Comments for Environmental Law and Litigation

Comment on Our Team: More Great Environmental Lawyers by Raluca Hlevca

Raluca Hlevca — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:36:06 +0000

Hello,

I am a second year law student as Western who is looking to article in environmental law. I currently volunteer at CELA and have met Jackie at the December AGM. I have a Master in Environmental Science and a Bachelor in Life Sciences, both from the University of Toronto. This summer I am working in the Legal Services Branch at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Guelph.
I am writing to inquire if you are interested in taking on an articling student next year. I would gladly provide an application package and tell you more about myself and my interests and experiences. The work you do is inspirational and I would be honoured to have the opportunity to join your team.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,
Raluca Hlevca

Comment on How much waste really gets recycled? by verony

verony — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:07:11 +0000

Shouldn’t your top number be 350 million tons?

Comment on Huge fine and jail for drinking water violations in township by Alfio Granzotto

Alfio Granzotto — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:56:21 +0000

Hi,
I was wondering can a company in Ontario be charged for allowing untreated stormwater travel from their property to a neighbour’s property or into an adjacent creek? Also, is not an environmental legal requirement in Ontario that all stormwater must be treated before it leaves a property?

Thanks for the advice in advance

Comment on Canadian environmental law: Quick Intro by Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:37:09 +0000

Hi there,

Does the provincial Endangered Species Act apply to works or undertakings within federally-regulated ROWs?

Thanks!

Comment on Waterpower is not always green by Brent Eades

Brent Eades — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:49:47 +0000

Hello Dianne,

We’re running up against this through-the-looking-glass approvals process in trying to solidify opposition to a proposed hydro development in the heart of our small town of Almonte, west of Ottawa.

At this point we have conflicting interpretations of how the process works (or doesn’t, more likely) from the proponent, our town planner, and lobby groups who are helping us.

As best we can tell, no amount of community resistance, contrary environmental-impact data or adherence to following ‘proper channels’ is likely to have the slightest impact on the outcome. (Other than, at best, some slight mitigation of the worst effects of a project that almost no one in the community actually wants.)

Frustrating to say the least.

More information: http://almonte.com/petition/

Thank you.

Comment on Pulitzer Prize for Reporting to Inside Climate News by DSS

DSS — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:02:36 +0000

Thank you so much, I\’ll try to fix it.
Dianne

Comment on Pulitzer Prize for Reporting to Inside Climate News by zekat

zekat — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:39:42 +0000

Just wanted to let you know the links are broken for the previous post, “Why the Supreme Court decision in AbitibiBowater won’t work” as well as the comment link for that post.

Thanks

Comment on Sustainable events – real or greenwashing? by DSS

DSS — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:24:03 +0000

Thank you, James, I agree. Committee work usually seems to go on forever; it\’s only looking back that we can usually tell what we accomplished.
Dianne

Comment on Sustainable events – real or greenwashing? by James Watson

James Watson — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:41:16 +0000

It’s great to look back on a post like this, from 2010, and know that the work the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and British Standards (BS) did toward developing their standards regarding event sustainability, ultimately led to the creating 2012 launch of the international standard, “ISO 20121 – Event sustainability management systems”. Things get done after all!

Comment on Ostrander Point, wind and birds: is it different? by Ostrander Point wind farm objections appear reasonable | barnard on wind

Ostrander Point wind farm objections appear reasonable | barnard on wind — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 04:07:45 +0000

[...] by Mike Barnard In Ontario, there is one specific wind farm siting discussion I’ve been engaged in over the past couple of days, that of the nine turbine Ostrander Point wind farm. Based on the testimony that I’ve seen, specific concerns for wildlife and habitat for that specific wind farm appear reasonable and there is a strong case for significant mitigations or outright rejection of that one wind farm. Most of the testimony was referenced from http://ccsage.wordpress.com, but I also gathered evidence from Diane Saxe’s excellent site Envirolaw at this link http://envirolaw.com/ostrander-point-wind-birds/. [...]

Comment on Nova Scotia serious about green electricity by Funkenschlag

Funkenschlag — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:54:51 +0000

When you say greater than or less than 50MW you really mean 50kW.

Comment on Waste diversion: is it real? by Silo reader fighting Norfolk County Council approval of compost facility | The Silo

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 01:43:34 +0000

[...] Background on Ontario’s Waste Diversion http://envirolaw.com/waste-diversion-program-work/ [...]

Comment on Regulation of noise by Kathryn

Kathryn — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:43:48 +0000

Hello Dianne. My home is in a residential area in Kingston. My residence backs onto a large parcel of land. When I bought my home, I was told a school was going to be built there. Just recently the parcel was bought by a contruction company and 30-40 homes are going to be built. Trouble is this parcel contains limestone and requires a large pile driver to break the rock to install basements. The vibrations eminating from this machine reverates through the homes in the area. To make matters worse our own basements acoustically magnify the noise. Currently they are just working on the area close to the watermain hook up. With 30-40 homes to be built we are looking at listening to this pile driver noise for years. Our by-laws allow for noise of this nature from 7 am – 7 pm. And most days thus far the pile driver has been operating for 12 hours with one break for lunch. Can you provide a reference that speaks to the impact of this type of ongoing noise on residential inhabitants. I find it hard to believe that constuction companies can use pile drivers (pneumatic) over this extended period of time. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Kathryn

Comment on So you want to be an environmental lawyer… by Gus Cheng

Gus Cheng — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:08:17 +0000

A very thoughtful and insightful article. And while I agree with most of it, I would say that gaining experience through ENGO’s may be a bit “one-sided.” I do not cast dispersions on what the ENGO’s do (I personally think they provide a necessary counterpoint to the those who espouse industrialization). But to get a balanced view, I think volunteering or “shadowing” those who work on the various industrial lobbies would also be useful.

