Evaluating Ontario’s New Brownfields Regulation as a Step Toward

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to evaluate Ontario’s brownfields regulation through the policy maturity model introduced by Adams et al. (2010). This is an ideal time to evaluate Ontario’s progress toward policy maturity because the Province has recently adopted a new brownfields regulation, Regulation 511/09 under the Environmental Protection Act, which came into full force on July 1st, 2011. According to the policy maturity model, brownfield policy maturity is achieved when policy creates a framework where brownfields are consistently viewed as a strategic source of profit by the private sector (Adams et al. 2010). The report begins by providing a summary of the progress Ontario has made in terms of brownfield policy over the past decade, including the introduction of Regulation 153/04, Records of Site Conditions, and Community Improvement Plans. Regulation 153/04 governed the investigation and remediation processes prior to Regulation 511/09. Records of Site Conditions were introduced to decrease liability associated with redevelopment, and Community Improvement Plans can provide financial incentive for redevelopment. Next, this report summarizes the key changes introduced by Regulation 511/09, including the new generic standards for acceptable concentrations of contaminants, the new requirements for Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments and the new Streamlined Risk Assessment process. Third, this report introduces the steps of the policy maturity model through which Regulation 511/09 is evaluated.