This consultation was open from:
March 26, 2020
to May 10, 2020
Decision summary
We approved an amended Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) (waste disposal site) No. A680066 for a 6.3-hectare waste disposal site (processing/transfer). The ECA amends the approval of the existing transfer facility and approves a new anaerobic digestion facility.
Location details
Site address
1515 Thornton Road North
Oshawa,
ON
L1H 7K4
Canada
Site location details
Part of Lot 16, Concession 4
Site location map
The location pin reflects the approximate area where environmental activity is taking place.
View this location on a map opens link in a new windowProponent(s)
RIC (EOR) Inc. operating as Northwood Transfer Station
162 Cumberland Street
Suite 300
Toronto,
ON
M5R 3N5
Canada
Decision details
We approved an amended Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) (waste disposal site) No. A680066 for a 6.3-hectare waste disposal site (processing/transfer).
The ECA amends the approval of the existing transfer facility for processing of recyclables and transfer of waste for final disposal, and approves a new Anaerobic Digestion Facility for:
- the receipt of source separated organic waste from domestic, industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) sources
- the processing (anaerobic digestion) of the organic waste for the production of soil supplements and renewable natural gas
The Anaerobic Digestion Facility will receive organic waste for storage and pre-processing in the Organics Receiving Building. The organic waste will be processed within the new anaerobic digestors to produce digestate (soil supplement) and biogas. Generated biogas will then be upgraded into renewable natural gas prior to its injection into the natural gas distribution infrastructure. A new flare will be installed to burn any extra biogas or biogas unsuitable for injection into the natural gas distribution infrastructure.
The approval is for new infrastructure for the Anaerobic Digestion Facility:
- Organics Receiving Building
- Dryer Building
- Biofilter Enclosure
- Wastewater Treatment Enclosure
- Biogas Flare
- Biogas Upgrading System
- a Tank Farm for various storage and processing tanks and vessels, including four anaerobic digesters, three liquid digestate pasteurizers and wastewater processing tanks
The ECA includes operational flexibility for a staged-in site development, which includes:
- staged-in equipment/infrastructure installation
- process implementation
- a gradual processing rate increase
The site is approved to:
- receive, temporarily store and process up-to a maximum of 200,000 tonnes of the organic waste per year
- generate up-to a maximum of approximately 25,064,765 normalized cubic metres of the biogas per year
- generate up-to a maximum of approximately 175,533 tonnes of the digestate per year
At the new Anaerobic Digestion Facility, or
- receive and process/transfer up-to a maximum of 160,368 tonnes per year of the non-organic waste per year at the existing transfer facility
The maximum daily waste to be received at the Anaerobic Digestion Facility during Phase 1 is:
- 367 tonnes per day of the bulk solid organic waste, that includes the SSO
- 105 tonnes per day of the containerized organic waste in totes, bins, carts or pallets
- 105 tonnes per day of the liquid IC&I organic waste
- 65 tonnes per day of the fats, oils and grease (FOG)
The maximum daily waste to be received at the Anaerobic Digestion Facility during Phase 2 is:
- 729 tonnes per day of the bulk organic waste
- 150 tonnes per day of the containerized organic waste in totes, bins, carts or pallets
- 105 tonnes per day of the liquid IC&I organic waste; and
The maximum amount of waste to be stored at the site is 1,219 tonnes of waste and recyclables at the transfer facility. At the anaerobic digestion facility, a maximum of 32,613 tonnes of waste shall be stored in Phase 1 and 46,006 tonnes in Phase 2.
The service area will be the Province of Ontario.
The site is approved to receive waste and the chemical reagents and ship waste from the site only between the hours of:
- Monday to Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Saturday: 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The site is approved to undertake waste processing/management activities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
After commencement of operations at the Anaerobic Digestion Facility, the Transfer Facility will stop receiving waste and shall be shut down and decommissioned.
Effects of consultation
Summary of the concerns received and the ministry's responses are below:
- Concerns regarding the location, zoning, future development/planning, traffic (volume, safety, noise and air impacts) on municipal roads and municipal road conditions
Ministry's response: Location, zoning, future development/planning, traffic (volume, safety, noise and air impacts) on municipal roads and municipal road conditions are under the municipal jurisdiction and are out-of-scope of the ECA review process.
- Concerns about the possible air impacts, including dust and odour, from the proposed waste management activities:
Ministry's response: The dust and odour impacts from this proposal were reviewed in detail by the ministry staff responsible for the air/noise ECA.
However, the conditions of both, the air/noise ECA and the waste ECA require the owner to address potential odour impacts by including proper maintenance and operation of odour control equipment, complaint response procedures, nuisance impact control, odour control measures, odour performance requirements, odour management plan requirements, ventilation assessment requirements and source testing requirements. All these are in place to ensure the facility operates in a manner that protects health of the public and the environment.
