Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECA) & Permits

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Environmental Compliance Approvals & Permits

Do you own or operate a facility? Whether Industrial, Commercial, or Institutional, chances are you will need a regulatory approval prior to construction, building modifications, adding new equipment, or process changes.

We provide the following services:

Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECA)
Environmental Activity Sector Registry (EASR)
Emission Summary and Dispersion Modelling Report (ESDM)
Acoustic Assessment Report (AAR)
Vibration Assessment Report (VAR)
Odour BMPP (Best Management Practices Plan for Industrial Sources of Odour)
Fugitive Dust BMPP (Best Management Practices Plan for Industrial Fugitive Dust Sources)

Rubidium’s environmental experts have a strong working relationship with local regulators; We can help you prepare complete and detailed applications that result in a more timely approvals process. Our staff come from industrial backgrounds and have experience commissioning a wide variety of plants and processes. We will provide you with a feasible, cost-effective strategy to successfully implement changes that comply with the MOECC’s regulations.

To start moving your company towards achieving compliance through obtaining your Environmental Compliance Approval, please fill out the form or call us at (905) 635-4063.

Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECA)

In order to obtain an ECA from the MOECP, a complete application needs to be submitted, which includes:

Environmental Compliance Approval Application Form
Emission Summary and Dispersion Modelling Report (ESDM)
Noise Screening or Acoustic Assessment Report (AAR)
Payment of MOECP fees

More Details

The Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) process is similar to the former Certificate of Approval (CofA), which has been phased out. In fact, any Certificate of Approval that is currently still valid will have been converted into an Environmental Compliance Approval in the eyes of the MOECP.

Essentially, every business/facility that creates a discharge to the natural environment requires an Environmental Compliance Approval. The Ontario Environmental Protection Act stipulates that:

No person shall, except under and in accordance with an environmental compliance approval:

use, operate, construct, alter, extend or replace any plant, structure, equipment, apparatus, mechanism or thing that may discharge or from which may be discharged a contaminant into any part of the natural environment other than water; or
alter a process or rate of production with the result that a contaminant may be discharged into any part of the natural environment other than water or the rate or manner of discharge of a contaminant into any part of the natural environment other than water may be altered

Simply put: if you generate a release to air, your facility will likely require an Environmental Compliance Approval.

Environmental Compliance Approvals - Ontario Business Graph - Rubidium Environmental Consultants

The ECA Process

The MOECC maintains a 46-page form that must be completed with every application. It includes various administrative information about the facility, contact information, and a description of the nature of the operations.

The Emission Summary and Dispersion Modelling report is the bulk of the application. It details the emissions inventory of the facility which breaks down all substances & chemicals released onsite, and the processes or operations which release them. Its objective is to show the impact of these contaminants off-property. In order to facilitate this, a model of the facility must be created which shows the location (typically stack location) of the discharge points, and the conditions under which the contaminants are released (discharge velocity, temperature, etc.). Once the emission rates and locations have been specified, an atmospheric chemistry dispersion model must be run. The modeling uses local meteorological data to predict the impact of emissions from the facility at the property line.

In O. Reg 419/05, the MOECC has specified air quality limits for most common contaminants discharged. In cases where no standards, or guideline values exist, a request for toxicology review must be included with the Environmental Compliance Approval application. The MOECC will assess the predicted off-property impact and determine if it possesses any health risks prior to granting Environmental Compliance Approval.

Environmental Acoustic Assessment Report (AAR)

Environmental Compliance Approval applications also require completion of the noise screening form, or a completed Acoustic Assessment Report. Environmental noise in Ontario is regulated by NPC-300, which stipulates allowable off-property noise impacts. The regulation defines “sensitive receptors” such as houses, schools, daycares, churches, hospitals, hotel/motel, etc.; essentially, areas where people will be occupying/congregating for extended periods of time to enjoy the space.

If there are no sensitive receptors close to your facility, then typically completion of the screening form is sufficient. However, depending on the nature of operations at your facility, if there is a sensitive receptor located nearby (typically 300-1000m), then a complete Acoustic Assessment Report (AAR) is required. AAR’s require that any noise generated be modelled for its impact at the nearby sensitive receptor. The results of the noise modeling are compared against NPC-300 guidelines which establish criteria for day, evening, and nighttime hours that must be met.

Lastly, depending on the number and type of operations at your facility, the MOECC will require you pay a fee directly to offset the cost of their review.

Environmental Activity Sector Registry (EASR)

For most businesses in Ontario, an EASR will be required to ensure environmental compliance. it is an environmental instrumented that demonstrates a facility can comply with the provincial air quality through what is known as an Emission Summary & Dispersion Modelling Report, and noise limits through an Acoustic Assessment Report.

More Details

Below is a list of equipment and operations that are currently eligible to be EASR registered:

Comfort heating systems (O. Reg 346/12)
Automotive Refinishing (O. Reg 346/12)
Standby Power Systems O. Reg 346/12)
Small ground-mounted solar systems (O. Reg 350/12)
Lithographic, screen and digital printing (O. Reg 349/12)
Non-hazardous waste transportation systems (O. Reg 351/12)

Verification that the activity meets the EASR eligibility requirements as set out in the regulation is the first step in the EASR process. If it is determined that the activity is eligible, then the activity can be registered online. Registering equipment takes places through the Ontario government’s Service Ontario portal. Once completed, an electronic confirmation is issued.