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MARATHON, ON – May 14, 2012 – The Governments of Canada and Ontario have joined forces in the last major step in the plan to restore Peninsula Harbour to a safe, healthy state. Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. has been awarded the contract to complete the capping of historically contaminated sediment in the harbour, which is a Great Lakes Area of Concern. The $7.3 million sediment capping project will begin this month.

“The Government of Canada’s commitment to cleaning up the Great Lakes remains strong, which is why we are playing a lead role in the remediation of this problem and have committed $2.7 million to see this critical project completed at Peninsula Harbour,” said the Honourable Peter Kent, Canada’s Minister of the Environment. “We are proud to be using this innovative process to improve water quality in northern Ontario.”

Sediment in Peninsula Harbour is contaminated by mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) from historical discharges of wastewater and storm water runoff from the local pulp mill, which closed in 2009. A 15-20 centimetre layer of clean sand will be placed on top of the contaminated sediment. This will accelerate natural recovery of Jellicoe Cove in Peninsula Harbour by reducing plant, animal and fish exposure to chemicals in the sediment, and the spread of contaminated sediments from Jellicoe Cove to the rest of the harbour. This is the first time that a thin-layer capping will be used to manage contaminated sediments in Canada.

“This is a major milestone in dealing with the past pollution of Peninsula Harbour. We are working with our partners and the community to finish the job,” said the Honourable Jim Bradley, Ontario Minister of the Environment. “Ontario is committed to keeping the Great Lakes healthy now and for our children and grandchildren. That’s why we are working with environmental experts, industry, community groups, First Nations and Métis to develop and introduce a proposed Great Lakes Protection Act.”

“This project is going to have real benefits for the community of Marathon,” said the Honourable Michael Gravelle, Ontario Minister of Natural Resources. “This brings us closer to our vision of a clean and healthy ecosystem that Ontario families rely on.”

Ontario’s funding for the Peninsula Harbour sediment capping project includes a $3 million settlement from a former owner of the pulp mill, Ball Packaging Products Canada Corp., and $1.6 million in provincial funding.

“The prosperity of the Great Lakes region is of vital importance to North American prosperity,” added Bryan Hayes, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie, on behalf of Minister Kent. “Canadians depend on the Lakes for drinking water, for recreation and for jobs in the $7 billion per year Great Lakes fishing and shipping industries.”

Peninsula Harbour was identified as a Great Lakes Area of Concern in 1987 under the Canada–United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement because of high levels of chemicals in fish and sediment, loss of fish habitat, and lower populations of fish and sediment-dwelling organisms. The Area of Concern includes the Marathon waterfront and extends four kilometers into Lake Superior.

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LEARN MORE

Learn about the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.

Find out more about Areas of Concern and the remedial action planning process.

Learn about the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Get information on the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Great Lakes program.

Environment Canada

Adam Sweet, Press Secretary. Minister’s Office, 819-997-1441
Media Relations, Communications Branch, 819-934-8008

www.ec.gc.ca

Ministry of the Environment

David Oved, Minister’s Office, 416-314-6743
Kate Jordan, Communications Branch, 416-314-6666

ontario.ca/environment-news

Ministry of Natural Resources

Maya Gorham, Minister’s Office, 416-314-2198
Media Desk, Communications Services Branch, 416-314-2106

HAILEYBURY – On March 22, 2012, Carica Construction Inc. was convicted on two violations under the Environmental Protection Act. The charges relate to failing to report a spill of hydraulic oil.

The Court heard that the company is located in Sudbury. In 2008, the company was retained to build a new dam at the Ragged Chutes Generating Station on the Montreal River in The Township of Gillies Limit. During the construction of the new dam, the hydraulic fluid line on an excavator that the company was using burst and leaked hydraulic oil onto the ground.

The company cleaned up the spill and put the clean-up materials, consisting of contaminated gravel, sand and absorbent pads into the bucket of a loader where they remained overnight. The company’s health and safety supervisor oversaw the containment and clean-up of the spill. The supervisor failed to forthwith report the spill.

The company was charged following an investigation by the ministry’s Investigations and Enforcement Branch.

The company was fined a total of $75,000 plus victim fine surcharges and given one year to pay the fine.

