Cornwall Sediment Strategy - Administrative Controls Protocol

Ontario’s commitment to the Great Lakes is outlined in our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan, Ontario’s Great Lakes Strategy and our ongoing commitment to the 2014 Canada-Ontario Agreement on Great Lakes Water Quality and Ecosystem Health.

The ministry is continuing to work with partners on the restoration of the St. Lawrence River (Cornwall) Area of Concern.

The Cornwall Sediment Strategy is a unique multi-agency and community partnership that developed a sediment management strategy to deal with historically contaminated sediments along the Cornwall waterfront. The project was initiated and coordinated by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks as part of the implementation of the St. Lawrence River Remedial Action Plan for sediment management.

The Cornwall Sediment Strategy project is unique in its approach, combining science with multi-agency partnerships and providing a collaborative framework for community-based decision-making. The blend of science and stakeholder involvement used for the Cornwall Sediment Strategy project was a leading-edge approach and has served as a federal/provincial model for other contaminated sediment management issues in the Great Lakes.

Based on the best scientific understanding, community leaders, governments, industries, environmental groups and independent scientific experts all agree that the best way to deal with the historically contaminated sediments along the Cornwall waterfront is to leave them in place, undisturbed, to allow natural recovery to continue. The historical deposits of mercury in sediment along the Cornwall waterfront are buried beneath a cleaner layer of new sediment and poses no danger to people or the environment.

Administrative Controls

To implement the sediment strategy to ensure nothing disturbs the contaminated sediments, seven regulatory agencies (the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, City of Cornwall, Raisin Region Conservation Authority and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne) developed an Administrative Controls Protocol.

Administrative Controls are the planning approval and permit control mechanisms municipal, provincial, federal governments, as well as the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne can apply to regulate activities along the waterfront.

The Administrative Controls Protocol harmonizes the mandates of these agencies and creates a common administrative approach to ensure contaminated sediments are not disturbed. The principles that will guide decision making on permitting approvals are basic. There must be no disturbance, exposure or re-suspension of contaminated sediments.

The Administrative Controls Protocol represents a unique inter-agency commitment to collaboration for the long-term protection of sediments along the Cornwall waterfront.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and Environment and Climate Change Canada will conduct long-term comprehensive environmental monitoring to ensure conditions continue to improve, and to ensure the strategy continues to work.