Managing Industrial Pollution
Tools Needed

NRU
Oct. 18, 2018
Daniel Taylor

Municipalities are challenged by the lack of available tools to regulate urban industrial air pollution.

Last week, Environment Hamilton executive director Lynda Lukasic snapped a photo on her phone of a plume of smoke containing toxic particulates erupting from the ArcelorMittal Dofasco steel manufacturing plant on Hamilton’s waterfront. Lukasic immediately filed a complaint with the city.

In response to Lukasic’s complaint, Hamilton council quickly passed a motion calling for the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to aggressively enforce existing air pollution standards. Over the following weekend, provincial officials met with AleceroMittal Dofasco representatives, with no conclusive resolution reported.

Hamilton Ward 4 councillor Sam Merulla told NRU that municipalities need more tools at their disposal to regulate industries causing air pollution.

“Without any control [over these land uses] events like these just compound all of our frustration with regulating these industries. ... We don’t want the provincial government to just a give polluters a slap on the wrist or do nothing at all.”

As municipalities such as Hamilton continue to grow and densify, older industrial land uses can be challenging in light of strategies to reduce air pollution, Lukasic explained to NRU. As a result conflicts between residents and industries about environmental regulations are becoming more frequent.

“Hamilton is going through major transformations. 20 years ago, the steel mills were much larger employers then they are now. It’s making it more comfortable for Hamiltonians to ask questions about if they should be putting up [with these kind of land-uses]. People still argue that the jobs are really needed, but we’re finding those voices are now a smaller part of that conversation.”

Toronto Atmospheric Fund policy and programs director Bryan Purcell told NRU that there are two main tools at municipalities disposable outside of pressuring the provincial government to enforce environmental regulations more aggressively.

“There are two main [tools] for municipalities: through their planning and zoning process determining what can be built where ... and through a mandatory environmental reporting by-law.”

As an example of a reporting regime, Purcell pointed to the City of Toronto’s Environmental Reporting and Disclosure by-law and its pollution tracking program, ChemTRAC. He explained how ChemTRAC is designed to increase public awareness of harmful chemicals and reduce pollution from industrial and commercial sources through mandatory tracking and reporting of chemical pollutants. Purcell told NRU that as far as he knows, Toronto’s is the only such bylaw.

But Merulla doesn’t see these as viable tools for the situation in his ward or others like it. He explains that though reporting is mandatory under such by-laws, the municipality still doesn’t have the ability to enforce provincial environmental regulations.

“Really the biggest tool we have is the ability to make the public aware that this is a provincial issue. Until that occurs, we’re just going to be spinning our wheels.”

Hamilton East – Stoney Creek NDP MPP Paul Miller see’s conflicts like the recent events in Hamilton play out across the province and suggests incentives as part of the solution.

“I would like to see more incentives for companies to use the proper pollution control equipment. With Cap and Trade coming into effect soon, we should explore if we can use a percentage of the money that companies pay for their carbon credits to be funneled back into pollution control using the science and technology available.”