The Aggregate
and Petroleum Resources
Law Amendment Act
(MNR Fact Sheet)
New regulations are now in effect
under the Aggregate and Petroleum Resources Statute
Law Amendment Act, 1996. They set out tough new
standards for the aggregate, petroleum and brine
industries, while ensuring the resources are managed for
the long term and reducing any negative impact on the
public.
The Aggregate and Petroleum
Resources Statute Law Amendment Act, 1996, which was
introduced by Natural Resources Minister Chris Hodgson,
received third reading in December 1996. It was
proclaimed law June 27, 1997.
MNR sets standards and policies
that the aggregate and petroleum industries must comply
with or face increased fines and more stringent punitive
measures. The new Act gives the ministry stronger
enforcement tools, including new and stiffer penalties,
such as fines and suspensions. Ministry inspectors are
making sure operators comply with the stringent new
provincial standards and file annual reports on how they
are meeting those standards and regulations. For example,
industry will now be required to self-assess their sites
annually and record the results for public scrutiny.
The following are highlights of the Aggregate and
Petroleum Resources Statute Law Amendment Act.
Changes to the Aggregate
Resources Act and its Regulations
- the aggregate industry must
meet tougher standards set by MNR, which will
maintain Ontario's high environmental and public
health and safety expectations
- every licensee and permittee
must complete an annual report detailing
compliance with MNR standards. The industry will
be held legally accountable for the accuracy of
these reports.
- MNR will verify the accuracy
of the reports through random inspections
- the Ontario Municipal Board is
authorized to make the final determination on
whether a licence is to be issued and recommend
the conditions that apply to the licensee
- the Aggregate Resources Trust
has been established to collect and disburse
annual licence fees; administer the Abandoned
Pits and Quarries Rehabilitation Fund; and,
administer a new pooled trust fund to provide for
rehabilitation where aggregate permits and
licences have been revoked as a result of
default, such as bankruptcy
- public authority and personal
aggregate permits, which restricted the resale of
extracted material, have been eliminated. Permit
holders will now be able to obtain a new
aggregate permit, if they can meet applicable
standards. If they are unable to meet the
standards, they will have to get their aggregate
from another licensed operation
New Standards and Compliance
- the standards have legal
status and are enforceable
- the standards are up-front,
easy-to-read requirements for applications and
operations of pits and quarries
- the standards are clear about
what is required in submitting an application,
including minimum requirement of notification and
consultation, site plan requirements and summary
and technical reports
- the standards identify a legal
process for the resolution of objections
- MNR retains the responsibility
for inspections and audits
- many of the administrative,
day-to-day duties of an inspector have either
been transferred to the Aggregate Resource Trust
or eliminated and, as a result, aggregate
inspectors will spend most of their time on
compliance matters
- failure to submit an annual
compliance report will result in immediate
suspension of all activities within an operation
- the standards are published in
a book titled, "Aggregate Resources of
Ontario, Provincial Standards, Version 1.0"
published by the Ontario Government and available
from:
Ecological
Sustainability Institute
Box 8000 Albert St. South
Lindsay, Ontario
K9V 5E6
Phone (705) 324-4859
Fax (705) 878-9309
|
or
|
Publications
Ontario
880 Bay St, Main Floor
Toronto Ontario
M7A 1N8
Phone (416) 326 5300
Fax (416) 326-5317
|
- the cost of the provincial
standards for aggregates is $49.95 plus taxes and
shipping. Excerpts for specific extraction
categories are $9.95 plus taxes and shipping.
