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Message from the Chair
Ontario has been a contributor to the Air & Waste Management Association for a century, starting with the International Association for the Prevention of Smoke, the precursor association, in 1908. The Ontario Section remains one of the more dynamic groups within the A&WMA family.
Most recently, the longtime secretary (Diane Freeman) of the Ontario Section has been elected to the A&WMA International Board of Directors. We have had our share of Past Presidents including Tony van der Vooren, Brad Drowley and Harry Belyea. We have also had three A&WMA annual conference and exhibitions in Toronto.
We are currently holding breakfast meetings in three locations: Toronto, Hamilton and Waterloo. What’s new is that we are now set up to teleconference these meetings to the University of Windsor. In the past, we have set up transmission to Sudbury. We are looking at opportunities to broadcast to other locations in the future. If you have an interest in participating electronically in these meetings, send a note to Jennifer Ahluwalia (jahluwalia@dillon.ca).
In this Newsletter you will find a summary of our recent Modelling Conference. I am pleased to note that it was both a technical and financial success. On a related note, we intend to give out two scholarships this year which we support from conference surpluses from years gone by.
We are always looking for individuals who can help us out in our programs. Both Ron Bobker and Cherry Ballesteros have recently agreed to join our Finance Committee to help us balance our fiscal prudence with our Mission and Objectives, particularly in terms of outreach. We currently have several other Committees that could use your help: contact Ciara, our President (cdejong@ortech.ca).
I would be pleased if you would join us at our annual Holiday Luncheon, to be held this year on Thursday December 19 (the 3rd Thursday, just like all our Board meetings) at Jack Astor’s near the airport, 25 Carlson Court Toronto, Ontario. In fact, let me re-extend my invitation, on behalf of the Board, to all Ontario Section and Ottawa Valley Chapter members to attend any of our board meetings; drop me a line and I will send you the Agenda, location and call in number (pcomplin@ortech.ca).
Paul Complin
Chair, A&WMA Ontario Section |
Annual Holiday Luncheon
The President and Chair of the Board cordially invite all members of the Ontario Section to the annual holiday lunch meeting. Once again we will host our lunch at Jack Astor's near the airport.
Thursday December 19th
Jack Astor’s near the airport
25 Carlson Court Toronto, Ontario
Lunch is free for A&WMA Ontario Section members.
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Welcome To Our New Members
We welcome the following individuals to the A&WMA Ontario Section. These people joined the A&WMA since our last newsletter in June 2013.
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Alex Ballez, Dillon Consulting Limited
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Shannon Belleau, Dillon Consulting Limited
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Michael Jammer, ENVIRON EC (Canada) Inc.
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Janya Kelly, Golder Associates Ltd
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Michael Labocha, Cooper Standard Automotive Canada
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Ainslie Murdock, ORTECH Consulting Inc.
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Wendy Nadan, Nadan Consulting Ltd.
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Paul Orchard, SPL Consultants Limited
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Amit Patel
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Kamin Paul
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Taylor Purdy, University Of Windsor
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Natasha Rahman
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Peter Rehbein, RWDI
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Carla Reynolds, Exp. Services Inc.
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Roy Sabino, Airzone One Ltd.
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Sylvia Sleep, University Of Toronto
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Julia Tsai, Hatch Ltd.
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TonyTsui, University of Toronto
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Jill Ward, Suncor Energy Products Inc
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Yue Zhao
Note: Existing members are considered "New" if they renew their membership after their renewal date. |
2013 Fall Air Dispersion Modelling and Environmental Acoustic Modelling Course and Conference
Stephen Lamming, AMEC
On October 21st and 22nd, the A&WMA Ontario Section hosted the 2013 Air Dispersion and Environmental Acoustic Modelling Course and Conference. The courses were held on the Monday and the conference was held on the next day. We were pleased to have a full complement of attendees to both the courses and presentations. It was the first time the A&WMA Ontario Section held two separate streams of presentations – air & noise – and we were pleased both were well attended (20% government and 80% industry/consulting).