This is the first conviction in Ontario for the offence of firing an employee because the employee complied with the Environmental Protection Act.

For further information:

Members of the media:
Kate Jordan
Communications Branch
(416) 314-6666

Contact information for the general public:
416-325-4000 or 1-800-565-4923

TORONTO – The Harper Government today announced, as part of Economic Action Plan 2012, its plan for Responsible Resource Development, which will streamline the review process for major economic projects. The plan was announced by the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, at Automatic Coating Limited in Toronto, which produces high-performance liquids and powder coating used on oil and gas pipelines in Canada and other countries.

“The Harper Government’s plan for Responsible Resource Development will create good, skilled, well-paying jobs in cities and communities across Canada, while maintaining the highest possible standards for protecting the environment,” said Minister Oliver. “It will help prevent the long delays in reviewing major economic projects that kill potential jobs and stall economic growth by putting valuable investment at risk.”

In 2010, the natural resource sectors employed more than 760,000 workers in communities throughout the country. The mining and energy sectors alone represent 10 percent of the Canadian economy and 40 percent of our exports. The potential for job creation and economic growth is enormous. In the next 10 years, more than 500 projects representing over $500 billion in new investments are proposed across Canada.

The Government’s plan for Responsible Resource Development has received a broad range of strong support across the country from Canadian business and labour leaders, including as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, and Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters.

Yves Thomas Dorval, President of the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ), is on record saying, “An important aspect of this budget […] is the simplification of the review process for large-scale natural resource projects. While still ensuring that the environment is protected, this review will now have a clearly defined timeline. The Employers’ Council believes that this is a winning formula for Quebec in situations where these reviews are necessary.” (News Release, March 29, 2012)

Robert Blakely, Director of Canadian Affairs for the Canadian Building Trades is also on record as supporting this major Government initiative, saying “the skilled tradespeople who go to work every day on large energy projects ought to benefit from the streamlining of the regulatory process. When we are workforce planning and training apprentices, having this kind of roadmap is invaluable. We support a system that is fair and rigorous for the environment — we also support a system that makes economic sense for workers and industry.” (News Release, March 29, 2012)

“The Harper Government is focused on jobs, growth and long-term prosperity,” said Minister Oliver. “The emerging economies in Asia and around the world provide the potential to create even more jobs and growth, now and for the next generation.”

The Harper Government will create jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity through Responsible Resource Development by:

• Moving toward a “one project, one review” system for reviews of major projects by recognizing provincial processes as substitutes or equivalents to federal ones as long as they meet the requirements under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act;
• Ensuring decisions by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency on whether a federal environmental assessment is required are made earlier in the process (within 45 days);
• Setting timelines for hearings and assessments, namely, 24 months for panel reviews, 18 months for National Energy Board hearings and 12 months for standard environmental assessments;
• Setting legally binding timelines for key regulatory permitting processes, including the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the Nuclear Safety and Control Act;
• Consolidating the number of organizations responsible for reviews from more than 40 to three: The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, the National Energy Board and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission;
• Focusing federal assessment efforts on major projects that can have significant environmental effects;
• For the first time, introducing enforceable environmental assessment decision statements under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. This means proponents of major projects will have to comply with conditions set out in the decision statements or may face tough financial penalties. The proposed penalties could range from $100,000 to $400,000;
• Requiring follow-up programs after all environmental assessments to verify the accuracy of the predictions regarding potential environmental effects and to determine if mitigation measures are working as intended;
• For the first time, providing federal inspectors with the authority to examine whether or not conditions of a decision statement are met;
• For the first time, authorizing the use of administrative monetary penalties for violations of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Nuclear Safety and Control Act and the National Energy Board Act. These penalties will be designed to address small contraventions quickly so that larger issues do not arise in the future. Further details on the penalties will be available once legislation is introduced;
• The proposed penalties could range from $25,000 to a maximum of $100,000 for violations of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, and the National Energy Board Act, while the range of penalties under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act will be established through regulations;
• Providing more than $35 million over two years for marine safety and $13.5 million over two years to strengthen pipeline safety, including regulations to strengthen the tanker safety regime and increasing the number of oil and gas pipeline inspections each year by 50 percent, from 100 to 150 inspections.

For more information, please visit: www.actionplan.gc.ca/responsibleresourcedevelopment