The Ministry of Environment is introducing a new administrative penalty program to encourage compliance with the Environmental Management Act (EMA) and the Integrated Pest Management Act (IPMA).
The new program makes it possible to give out financial penalties to violators who fail to comply with an Act or regulation, or with orders, licences or permits issued by ministry officials.
The goal is to encourage compliance and discourage potential violators. Administrative penalties are to be used when non-compliance has a direct environmental impact or interferes with the protection of the environment.
This new program fills a gap between warnings and violation tickets for minor offences and criminal prosecutions for more serious offences.
Examples of violations include:
• Discharging waste without a required authorization.
• Releasing a substance into the environment that exceeds what is permitted under an authorization or regulation.
• Failing to submit monitoring reports.
A violation will fall into one of four categories with maximum penalties of $2,000, $10,000, $40,000 and $75,000. Each violation will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with no fixed penalties.
Statutory decision makers within the Ministry of Environment will make the final decisions on penalties.
