletins and comment mailboxes are provided in each summary.
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