The ECAs include the specific conditions to prevent or mitigate odour impacts. For traffic, a waste ECA condition prohibits truck queuing off site. For odour, double doors (air lock system), fast acting doors, ventilation system for odourous areas, high air exchanges per hour for odourous areas, negative pressure and negative pressure monitoring are all required and conditions with the requirements for effective operation, monitoring, testing are included in both ECAs. Biofilter was proposed to control odour emissions and its maintenance and monitoring were required in the air/noise ECA
- Concerns about possible noise impacts from the site
Ministry's response: The noise impacts from this proposal were reviewed in detail by the ministry staff responsible for the air/noise ECA.
- Concerns about effective pest management strategy
Ministry's response: The condition of the waste ECA requires development and implementation of a pest management plan.
- Concerns about effective litter control in all outdoor areas
Ministry's response: The condition of the waste ECA requires daily litter pick up at the site and effective litter control.
- Concerns about drivers of vehicles following site operation protocols
Ministry's response: The condition of the waste ECA requires the owner to ensure the vehicle drivers follow required protocols for the site.
- Concerns about the quantity of the incoming wastes
Ministry's response: The conditions of the waste ECA limit the waste quantity that is approved for receipt, however, this amount is as proposed by the owner. The site is approved for a staged-in development and incremental increases in waste receipt rates.
- Concerns about restricting hours of operation
Ministry's response: The proposal was changed to start the truck traffic at the site at 7:00 a.m. Also, the noise impacts from these proposed hours of operation were reviewed in detail by the ministry staff responsible for the air/noise ECA.
- Concerns about an effective way for residents to submit odour complaints relating to the site
Ministry's response: The conditions of the waste ECA require the phone number for the complaints to be posted on the sign at the site and the waste ECA includes a condition with a comprehensive complaint management protocol.
- Requirement to implement periodic odour testing and noise monitoring
Ministry's response: The suggestion to implement periodic odour testing and noise monitoring was considered by the ministry staff responsible for the air/noise ECA.
- Concerns about public relations/education strategy to help inform the public on the purpose, function and environmental impacts of the proposed development
Ministry's response: The waste ECA includes conditions requiring an establishment of a Public Liaison Committee that will help to inform the public on the purpose, function and environmental impacts of the proposed development. The waste ECA also includes conditions that require public access to documentation, including a creation of a website for the site.
- Concerns about impacts on Oshawa Executive Airport
Ministry's response: The waste ECA includes a condition require the owner to operate the site to manage birds at the site to prevent impacts on Oshawa Executive Airport.
- Concerns about on-site stormwater management at the site
Ministry's response: Stormwater management at the site was reviewed in detail by the ministry staff responsible for the Industrial Sewage Works ECA.
- Concerns about the existing stormwater management pond being used for spill containment
Ministry's response: This proposal existing stormwater management pond being used for spill containment was reviewed by the ministry staff responsible for the Industrial Sewage Works ECA.
- Request to have studies submitted by Evergreen in support of their Applications professionally peer reviewed
Ministry's response: The ministry’s engineering staff review the applications for Environmental Compliance Approvals. The review process does not require a peer review of the applications.
- Concerns about risk of emitting obnoxious odours and along the haulage route
Ministry's response: The waste ECA includes conditions that require the owner to ensure that the trucks leaving the site are covered to prevent dust and odours on-route and to check for leaks when trucks arrive at the site.
- Concerns about the service area
Ministry's response: The waste ECA approves service area as proposed by the owner. The ECA application review considers waste types, not their origin. The review of the design of the site shows that the proposal accommodates processing of the waste generated in the Province of Ontario.
- Request to make efforts to coordinate the ECA approval process with the planning approval process
Ministry's response: Where possible the ministry staff coordinate with other approvals required for the proposal. However, the ECA process is separate from any planning approvals required on a municipal level.
- Request to require Evergreen to demonstrate that the proposed anaerobic digestion facility operation will not adversely impact the existing residences and other land uses in the area
Ministry's response: The ministry engineers have reviewed the proposal for compliance with the existing regulatory requirements. The review process also includes the review of the proposed best management practices to ensure that the impacts on the neighbours are minimized.
- Concerns about truck traffic count projections in the Acoustic Assessment Report versus those in the Traffic Impact Study
Ministry's response: Review of the applicable impacts from truck traffic was considered by the ministry staff responsible for the air/noise ECA.
- Recommendation to require that Evergreen engage with local post-secondary institutions (including, but not limited to, Durham College, Trent University Durham)
Ministry's response: This recommendation is out-of-scope for an ECA under the Environmental Protection Act.
Supporting materials
View materials in person
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.
230 Westney Road South
Floor 5
Ajax,
ON
L1S 7J5
Canada
135 St. Clair Avenue West
1st Floor
Toronto,
ON
M4V 1P5
Canada
How to Appeal
This instrument decision can be appealed. You have 15 days from November 1, 2021 to begin the appeal process.
Carefully review the information below to learn more about the appeal process.
How to appealClick to Expand Accordion
For instrument decisions published on or after June 1, 2021, please refer to the updated instructions for information on how to appeal a decision.