Monday’s courses consisted of a morning presentation on “Modelling Sound in the Atmosphere” and an afternoon presentation on “Fundamentals of Air Dispersion Modelling, Fate and Transport Phenomena”. The courses drew more than 30 attendees from a diverse range of industries, government and consultants. The noise course was taught by Mr. Nicholas Sylvestre-Williams and the air course was taught by Mr. Brian Sulley, both active board members of our Section.
Tuesday’s conference sessions consisted of two (2) parallel streams – air & noise, which covered over 16 unique, relevant topics in the field of atmospheric modelling and acoustics modelling, such as an air session on an “Overview of the Regulatory Modelling in Ontario and Ministry’s Observations given by Mr. Scott Grant and Mr. Steve Mercer of the MOE, and a noise session on the “Future of Road Noise Modelling” given by Mr. Peter VanDelden of RWDI and Mr. Dan McKnight & Ms. Natalie Boyd of the MTO. The papers were all well received and generated lively discussion. Our lunch speaker, Dr. Gilles Daigle, gave a fascinating overview of our theories of sound propagation from 4000 BC to today.
The Mission of the A&WMA is to assist in the professional development and critical environmental decision making of our members to benefit society. The Purpose of the A&WMA is to enhance environmental knowledge and provide quality information on which to base environmental decisions. We firmly believe that hosting an event such as the 2013 Air Dispersion and Environmental Acoustic Modelling Course & Conference fulfills our Mission & Purpose.
Presentations are available on the A&WMA Ontario Section website.
Congratulations to Eva Webster of Trent University, the winner of our Student Poster Presentation. Watch for more information on Eva's poster.
Thank you to all attendees that provided feedback on our survey. Ian MacDonald of Hydro One Networks Inc. was the winner of our $100 Best Buy Gift Card. |
Joint Meeting with the Niagara Frontier Section
Paul Complin, ORTECH Environmental
This year we arranged a joint meeting with the Niagara Frontier Section in Lewiston, NY on Thursday 26, 2013.
Robert G. Sliwinski, the Director of the Bureau of Air Quality Planning, NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation gave a rundown of the state program and some current initiatives, with some interesting discussion of some of the US EPA headaches that have affected his efforts.
Eric Bristow of the Canadian Fuels Association provided his Perspective on Ontario air quality with some background on the development of Ontario environmental requirements. He illuminated the relationship between existing Ontario requirements and federal initiatives; updated us on the progress of the national ‘Air Quality Management System’ and staked out his belief in and commitment to Multi-Stakeholder Working Groups in developing solutions that all stakeholders can support.
Preliminary plans call for holding a 2014 joint meeting next September on the Ontario side. Details to follow. |
Notes on Noise: NPC-300
Rob Stevens, HGC Engineering
The big news in the noise world this autumn is the arrival NPC-300. On October 21, 2013, the Ministry of the Environment released for use its long awaited and much anticipated new noise criteria guideline, Publication NPC-300, “Environmental Noise Guideline – Stationary and Transportation Noise Sources – Approval and Planning.” As noted by the MOE on the Environmental Registry, NPC‑300 replaces four now-superseded guidelines: NPC-205, NPC-232, LU-131 and “Noise Assessment Criteria in Land Use Planning: Requirements, Procedures and Implementation.”
For the most part, the sound level limits and acoustic assessment procedures in NPC-300 are the same as those in the old guidelines. The creation of NPC-300 was motivated by the widely recognized need to eliminate or reduce conflicts between NPC-205/232 and LU-131. With a few exceptions, the approach taken in NPC-300 to resolve these conflicts among the various superseded guidelines has been to relax the more stringent limit in cases where the limits in the old guideline were at odds.
Perhaps the most significant change and relaxation of the sound level limits is the introduction of a new area classification – the “Class 4 area” – with a less stringent set of exclusionary minimum sound level limits for stationary (i.e., industrial/commercial) sources. A municipal approving authority can designate certain lands as Class 4 to facilitate and encourage in-fill development.
There are many other changes introduced by NPC-300, including many which go beyond resolving the conflicts among the old guidelines. CLICK HERE for a summary of those changes. |
Ontario Fine-tunes EASR Approvals Process and Extends Phase-in Deadlines
John Wilms, Wilms & Shier Environmental Lawyers
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has proposed a series of amendments to its Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) process to reduce administrative overlap between the streamlined EASR and the more onerous ECA, expand the types of activities that are eligible for the EASR, amend the noise rules for standby generators, and extend the phase-in deadlines.
