Certificates of Approval-air dispersion modeling

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Certificates of Approval (Air) for Air and Noise Emissions to the Environment for Facilities and Human Activities in Ontario

Introduction

Environmental (including human health) impacts for emissions of substances from "man-made" items or activities are governed by the Ontario Environmental Protection Act and therefore fall under Provincial jurisdiction. The purpose of the Act is "...to provide for the protection and conservation of the natural environment" by disallowing any person from "...discharge(ing) into the natural environment any contaminant, and no person responsible for a source of contaminant shall permit the discharge into the natural environment of any contaminant from the source of contaminant, in an amount, concentration or level in excess of that prescribed by the regulations."

In the Act, a "contaminant" is defined as "any solid, liquid, gas, odour, heat, sound, vibration, radiation or combination of any of them resulting directly or indirectly from human activities that causes or may cause an adverse effect." An "adverse effect" is defined as "one or more of,

(a) impairment of the quality of the natural environment for any use that can be made of it,
(b) injury or damage to property or to plant or animal life,
(c) harm or material discomfort to any person,
(d) an adverse effect on the health of any person,
(e) impairment of the safety of any person,
(f) rendering any property or plant or animal life unfit for human use,
(g) loss of enjoyment of normal use of property, and
(h) interference with the normal conduct of business"

Certificates of Approval (Air and Noise)

The Act also allows for the Province to issue control orders or stop orders if the emissions are thought to be in contravention of the Act (sections 7 and 8 of the Act). In fact, emissions from man-made or related activities are not allowed in Ontario under the Act (with certain exemptions, such as agricultural activities) unless accompanied by a "Certificate of Approval" (section 9). The Act states that "No person shall, except under and in accordance with a certificate of approval issued by the Director,

(a) 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;

(b) 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. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19, s. 9 (1)."

The application for a Certificate of Approval (CofA), which is specific to air and noise emissions [CofA(Air)], is governed by OReg 419/05 promulgated under the EPA. The basis of the application is to provide an impact assessment that demonstrates that there are no emissions from a source in excess of "that prescribed by regulation." Guidance documentation related to OReg 419 describes the use of emission measurements or estimates that can be used as inputs into air dispersion and noise modelling; the results of the air and noise dispersion modelling provide airborne concentrations at "points of impingement" normally at or beyond the "property boundary" of a "facility," or at sensitive receptors.

I already have a CofA – does this affect me?

It does for two reasons:
The relatively new regulation, Reg 419 (introduced December 2005) requires the use of new air impact assessment models. The new models tend to predict higher impacts than the old models. Moreover, air quality standards have been made more stringent. Together, these changes may cause facilities that were previously in compliance to fall-out of compliance. The new regulation requires facilities to be in compliance with the new standards and models by certain "phase-in" dates.
2. You are required to keep your CofA up-to-date with any modifications in your facility or process that may affect air emissions.

What are the Phase-in Dates?

For facilities such as those involved in metal ore mining, petroleum refineries and iron and steel mills and foundries, the date is 2010. Should the impact assessment with the new models show non-compliance, this will leave little time for making improvements such as, capital expenditure for control equipment. Therefore, the need to review now is especially critical. Airzone’s permitting experience includes involvement in permit applications for many industrial, commercial and institutional facilities over the past seven years. The permitting group’s leader, Franco DiGiovanni PhD, has been involved in the consultative processes leading to the development of the new guidance documents for the new permit application process and he continues to serve in technical groups guiding the implementation of the new application procedures.

For facilities such as pulp and paper mills, chemical manufacturing and fabricated metal product manufacturing, the phase-in date is 2013. Should the impact assessment with the new models show non-compliance, this will allow a reasonable time for capital expenditure on control equipment. So, we recommend starting this assessment as soon as possible.

Airzone's permitting experience

includes involvement in permit applications for many industrial, commercial and institutional facilities over the past ten years. The permitting group's leader, Franco DiGiovanni PhD, has been involved in the consultative processes leading to the development of the new guidance documents for the new application process and he continues to serve in technical groups guiding the implementation of the new application procedures.