OPA keeps an eye on spill bill.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: MINING - Ontario Prospectors Association

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industrial coalition group, Clark was a signatory to a December 1 letter to Dombromsky, requesting the legislation be withdrawn.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