The list of EASR-eligible heating systems would be expanded to include ventilation, cooling and refrigeration equipment. An HVAC system with cooling towers would be subject to additional eligibility and operating requirements. Small dust collection systems (in retail locations and schools), laboratory fume hoods (in schools), and the indoor operation of arc-welding equipment (for light maintenance only) are added. The list of activities completely exempt from approval requirements in O.R. 524/98 will be expanded to include listed battery charging areas for electric vehicles (such as forklifts), fruit ripening areas, and business copy centres.
To avoid the tedious and unproductive 20.4 order requirement, MOE has rationalized the system. In future, proponents will only be permitted to register in the EASR if all of the activities at a site are EASR-eligible. If other activities, such as process emissions, require an approval under the Environmental Protection Act, s.9, then none of the activities at the site will be eligible for EASR. Phase-in provisions will allow sites with s.9 approvals currently registered in the EASR to continue to remain registered and even add new activities (from the expanded list) if they prefer. This important revision to the process will eliminate the majority of tedious and unproductive applications for 20.4 orders.
The other improvement that will eliminate 20.4 orders is the alignment of eligibility requirements and operational standards for standby power systems. That the eligibility requirements were different from the operational standards was a significant incongruity. In future, under EASR, standby generators will have to meet performance standards for air emissions (US EPA Tier 1 standards) and noise (a maximum of 75 dBA at 7 metres). If not, an ECA will be required. The noise standard only applies if the generator is located less than 50 m away from the property boundary of the nearest noise receptor.
For more details refer to CLICK HERE. |
Waste Tips
Gordon Reusing, Conestoga-Rovers & Associates
Winter is just around the corner. Generators should be preparing their Sites for winter. There are many hazards to storing material outside during the winter. Liquid expands when it freezes and containers exposed to these conditions can bulge and pose a risk for leakage. Snow removal activities can damage containers and containers may become inaccessible due to a buildup of snow. A few suggestions include moving drums and totes indoors, using a segregated area for storage, storingdrums and/or containers on pallets and/or sending containers off site for disposal sooner rather than later.
On another note, it is the time of year to begin thinking about HWIN Registration, remember the deadline is February 15, 2014.
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ACE – The 2013 Annual Conference & Exhibition
June 24-27th, 2013 In Long Beach, CA
The 107th Annual Conference & Exhibition will be held June 24-27, 2014 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California.
The theme for this year's conference is Navigating Environmental Crossroad to bring together responsible environmental stewardship amid a growing economic future. The term "navigating" also reflects the seaside conference location and the major seaport there. The draft title for the conference's Critical Review is Carbonaceous Black Carbon/Elemental Carbon (BC/EC) PM2.5 Emissions - Monitoring, Epidemiological and Toxicological studies for assessing health effects and decision-making.
Long Beach is home to the second busiest seaport in the United States and together with the Port of Los Angeles, ranks as the 8th busiest container volume seaport in the world. Mark your calendars for the 2014 Annual Conference. We hope you will navigate to Long Beach for four days of professional growth and camaraderie with thousands of the best minds in our profession!
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Members on the Move
If you have made a career move that you like to share with the membership, please email info@awma.on.ca and we will share it on our website and in the next newsletter. |
Member Contact Information
On another note, please keep your A&WMA membership information up to date. You may do so on a self-service basis:
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Go to www.awma.org
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Select the “Log In” button at the upper right.
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Enter your member number and password (or follow the password help instructions).
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Select “Membership” from the menu at the top of the page.
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Select “My Account” from the Member Services memo on the left of the page.
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To update your address or email address, select “Address” and “Edit” at the bottom of the “Address” page.
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Our Next Newsletter
If you have an idea for a future newsletter article please email info@awma.on.ca.
Tony Van der Vooren, Newsletter Coordinator
tony.vandervooren@amec.com
John Willms, Content Editor
jwillms@willmsshier.com
Sarah McQuaig, Design Editor
smcquaig@suncor.com
Watch for our next newsletter in January 2014! |
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