There's a new registry in town. The Environmental Activity & Sector Registry ("EASR") was made accessible as of October 31, 2011, allowing certain low-risk activities and sectors to obtain electronic confirmation from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment ("MOE") after registering their activities and business sectors online. The process for obtaining approvals is expected to be both simplified and faster.
Currently, the new Environmental Protection Act ("EPA") Regulation 245/11 allows the following sectors to use the EASR:
1. Heating Systems (natural gas and propane)
2. Standby Power Systems
3. Automotive Refinishing
In order to register, and if the person engaging in the activity is a corporation, a person with authority to bind the company is required to certify that the information filed in the EASR is complete and accurate. Every five years the registration must be periodically updated, unless there is a change in the original information submitted before the five years expire.
There is a constant obligation on the person registering on EASR to update information within 30 days of any changes, and to keep activity specific records accessible at all times at the facility. For example, a person engaged in automotive refinishing is required to maintain an accessible log recording information such as the date, time and duration of each coating application at the automotive refinishing facility. They are also required to have a record of the name of who manufactured each coating used during the application, and an estimate of how much coating was used.
For those who currently hold a Certificate of Approval ("COA") for the regulated activities and sectors, their COA will cease to apply on the fifth anniversary of the Regulation coming into effect (more specifically, Halloween 2016).
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