My personal view on the changes in O. Reg. 153/04 is a case in point. For instance, if one is filing an RSC on a brownfield, groundwater must be found and analyzed. While this is generally an accepted practice, what happens when an aquifer is so deep that scientific and engineering principles tell you it won’t be affected by the activities on the surface? The Regulation states that GW must still be found and analyzed. It doesn’t matter that the environmental conditions affecting the GW are tens perhaps hundreds of kilometers upstream in the GW recharge zone. To me, this is a problem with the regulation that could have used some legal representation to represent the scientific realities of the situation… (You can edit this for brevity if needs be )

Comment on Chrome contamination remediation researcher? by Steve Wyndham

Steve Wyndham — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:14:10 +0000

Are you still looking for someone for this assignment? I was on the Waste Management web site and saw your link. Checking around I found this. Steve Wyndham

Comment on Imminent extinction of sage-grouse a red flag: oil wins in Canada, not environment by Imminent extinction of sage-grouse a red flag: oil wins in Canada, not environment | envirofrogblog

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:01:12 +0000

[...] Print [...]

Comment on Is the 310 Waste garbage fire case over again? by DSS

DSS — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:44:29 +0000

Thank you, I\’ve reposted it.

Comment on Is the 310 Waste garbage fire case over again? by mt232415

mt232415 — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:31:57 +0000

Just to let you know, the links are broken for the previous post (including the link for comments) (the post referring to the national roundtable on energy and the economy).

Comment on Home Depot: Excessive enforcement causing recycling set back? by DSS

DSS — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:19:44 +0000

Thank you, Bill. Just to be clear, I am enthusiastic about enforcement in general, but it is often counterproductive, in my experience, when directed forcefully at those who are already doing their best to comply. This is especially true for those organizations who are voluntarily striving to provide a public good, such as recycling.

Comment on Home Depot: Excessive enforcement causing recycling set back? by Bill

Bill — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:06:51 +0000

You are so right Dianne, there is so much inconsistency between distict offices when enforcing environmental legislation. Some offices have a zero tolerance approach to enforcement and others are still reasonable when applying the legislation to people and companies trying to do the right thing. Having an officer agreesively enforce environmental regulations without considering good will and financial impacts cost companies a great deal of monies that could be used in other more effective ways.

Comment on Regulation of noise by Nick

Nick — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:20:49 +0000

I live in scarborough and my property backs on to an industrial area. Most nights it’s wonderfully quite but some nights, mabe once a week , the garbage trucks with the forks that pick up the containers and lift them up over the cab and dumps in the back , come by to work. If you have ever been close to these machines while operating you know how loud they are. The noise the trucks makes just by its engine is loud, then you have the back up beeper and lights. They are about 60-80 meters from my house and when they slam the containers to the ground it sounds like an explsion, I can feel that vibration, albeit small, through my house. This usually happens around 4-5:30 am during the week by multiple companies. Needless to say my sleeping is seriously affected. My neighbors are in the same boat. What can I do about this? Sue the companies for my lack of sleep and noise? Calls to the bylaw infraction department yield no results, they request me to fill out forms about when and where the noise is coming from and that’s about it. Thanks for any help

Nick

Comment on A little more international protection for endangered species by Andrea Crosta

Andrea Crosta — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:36:36 +0000

We think that CITES failed to put in place credible and effective actions to stop the elephant poaching.
We need a much tougher approach taken, especially with respect to China, and sanctions to push countries (origin, transit and destination) that are currently not doing anything, to enforce and improve the law on wildlife crime.
The only way to stop the killing and to save the world’s elephants for future generations is an immediate, comprehensive, and indefinite ban on international and domestic ivory trade.
Andrea Crosta
Co-founder & Director
Elephant Advocacy League (EAL)

Comment on Perc in your dry cleaned sweater? by Dave Hatt

Dave Hatt — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:55:56 +0000

This is a fabulous article. Thank you so much for writing it! It reinforces the red skin we see over time in our friends who work in Perc plants. My partner and I own WetCleaner in Victoria. We have our sights on Toronto as we used to live there. Hopefully sooner than later we will be able to help people in more cities rid Perc from their lives.

Comment on Buyer can’t expect compensation for pre-existing contamination by Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:44:08 +0000

Was the wording of the Phase I ESA or the consultant that provided the Phase I to Midwest brought into this? Clearly, additional work should have been recommended by the consultant and ignored at Midwest’s peril.

Comment on Lead: Another reason to worry about car races by mike

mike — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:25:02 +0000

What about other emisions besides lead? Some race entities may claim that even though it is legal, that they do not use it. What is considered worse living on a busy road or near a race track? Certain US states sell “racing fuel” at regular gas stations, is that in fact leaded gasoline?