677075 Ontario Limited - Order to prevent discharge of contaminants

Director’s Order No. 1-218350098 was issued under sections 18, 196 and 197 of the Environmental Protection Act on May 23, 2024, to the owner and operator of the site located at 180 Wortley Road in London, Ontario, and the companies’ current directors and officers. The purpose of this Director’s Order is to require delineation of Perchloroethylene (PCE)-related contamination that may be present at the site and discharging from the site, and to register a certificate of requirement on title.

Since approximately 1962 dry cleaning operations were carried out at 180 Wortley Road. PCE is commonly used in dry cleaning operations. PCE is a contaminant of concern due to its exposure risk through human inhalation of PCE vapours in indoor air. Environmental reports completed for 180 Wortley Road confirmed the presence of PCE and PCE-related contaminants in the soil and groundwater at the site. In 2019 the ministry received reports from the neighbouring property at 190 Wortley Road that indicated the presence of PCE and PCE-related contaminants on their property which likely originated from 180 Wortley Road.

The Director’s Order will require the orderees, jointly and severally, to undertake actions, which amongst others, include requirements to:

• retain a Qualified Person to conduct the work required by the order;
• undertake and complete an additional soil vapor assessment to evaluate the level of risk for off-Site soil vapour impacts.
• submit a written plan prepared by the Qualified Person for the assessment of the soil and groundwater on and off the Site to delineate the contaminants of concern;
• undertake and complete an assessment of the soil and groundwater both on and off the Site, as deemed necessary by the Qualified Person, to delineate the full vertical and lateral extent and the source(s) of any contaminants of concern, to determine the risk of any adverse effect that may result from the presence or discharge of a contaminant emanating on or from the Site;
• submit a soil vapor assessment report and a delineation report to the ministry detailing the work completed as required by the order and recommendations to prevent or eliminate any adverse effects that may result from the contaminants;
• require the owner and operator of the site to permit access to the site to the previous directors of the company for the purpose of assessing contamination; and
• require that a certificate of requirement is registered on title for the site.

The following modifications were made to the original proposed Director’s Order which was posted on July 12, 2023:

• Under the list of orderees, G. Fine and C. Morin were removed, as they are voluntarily undertaking necessary assessment work at the site further to discussions with the Ministry.
• Under PART A - Work Ordered:
  • Item No. 3 was added to require a soil vapor assessment be conducted.
  • Item No. 4 was added to require a written report of the findings of Item No. 3 be submitted to the Director.
  • Item No. 5 was added to require a workplan for the delineation assessment be submitted to the Director and to clarify that the source of the contamination must be assessed.
  • the item numbers were changed to reflect the addition of Item No. 3, 4 and 5.
  • Item No. 6 was modified to require the initiation of the workplan.
  • The compliance due dates have changed to update the timelines for completing the work ordered.
• Under PART B – Definitions, “2022 Technical Support Memorandum” was defined.
• Under PART B - Description of Person(s) Subject to the Director's Order, the date to which 880188 Ontario Ltd. started operating at the site was corrected to 2001.
• Under PART B - Events Leading up to the Order, additional information was added to document the posting of the draft Order on the ERO and how the comments received were considered by the Ministry.
• Under PART B – Attachments, Attachment A – 2022 Technical Support Memorandum, was added.

These changes were not significant enough to warrant a new proposal notice. A copy of Director’s Order No. 1-218350098 is provided under supporting materials.