OPA keeps an eye on spill bill.

Ontario's exploration industry should not be affected by proposed environmental legislation designed to impose hefty fines on corporate polluters of the province's waterways.

Gary Clark is the executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA).

He says Ontario Environment Minister Leona Dombrowsky has told him Bill 133 will not affect prospectors and diamond drillers reporting spills on the job site.

Bill 133 is environmental legislation imposing hefty penalties to companies responsible for spills.

Through amendments to the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act, ministry officials would have the authority to respond within days of a spill to an environmental violation without having to go through the courts.

The legislation is designed to encourage companies to meet and go beyond compliance.

The original wording of the bill, which passed first reading last year, took a "shotgun effect" to all industry, including mineral exploration, he says.

Prospector groups across the North fear that normal accidents or the routine spillage of fluids during exploration work could result in thousands of dollars in fines from the ministry.

Some OPA members say employees on a diamond drill site may opt to cover up spills to avoid charges and it will lead to less environmental reporting.

As part of a larger industrial coalition group, Clark was a signatory to a December 1 letter to Dombromsky, requesting the legislation be withdrawn.

The minister's guarantees aside, Clark says he was further assured by Thunder Bay MPP Michael Gravelle the legislation will not affect the industry and that some re-writes will be put into the bill for second reading.

The OPA director has asked Dombrowsky's office for a letter based on their conversation.

"Our concern is they change the wording of the bill to reflect the intent."

Interested stakeholders were invited to Toronto during March to make submissions on the bill, says MNR spokesman Mark Rabbior. He confirmed the minister's office has had consultations with the mining industry and has heard their concerns about the bill.

The bill is expected to go for second reading in Queen's Park sometime this spring.

Rabbior was unaware if any changes to the bill were in the offing, since the ministry is continuing to get feedback.

According to the original wording of Bill 133, EPs (environmental penalties) would apply to 140 facilities in Ontario covered by MISA (Municipal/Industrial Strategy for Abatement) regulations including power generators, industrial minerals, iron and steel, metal casting, metal mining, petroleum, and pulp and paper.

The proposed maximum penalties are $20,000 per day for company officials and $100,000 per day for corporations.

The OPA was part of a large coalition of industry associations that included the Canadian Steel Producers' Association, Ontario Mining Association, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, Ontario Forest Industries Association and the Ontario Energy Association lobbying against the bill.

"We've backed off lobbying because we have no money to continue ... but we're there in spirit," says Clark.

www.ontarioprospectors.com

By IAN ROSS

Northern Ontario Business