Approvals and Licences
- aggregate resource licence
applications are proponent-driven
- proponents are made aware of
the Provincial Standards - a set of stringent
rules to guide them throughout the licence
application process
- MNR will review an application
to ensure the standards are met
- it is an applicant's
responsibility to resolve all issues and concerns
- if an applicant is unable to
do so, the Minister of Natural Resources may
refer unresolved issues to the Ontario Municipal
Board (OMB)
- the OMB has new final
decision-making authority (and its decisions are
binding on the minister)
- the public, municipalities and
other stakeholders, including provincial
ministries, retain the ability to voice their
concerns and objections under the licence
application process
Financial and Administrative
- under the Aggregate Resources
Trust, the trustee now assumes responsibility for
three main functions associated with the trust
fund:
- collect and disburse
annual licence fees;
- administer the
Abandoned Pits and Quarries
Rehabilitation Fund; and,
- administer a new,
pooled fund for rehabilitation where
aggregate licences and permits have been
revoked or gone into bankruptcy
- the Aggregate Producers'
Association of Ontario is responsible to the
Trust for the delivery of the Abandoned Pits and
Quarries Rehabilitation Fund in accordance with
the allocation of funds from the Trust
Changes to the Petroleum Resources Act
and its Regulations
- the amended Act is renamed the
Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act
- elimination of the present
complicated system of multiple licences and
permits for operators
- introduction of a new
life-cycle well licence to ensure that a
designated operator will always be responsible
for a well from drilling until final plugging
- strengthened enforcement
provisions, including increased time to discover
and investigate contraventions and significantly
increased fines on conviction
- provision for the
establishment of an Oil, Gas and Salt Resources
Trust to manage an industry fund related to the
provision of information resources
- transfer of responsibility for
compulsory pooling and unitization decisions from
the Ontario Energy Board to the Mining and Lands
Commissioner
- creation of new operational
standards to provide technical guidelines to
industry operators
- creation of a new category of
industry examiners, certified by the ministry, to
ensure operations are properly carried out and
reported
- ministry inspectors gain
increased powers to carry out better enforcement
of the regulations
Standards and Compliance
- new operational standards have
been compiled, with the co-operation of industry
and key stakeholders, to define the technical
requirements for applications, drilling,
production, storage and abandonment of oil, gas
and salt operations
- standards are adopted by
regulation and their requirements are enforceable
by ministry inspectors
- standards define, in advance,
the minimum requirements to be met by industry
operators who wish to carry out work in Ontario
- additional operations covered
by the standards are works, disposal wells,
servicing, solution mining and hydrocarbon
storage
- standards define when
operations must be reviewed by certified
examiners having the technical ability to ensure
that proper procedures have been followed and
that appropriate reports are submitted
- a new class of operations
called Historical Oil Field Status has been
defined and provided with special requirements
- standards are published and
available at a cost of $39.95 plus tax and
shipping from:
Ecological Sustainability
Institute (ESI)
Box 8000 Albert St. South
Lindsay, Ontario
K9V 5E6
Phone (705) 324-4859
Fax (705) 878-9309 |
or |
Publications Ontario
880 Bay St, Main Floor
Toronto Ontario
M7A 1N8
Phone (416) 326 5300
Fax (416) 326-5317 |
- Ministry inspectors will
concentrate their efforts on detecting illegal
operations and ensuring that operators comply
with the new Act and regulations
- the compliance efforts of
inspectors will be complemented by the certified
examiners who will be present at the operations
to collect data and provide reports according to
the timelines specified in the standards
Approvals and Licences
- previous licence requirements
for production, leasing, exploration and rig
operation, as well as permits and approvals for
such operations as disposal and plugging, have
been eliminated
- a new "life-cycle"
licence for each well will be required to be
established by the operator to ensure direct
responsibility until the well is plugged
- a process has been created to
allow operators to depart from the standards with
new procedures which are equivalent or better in
the reduction of risk and hazard
Financial and Administrative
- the Oil, Gas and Salt
Resources Trust has been established to assume
responsibility for sample preservation,
information dissemination and research functions
which directly benefit the industry
- industry operators will pay a
levy based on production value or well numbers to
fund the Trust directly
- the Trust will assume
operation of the Petroleum Laboratory in London
and preservation of the core and chip library
- operators will have
responsibility for the management of funds
required to guarantee the ultimate plugging of
wells
- minimum well security fund
requirements for open wells have been increased
from $500 per well to between $3,000 and $15,000
per well, depending on depth, to ensure the money
will be available to pay for plugging when the
well is abandoned
- the maximum security fund
limit per operator has been increased from $5,000
to $70,000
- a provision has been
introduced to allow operators with large numbers
of existing wells 10 years to build a security
fund
Back
to Main Page
|