Appeal process for decisions published before June 1, 2021
If you’re an Ontario resident, you can start the process to appeal this instrument decision.
First, you’ll need to seek leave (i.e. get permission) from the relevant appellate body to appeal the decision.
If the appellate body grants leave, the appeal itself will follow.
Seek leave to appeal
To seek leave to appeal, you need to do these three things:
- prepare your application
- provide notice to the minister
- mail your application to three parties
1. Prepare your application
You’ll need to prepare an application. You may wish to include the following things in your application:
- A document that includes:
- your name, phone number, fax number (if any), and/or email address
- the ERO number and ministry reference number (located on this page)
- a statement about whether you are a resident in Ontario
- your interest in the decision, and any facts you want taken into account in deciding whether you have an interest in the decision
- the parts of the instrument that you’re challenging
- whether the decision could result in significant harm to the environment
- the reason(s) why you believe that no reasonable person – having regard to the relevant law and to any government policies developed to guide decisions of that kind – could have made the decision
- the grounds (facts) you’ll be using to appeal
- the outcome you’d like to see
- A copy of the instrument (approval, permit, order) that you you are seeking leave to appeal. You’ll find this in the decision notice on the Environmental Registry
- Copies of all supporting documents, facts and evidence that you’ll be using to appeal
What is considered
The appeal body will consider the following two questions in deciding whether to grant you leave to appeal:
- is there is good reason to believe that no reasonable person, with respect to the relevant law and to any government policies developed to guide decisions of that kind, could have made the decision?
- could the decision you wish to appeal result in significant harm to the environment?
2. Provide your notice
You’ll need to provide notice to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks that you’re seeking leave to appeal.
In your notice, please include a brief description of the:
- decision that you wish to appeal
- grounds for granting leave to appeal
You can provide notice by email at minister.mecp@ontario.ca or by mail at:
College Park 5th Floor, 777 Bay St.
Toronto, ON
M7A 2J3
3. Mail your application
You’ll need to mail your application that you prepared in step #1 to each of these three parties:
- appellate body
- issuing authority (the ministry official who issued the instrument)
- proponent (the company or individual to whom the instrument was issued)
RIC (EOR) Inc. operating as Northwood Transfer Station
162 Cumberland Street
Suite 300
Toronto,
ON
M5R 3N5
Canada
Environmental Review Tribunal
Attention: The Secretary
655 Bay Street
Floor 15
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1E5
(416) 212-6349
(866) 448-2248
OLT.Registrar@ontario.ca
Include the following:
This is not legal advice. Please refer to the Environmental Bill of Rights for exact legal requirements. Consult a lawyer if you need help with the appeal process.
Connect with us
Contact
Client Services and Permissions Branch
135 St Clair Ave West
1st Floor
Toronto,
ON
M4V 1P5
Canada
Original proposal
Proposal details
This proposal is for an amendment to the existing Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) (Waste Processing) No. A680066 issued for the use of the site for operation of a waste composting facility. This proposal also revokes existing ECA (Waste Processing/Transfer) No. A680110 to have its contents amalgamated with ECA No. A680066.
The proposal includes cessation of composting operations and use of the site for processing of source-separated organics and industrial, commercial, and institutional organics, for the purpose of anaerobic digestion. Processes to be used include a combination of air separation, water separation, pulping, ferrous/non-ferrous separation, compaction, size reduction, screening, depackaging, anaerobic digestion, wastewater treatment, digestate dewatering, digestate drying, digestate pyrolysis, and biogas upgrading.
The anaerobic digestion process will produce digestate and biogas. The resulting biogas will be upgraded to renewable natural gas for injection to the gas grid. Digestate will be pasteurized and shipped off-site in combination of dewatered/dried and liquid forms as fertilizer or soil supplements.
The existing transfer operation will continue at the current approved rate of up to 57,200 tonnes per year. The proposal includes the additional receipt of up to 200,000 tonnes per year for the purposes of anaerobic digestion. The maximum amount of waste to be stored at the site is 2,943 tonnes at the anaerobic digestion facility, and 1,219 tonnes of waste and recyclables at the transfer facility.
The hours of operation for receipt of material are Monday to Friday from 6 am to 6 pm and Saturday from 7 am to 2 pm. Waste processing will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The site will serve the Province of Ontario.
Reference No. 8836-BLHLLF / ERO No. 019-1539 (Sewage)
Reference No. 2998-BLHKKR / ERO No. 019-1540 (Air&Noise)
Supporting materials
View materials in person
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.
230 Westney Road South
Floor 5
Ajax,
ON
L1S 7J5
Canada
135 St. Clair Avenue West
1st Floor
Toronto,
ON
M4V 1P5
Canada
Comment
Commenting is now closed.
This consultation was open from March 26, 2020
to May 10, 2020
Connect with us
Contact
Client Services and Permissions Branch
135 St Clair Ave West
1st Floor
Toronto,
ON
M4V 1P5
Canada
Comments received
Through the registry
0By email
3By mail
0