Notice of approval

Proponent: Township of Algonquin Highlands
Environmental assessment (EA) file number: EA-03-08-02

Take notice that the period for requiring a hearing, provided for in the Notice of Completion of the ministry Review for the above-noted undertaking, expired on July 9, 2010.

I received no submissions requesting a hearing by the Environmental Review Tribunal.

I consider a hearing to be unnecessary in this case. Having considered the purpose of the Environmental Assessment Act, the approved Terms of Reference, the environmental assessment, the ministry Review of the environmental assessment and submissions received, I hereby give approval to proceed with the undertaking, subject to conditions set out below.

Reasons

My reasons for giving approval are:

  1. The proponent has complied with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act.
  2. The environmental assessment has been prepared in accordance with the approved Terms of Reference.
  3. On the basis of the proponent’s environmental assessment and the ministry Review, the proponent’s conclusion that, on balance, the advantages of this undertaking outweigh its disadvantages appears to be valid
  4. No other beneficial alternative method of implementing the undertaking was identified.
  5. The proponent has demonstrated that the environmental effects of the undertaking can be appropriately prevented, changed, mitigated or remedied.
  6. On the basis of the proponent’s environmental assessment, the ministry Review and the conditions of approval, the construction, operation and maintenance of the undertaking will be consistent with the purpose of the Environmental Assessment Act (section 2).
  7. The government, public and Aboriginal community review of the environmental assessment has indicated no outstanding concerns that have not been addressed or that cannot be addressed through commitments made during the environmental assessment process, through the conditions set out below, or through future approvals that will be required.I am not aware of any outstanding issues with respect to this undertaking which suggest that a hearing should be required.

Conditions

The approval is subject to the following conditions:

1. Definitions

For the purposes of these conditions:

date of approval
means the date on which the Order in Council giving approval to proceed with the undertaking was approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
Director
means the Director of the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch.
EAAB
means the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch of the Ministry of the Environment.
environmental assessment
means the document titled "Township of Algonquin Highlands Waste Management Plan Environmental Assessment Report", dated February 24, 2010 as amended by the tables and maps included in the letter of May 11, 2010 from Cambrian Environmental Incorporated labelled as "Errata".
ministry
means the Ministry of the Environment.
public record
means the record required by section 30(1) of the Environmental Assessment Act to be maintained for this undertaking.
proponent
means the Township of Algonquin Highlands.
Regional Director
means the Director of the ministry’s Eastern Regional Office.
site
means Maple Lake Waste Disposal Site located at Part Lot 20, Concession 5 in the Geographic Township of Stanhope, on McPhail Road five kilometres east of Highway 35.
start of construction
means the commencement of physical construction activities to facilitate the operation of the expanded waste disposal site including, site preparation works, but does not include the tendering of contracts.
undertaking
means an expansion of 150,000 cubic metres of solid, non-hazardous, municipal waste landfill capacity at the site, as set out in the environmental assessment, for a total capacity of 197,000 cubic metres.

2. General requirements

  1. The proponent shall comply with the provisions in the environmental assessment which are hereby incorporated in this approval by reference except as provided in these conditions and as provided in any other approval or permit that may be issued for the site.
  2. These conditions do not prevent more restrictive conditions being imposed under other statutes.

3. Public record

  1. Where a document is required for the public record, the proponent shall provide two copies of the document to the Director: a copy for filing within the specific public record file maintained for the undertaking and a copy for staff use.
  2. Additional copies of all documents will be provided by the proponent for public access to the:
    1. Regional Director; and
    2. Township of Algonquin Highlands Municipal Office.
  3. The EAAB file number EA-03-08-02 shall be quoted on the document.
  4. These documents may also be provided through other means as considered appropriate by the proponent and agreed upon by the Director.

4. Compliance monitoring program for the environmental assessment

  1. The proponent shall prepare and submit to the Director a compliance monitoring program for the public record. The compliance monitoring program shall be submitted one year from the date of approval, or 60 days before the start of construction, whichever is earlier
  2. The compliance monitoring program shall describe how the proponent will monitor its fulfilment of the provisions of the environmental assessment pertaining to mitigation measures, public consultation, and additional studies and work to be carried out; and the fulfilment of all other commitments made by the proponent during the environmental assessment process and the conditions included in this Notice.
  3. The compliance monitoring program shall contain an implementation schedule.
  4. A statement shall accompany the compliance monitoring program when submitted to the Director, indicating that the program is intended to fulfil this condition.
  5. The compliance monitoring program, as it may be amended by the Director, must be carried out by the proponent.
  6. The proponent shall make the documentation available to the ministry or its designate upon request in a timely manner when so requested by the ministry during an on-site inspection, audit, or response to a pollution incident report or when information concerning compliance is requested by the ministry.

