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ARTICLE · 12 JULY 2007

Ontario Releases Final Environmental Penalties And Spills Prevention Regulations

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The Ontario Ministry of the Environment recently published final environmental penalties regulations under the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act and several related guidance documents.

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Sarah Powell
Sarah Powell
Katie Goldberg Zwick
Katie Goldberg Zwick
Alexandria Pike
Alexandria Pike
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The Ontario Ministry of the Environment ("MOE") recently published final environmental penalties ("EP") regulations under the Environmental Protection Act (the "EPA") and the Ontario Water Resources Act ("OWRA") (O. Reg. 222/07 and O. Reg. 223/07, respectively) and several related guidance documents. The regulations support the implementation of the EP provisions of the Environmental Enforcement Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005 (known as "Bill 133"), which allow the MOE to impose monetary penalties in response to unlawful spills and discharges and related violations under the EPA and OWRA. The EP regulations apply to facilities in the nine Municipal/Industrial Strategy for Abatement ("MISA") industrial sectors and similar facilities that discharge sewage to surface watercourses or private sewage works.

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