His Majesty the King in right of Ontario as represented by the Minister of Mines - Direction to report on sewage or water works

Instrument type: Direction to report on sewage or water works

ERO number
019-9208
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Notice stage
Decision
Decision posted
Comment period
September 27, 2024 - November 11, 2024 (45 days) Closed
Last updated

This consultation was open from:
September 27, 2024
to November 11, 2024

Decision summary

The director issued a director's direction to establish effluent limits, objectives, and monitoring plans for the former Lockerby Mine located on the Lockerby Mine Access Road in the Whitefish area of the Municipality of Greater Sudbury.

Location details

Site address

Lockerby Mine Access Road
City of Greater Sudbury, ON
Canada

Site location details

Lot 2 Concession 5 of Denison Township

Site location map

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

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Proponent(s)

His Majesty the King in right of Ontario as represented by the Minister of Mines
933 Ramsey Lake Road
Sudbury, ON
P3E 6B5
Canada

Decision details

In 2015, the former Lockerby Mine reverted to the crown after the property owner First Nickel Mine Inc. went into receivership. The Ministry of Mines (MINES) has been progressively implementing closure measures at the property with the goal to achieve zero discharge from the site at final closure.

Since 2015, MINES has managed stormwater at the site by pumping from storage ponds into the underground workings to prevent any discharge to the environment, however available storage in the underground workings is decreasing as the mineshaft also naturally floods.

In 2023, MINES began to rebuild the site effluent treatment due to an increase in the rate of mineshaft flooding. The effluent treatment system is now in place.

MINES is required to apply for a new Environmental Compliance Approval for the discharge that meets current requirements. The old approval dates from 2002 and has no limits or monitoring requirements as the site was subject to the former Municipal/Industrial Strategy for Abatement/ Effluent Monitoring and Effluent Limits (MISA/EMEL) Regulations that have since been revoked.

This Director's Direction was issued to establish effluent limits, objectives, and monitoring and reporting plans for the former Lockerby Mine in case stormwater discharge to the environment is required before an amended Environmental Compliance Approval can be issued.

Comments received

Through the registry

0

By email

0

By mail

0
View comments submitted through the registry

Effects of consultation

No comments were received.

Compared to the draft director's direction posted in the ERO proposal, a figure was added to the appendix and cyanide was removed from monitoring requirements since it is not detected in water at the site.

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.

Sudbury District Office (Environment)
Address

933 Ramsey Lake Rd
4 th Floor
Sudbury, ON
P3E 6B5
Canada

Office phone number

How to Appeal

This instrument decision can be appealed. You have 15 days from December 2, 2024 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
Jason Scott
District Manager

Northern Region
70 Foster Drive Floor 1
Sault Ste Marie, ON
P6A 6V4
Canada

705 941 0782

Proponent(s)

His Majesty the King in right of Ontario as represented by the Minister of Mines
933 Ramsey Lake Road
Sudbury, ON
P3E 6B5
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
019-9208

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

Peter Wideman

Email address
Office
Sudbury District Office (Environment)
Address

933 Ramsey Lake Rd
4 th Floor
Sudbury, ON
P3E 6B5
Canada

Office phone number

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We will send you email notifications with any updates related to this consultation. You can change your notification preferences anytime by visiting settings in your profile page.

Follow this notice

Original proposal

ERO number
019-9208
Notice type
Instrument
Act
Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990
Posted by
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Proposal posted

Comment period

September 27, 2024 - November 11, 2024 (45 days)

Proposal details

In 2015, the former Lockerby Mine reverted to the crown after the property owner First Nickel Mine Inc. went into receivership. The Ministry of Mines (MINES) has been progressively implementing closure measures at the property with the goal to achieve zero discharge from the site at final closure.

Since 2015, MINES has managed stormwater at the site by pumping from storage ponds into the underground workings to prevent any discharge to the environment, however available storage in the underground workings is decreasing as the mineshaft also naturally floods.

In 2023, MINES began to rebuild the site effluent treatment due to an increase in the rate of mineshaft flooding. The effluent treatment system is now in place.

MINES is required to apply for a new Environmental Compliance Approval for the discharge that meets current requirements. The old approval dates from 2002 and has no limits or monitoring requirements as the site was subject to the former Municipal/Industrial Strategy for Abatement/ Effluent Monitoring and Effluent Limits (MISA/EMEL) Regulations that have since been revoked.

This proposal is for a new director’s direction to establish effluent limits, objectives, and monitoring and reporting plans for the former Lockerby Mine in case stormwater discharge to the environment is required before an amended Environmental Compliance Approval can be issued.

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.

Sudbury District Office (Environment)
Address

933 Ramsey Lake Rd
4 th Floor
Sudbury, ON
P3E 6B5
Canada

Office phone number

Comment

Commenting is now closed.

This consultation was open from September 27, 2024
to November 11, 2024

Connect with us

Contact

Peter Wideman

Email address
Office
Sudbury District Office (Environment)
Address

933 Ramsey Lake Rd
4 th Floor
Sudbury, ON
P3E 6B5
Canada

Office phone number