5. Compliance reporting for the environmental assessment

  1. The proponent shall prepare an annual compliance report which describes compliance with the conditions of approval set out in this Notice and which describes the results of the proponent’s compliance monitoring program required under Condition 4.
  2. The first annual compliance report shall be submitted to the Director for placement on the public record within one year of the date of approval, and subsequent annual compliance reports shall be submitted to the Director on or before the anniversary of that date. Annual compliance reports shall cover all activities of the previous calendar year.
  3. The proponent shall submit annual compliance reports until all conditions in this Notice have been satisfied or have been incorporated into any other ministry approval,
  4. Once all conditions in this Notice have beer. satisfied or have been incorporated into any other ministry approval, the proponent shall indicate in its annual compliance report all conditions in this Notice have been satisfied and that that annual compliance report is its final annual compliance report.
  5. The proponent shall retain either on site or in another location approved by the Director, copies of the annual compliance reports for each reporting year and any associated documentation of compliance monitoring activities.
  6. The proponent shall make the compliance reports and associated documentation available to the ministry or its designate upon request in a timely manner when so requested by the ministry.

6. Complaint protocol

  1. The proponent shall prepare and implement a complaint protocol setting out how it will deal with and respond to inquiries and complaints received during the construction and operation of the undertaking to the satisfaction of the Director.
  2. The proponent shall submit the protocol described in Condition 6.1 to the Director for placement in the public record within one year of the date of approval.
  3. A statement must accompany the protocol described in Condition 6.1 when submitted to the Director indicating that the protocol Is intended to fulfil this condition.

7. Technical/monitoring/other requirements

  1. The proponent shall implement the environmental monitoring plan set out in Section 10.0 of the EA, which specifies the following:
    1. the names and locations of surface water monitoring wells;
    2. the names and locations of groundwater monitoring wells
    3. the range of parameters which will be measured at each monitoring well; and
    4. a sampling frequency of twice per year (spring and autumn) for all monitoring locations, except Location LR-5 which has a sampling frequency of once per year for specified parameters.
  2. If it is determined that any of the monitoring wells described in Section 10.1 of the EA will be enveloped by the expanded landfill footprint, new suitable locations for such wells shall be chosen to the satisfaction of the Regional Director, and the wells shall be installed to the satisfaction of the Regional Director.
  3. The proponent shall submit the results of the environmental monitoring plan required by Condition 7.1 to the Director for the public record on an annual basis, with the first repott being due one year from date of approval with each report covering the monitoring performed during the previous calendar year.
  4. If the results of the monitoring measurements for the site for any parameters exceed the levels initially established in the EA's Appendix S - Numerical Hydrological Modelling Report for Expansion Feasibility of Maple Lake Waste Disposal Site, or if those levels have been recalculated per section 10.2.1 of the EA to the satisfaction of the Regional Director or designate, the most recent recalculation of those levels, the proponent shall implement the contingency plans set out in Section 10.2 of the EA to the satisfaction of the Regional Director.

8. Consultation with Aboriginal communities

  1. The proponent shall provide copies of the following documents to any Aboriginal community that has been contacted in respect of this undertaking and that has requested or may request such documents:
    1. construction plans for the undertaking, a minimum of 30 days before thestart of construction;
    2. notice of the start of construction, a minimum of seven days before the start of construction; and
    3. annual environmental monitoring reports.
  2. The proponent shall consider and respond in writing to any concerns regarding the undertaking raised by Aboriginal communities during implementation of the undertaking.
  3. If any archaeological resources of Aboriginal origin are found during the construction of the undertaking, or if any additional archaeological assessment reports are prepared in respect of the undertaking, the proponent shall:
    1. provide notice of the archaeological find or a copy of the report, as the case may be, to the Alderville First Nation, the Wahta Mohawks, and any Aboriginal community, including other Williams Treaties First Nations, considered likely to be interested or which has expressed an interest in receiving notice of archaeological finds and/or copies of archaeological assessment reports; and
    2. arrange and participate in any meeting requested by any interested Aboriginal community to discuss the archaeological assessment report or any archaeological find, as the case may be.
  4. The proponent shall include in its annual Compliance Monitoring Report a list of documents provided to specific Aboriginal communities during the subject year; details regarding any concerns raised by Aboriginal communities and how they have been considered; copies of any written comments received from Aboriginal communities during the subject year; and the proponent’s written response(s) to any concerns raised by Aboriginal communities during the subject year.

Dated the 9th day of March 2011 at Toronto.

Original signed by
Minister of Environment
77 Wellesley Street West, 11th floor, Ferguson Block
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2T5

Approved by O.C. number 389/2011
Date O.C. approved March 23, 2011