This consultation was open from:
October 6, 2020
to November 20, 2020
Decision summary
We have decided to end the nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions trading program by revoking O. Reg. 397/01 and O. Reg. 194/05 under the Environmental Protection Act. The Program is no longer an effective tool to address emissions of these contaminants from regulated sectors in its current form.
Decision details
Ending the nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions trading program
We are ending the nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions trading program (the Program) by revoking the following regulations made under the Environmental Protection Act (the Regulations):
- O. Reg. 397/01: Emissions Trading
- O. Reg. 194/05: Industry Emissions – Nitrogen Oxides and Sulphur Dioxide
The Program is no longer an effective tool to address emissions of these contaminants from regulated sectors in its current form. It was originally put in place to meet province-wide emission reduction targets and help address smog and acid rain. Since that time, the targets have been met and the incidence of smog and acid rain have been reduced.
Our decision to end the Program will take effect when the regulations are filed. This change will remove administrative burden and costs associated with complying with the requirements of the Regulations and participating in the Program. The change applies to up to 70 regulated facilities in the electricity generation and industrial sectors, and means that:
- regulated facilities will no longer be required to provide emissions reports or submit allowance applications as required by the Regulations, beginning in 2021. This will also remove the requirement to balance allowances and credits with emissions for each compliance year.
- facilities will no longer incur costs associated with the Program such as the cost of transferring allowances or trading with other program participants.
- facilities will still need to report on their emissions as required by other provincial regulations or by federal requirements such as the National Pollutant Release Inventory.
Ontario and the federal government have other measures and requirements in place that target emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide from specific sectors since the Program began. These measures include:
- O. Reg. 419/05– Local Air Quality, which has an updated air emissions standard for sulphur dioxide.
- Ontario’s emissions testing program for heavy-duty vehicles is being redesigned to address a significant source of nitrogen oxide emissions in the province and on-road enforcement of emissions standards has been strengthened.
- The federal government's Multi-Sector Air Pollutant Regulation, which has:
- mandatory nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide emission requirements for equipment such as boilers and heaters, stationary engines and combustion turbines, and the cement sector.
- pollution prevention and environmental risk management measures for specific sectors such as pulp and paper, iron and steel and base metal smelting, which include codes of practice, pollution prevention planning notices, reporting requirements and environmental performance agreements.
Additional amendments
As a consequence of ending the Program, Ontario has also amended O. Reg. 79/15 - Alternative Low Carbon Fuels (the ALCF regulation) to address references to O. Reg. 194/05.
The ALCF regulation referred to section 48 of O. Reg. 194/05, which requires cement facilities to use an existing continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) or an approved method to monitor emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide and submit quarterly reports to the ministry.
Revoking O. Reg. 194/05 would mean that this reference would no longer exist. Therefore, these amendments were made to maintain this monitoring and reporting requirement in the ALCF regulation.
Winding down the Program
Air quality in Ontario has improved significantly over the past 10 years due to the substantial decrease in pollutants such as:
- nitrogen oxide
- sulphur dioxide
Ontario intends to continue monitoring nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions and will consider measures as needed to continue to improve air quality in the province.
In addition, the ministry will take the following actions to wind down the Program immediately:
- the Ontario Emissions Trading Registry will be decommissioned.
- all accounts will be closed.
- emission allowances, credits and other instruments were created for this Program and will not be available for further use.
Effects of consultation
We received eight comments in response to the proposal:
- seven from industry
- one from an environmental non-governmental organization
Most comments received supported the proposal to end the Program, with one comment expressing concerns about the monitoring and reporting requirements for facilities that were captured by the Regulations.
Monitoring of nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions will be maintained at many of the facilities currently captured by the Program even after the Regulations are revoked. For instance, many of the facilities captured under the Program currently have continuous emissions monitoring system requirements in their Environmental Compliance Approvals thereby requiring them to continue to monitor emissions at their facilities.
We did not make changes to the original proposal as a result of the comments received.
Supporting materials
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Contact
Janelle Rose
135 St. Clair Avenue West
Floor 6
Toronto,
ON
M4V 1P5
Canada
Original proposal
Proposal details
Description
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is proposing to end the outdated NOx and SO2 emissions trading program (the Program), by revoking the following regulations:
- O. Reg. 397/01: Emissions Trading made under the Environmental Protection Act, 1990
- O. Reg. 194/05: Industry Emissions – Nitrogen Oxides and Sulphur Dioxide made under the Environmental Protection Act, 1990 (the Regulations)
The Program was originally put in place to meet province-wide emission reduction targets and help address smog and acid rain. Since that time, the targets have been met.
We are proposing to end the Program because, in its current form, it is no longer effective in reducing emissions from regulated sectors. The following factors support our proposal to end the NOx and SO2 emissions trading program:
- Ontario wide emission targets, set as drivers for the program, have been met
- Ontario achieved its 2015 SO2 and NOx emissions reduction targets and, overall, the levels of these contaminants have continued to decline across the province
- smog days declined from 19 in 2003 to one day in 2019 with one Smog and Air Health Advisory issued
- deposition of acid rain in acid-sensitive areas of the Canadian shield in Ontario has also declined
- since the trading program was established, Ontario and the federal government have put other regulations in place that are intended to address the discharge of NOx and SO2 emissions to air
Emissions of NOx and SO2 are already below the caps that were established for the regulated sectors. Also, many of the regulated facilities hold a surplus of allowances and credits that were issued under the Program, reducing the likelihood that actual emission reduction actions would be undertaken before the surplus is used.
These proposed changes would remove administrative burden and costs associated with complying with the requirements of the regulations and participating in the Program. These changes would apply to regulated facilities in the electricity generation and industrial sectors.
- regulated facilities would no longer be required to provide the emissions reports required by the regulations or incur other costs associated with the Program such as the cost of trading with other program participants. Facilities would still need to report on their emissions as required by other provincial regulations or by federal requirements such as the National Pollutant Release Inventory
Other information
Ontario is also proposing to make an administrative amendment to O. Reg. 79/15 - Alternative Low Carbon Fuels to preserve the requirement in that regulation for the cement sector to monitor NOx and SO2 emissions on an annual basis using a continuous emissions monitoring system or an approved method.
Supporting materials
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Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
Comment
Commenting is now closed.
This consultation was open from October 6, 2020
to November 20, 2020
Connect with us
Contact
Janelle Rose
135 St. Clair Avenue West
Floor 6
Toronto,
ON
M4V 1P5
Canada
Comments received
Through the registry
1By email
7By mail
0