Southgate Renewables GP Inc., as general partner for and on behalf of Southgate Renewables LP - Environmental Compliance Approval (waste)

Instrument type: Environmental Compliance Approval (waste)

ERO number
019-8406
Ministry reference number
5486-CYWHYH
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Notice stage
Decision
Decision posted
Comment period
March 18, 2024 - May 2, 2024 (45 days) Closed
Last updated

This consultation was open from:
March 18, 2024
to May 2, 2024

Decision summary

We issued an amendment to the multimedia Environmental Compliance Approval No. 1984-BD9NBD for Southgate Renewables GP Inc., as general partner for and on behalf of Southgate Renewables LP, operating an anaerobic digestion facility located at 100 Eco-Park Way, in the Township of Southgate, Grey County, Ontario.

Location details

Site address

100 Eco-Park Way
Southgate, ON
Canada

Site location map

The location pin reflects the approximate area where environmental activity is taking place.

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Proponent(s)

Southgate Renewables GP Inc., as general partner for and on behalf of Southgate Renewables LP
77 King Street West, Suite 3000
P.O. Box 95
Toronto, ON
M5K 1G8
Canada

Decision details

On January 24, 2025, we issued an amendment to the multimedia Environmental Compliance Approval to Southgate Renewables GP Inc., as general partner for and on behalf of Southgate Renewables LP, for an anaerobic digestion facility located at 100 Eco-Park Way, Township of Southgate, Grey County, Ontario.

The following amendments to the site have been approved:

  1. Acquisition of additional land adjacent to the original site in 2022 to increase of the site area to 4.0 hectares.
  2. Service area expanded to include the Province of Ontario and the States of New York, Michigan, and Ohio.
  3. Hours of operation for the reception of organic residuals and transfer of digestate at the facility will be Monday to Friday from 6 am to 10 pm, and Saturday from 7 am to 4 pm.
  4. Process modifications as follows:
    • Increased maximum daily waste receipt rate to 700 tonnes/day (no change to average waste receipt rate of 200 tonnes/day and maximum annual waste receipt rate of 73,000 tonnes/year)
    • Focusing on receipt of source separated organic waste
    • Addition of process water to generate a pumpable slurry
    • Use of a biofilter in the organics receiving building instead of an activated carbon filter
    • Addition of natural gas boilers
  5. Site modifications as follows:
    • Building layout changes to streamline the reception of organic waste
    • Increase in tipping floor size to temporarily store a maximum of 400 tonnes of solid organic waste within the organics receiving building tipping floor, at any one time
    • Modifications to tank sizes including secondary containment ultimately increasing the maximum volume of liquid waste (unprocessed, in-process and processed waste) stored in tanks (outdoors and inside the organics receiving building) to 16,663 cubic meters, at any one time
    • Increase the volume of solid digestate stored inside the organics receiving building to a maximum of 140 cubic metres, at any one time
    • Increase the temporary storage of solid residual waste stored inside the organics receiving building to a maximum of 140 cubic metres, at any one time
    • Addition of a process water storage tank inside the organics receiving building storing up to a maximum of 40 cubic metres of process water, at any one time
    • Addition of a bay door to construct four (4) bay doors
    • Removal of outdoor storage of agricultural residues
    • Use of double membrane instead of single membrane to cover the outdoor tank farm

Refer to ERO # 019-8468 for the air/noise posting and ERO # 019-8170 for the sewage posting.

Comments received

Through the registry

0

By email

0

By mail

0
View comments submitted through the registry

Effects of consultation

One individual was looking for more information by email. This was not considered as a comment and has no effect on the decision.

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.

Owen Sound District Office
Address

101 17th Street East
Floor 3
Owen Sound, ON
N4K 0A5
Canada

Office phone number
Client Services and Permissions Branch
Address

135 St Clair Ave West
1st Floor
Toronto, ON
M4V 1P5
Canada

Office phone number

How to Appeal

This instrument decision can be appealed. You have 15 days from January 27, 2025 to begin the appeal process.

Carefully review the information below to learn more about the appeal process.

How to appealClick to Expand Accordion

Start the process to appeal

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:

  1. prepare your application
  2. provide notice to the minister
  3. 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:

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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:

  1. 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?
  2. 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)

Issuing authority
Mohsen Keyvani
Manager

Environmental Assessment and Permissions Branch
135 St Clair Avenue West
Floor 1
Toronto, ON
M4V 1P5
Canada

416-432-7253

Proponent(s)

Southgate Renewables GP Inc., as general partner for and on behalf of Southgate Renewables LP
77 King Street West, Suite 3000
P.O. Box 95
Toronto, ON
M5K 1G8
Canada


Appellate body

Registrar, Ontario Land Tribunal
655 Bay Street, Suite 1500
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1E5
(416) 212-6349
(866) 448-2248
OLT.Registrar@ontario.ca

About the Ontario Land Tribunal


Include the following:

ERO number
019-8406
Ministry reference number
5486-CYWHYH

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.

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Original proposal

ERO number
019-8406
Ministry reference number
5486-CYWHYH
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Proposal posted

Comment period

March 18, 2024 - May 2, 2024 (45 days)

Proposal details

This proposal is for an amendment to the multimedia Environmental Compliance Approval No. 1984-BD9NBD for Southgate Renewables GP Inc., as general partner for and on behalf of Southgate Renewables LP.

The anaerobic digester facility is located at 100 Eco-Park Way, Township of Southgate, Grey County, Ontario, on a 4-hectare area site. The facility will be using organic residuals from source separated organics, industrial, commercial, institutional commercial and industrial food waste materials, and a blend of agricultural materials such as (energy crops) silage, stover, culled material from vegetable and tuber crops and animal manure to produce renewable natural gas for injection into the natural gas grid, and digestate (organic fertilizer) crop nutrients to local farms.

The service area will be the Province of Ontario and the States of New York, Michigan, and Ohio. The maximum daily waste received will be 700 tonnes of non-hazardous waste and 700 cubic metres of other liquid waste, and the maximum on-site storage capacity will be 400 tonnes of non-hazardous solid waste and 480 cubic metres of other liquid waste.

The facility is currently permitted to process up to 73,000 tonnes of waste annually. The anaerobic digester will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the hours of operation for the reception of organic residuals at the facility will be Monday to Friday from 6 am to 10 pm, and Saturday from 6 am to 4 pm.

This amendment requests approval for the revised facility layout, which will include minor process changes made necessary by the acquisition of additional land adjacent to the original site in 2022. These changes include:

  • a biofilter for improved odour control
  • changes in tank and combined heat and power sizes
  • the use of process water and double membrane roofs
  • the addition of boilers

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.

Client Services and Permissions Branch
Address

135 St Clair Ave West
1st Floor
Toronto, ON
M4V 1P5
Canada

Office phone number

Comment

Commenting is now closed.

This consultation was open from March 18, 2024
to May 2, 2024

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