Ministry of Mines
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The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (ENDM) is committed to minimizing the impact of mineral exploration and development activities on public health and safety and the environment, as indicated in the purpose section of the Mining Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.14 (the Act).
The mineral industry has long signalled its interest in rehabilitating mine hazards on Crown lands to demonstrate its commitment to the environment and its sense of responsibility to the community. However, the industry was concerned about potential legal barriers to undertaking this activity, in particular, due to certain environmental legislation which could impose liability on a person who takes charge or control of a contaminated site.
In recognition of this concern, Ontario’s Mineral Development Strategy committed to removing legal barriers to voluntary rehabilitation and the Act was amended to add sections 139.2 – 139.5. Those provisions paved the way for voluntary rehabilitation by removing certain environmental liabilities for persons who voluntarily rehabilitate mine hazards on Crown lands.
The voluntary rehabilitation provisions of the Act and Ontario Regulation 240/00 fulfill Ontario’s commitment under its Mineral Development Strategy to remove legal barriers to voluntary rehabilitation of abandoned mine hazards. This benefits Ontario residents by reducing public health, safety and environmental risks and reducing the need for public spending.
This operational policy is intended to provide additional guidance on the voluntary rehabilitation process, which will assist potential volunteers to determine whether they wish to undertake such a project, including how ENDMwill deal with applications, make decisions on approvals and determine conditions that may be imposed on approvals.
Note: Voluntary rehabilitation is about rehabilitation of mine hazards and the approval given is for the rehabilitation plan for specified mine hazards. It does not give any rights or interest in the property, nor any right to the minerals, including their extraction. It is not a means to avoid the closure plan requirements in Part VII of the Act. For example, if a person proposes to re-process tailings to extract minerals, this activity requires a closure plan under Part VII and rights to the minerals through a mining lease or other appropriate mineral tenure.
Any person may apply to the Director of Mine Rehabilitation (Director) for approval to rehabilitate a mine hazard on Crown land or the lands prescribed under subsection 9.1 (1) of Ontario Regulation 240/00. Applicants must complete a Voluntary Rehabilitation Application (Form # 019-0322E) and provide any required information and supporting documentation.
Voluntary rehabilitation approval will not be given to a person who created or materially disturbed or worsened the mine hazard, or permitted those things to happen.
Before submitting the application to the Director, the person applying for approval to rehabilitate a mine hazard on lands for which there is one or more surface rights owners/holders or mining claim holders must provide the owners or holders a copy of the application. The copy may be provided in person (if is possible) or by mail at their last known address.
For the purpose of the Mining Act, Surface Rights Owner (SRO) means in respect of an area of land, an owner in fee simple of the land, as shown in the appropriate land registry office, who does not own the mining rights for the land.
For the purpose of this policy,
After the Director receives a Voluntary Rehabilitation application, the Director will identify which Aboriginal communities, if any, should be consulted, and will direct the applicant as to the scope of consultation, if any, that is required. In determining the scope of consultation required, the Director takes into account all the circumstances, including the fact that the project is to rehabilitate a site with an existing mine hazard.
Applicants may wish to consult with Aboriginal communities before submitting an application for Voluntary Rehabilitation. Before doing so, the applicant must request that the Director identify the Aboriginal communities to be notified of the proposed project. Applicants, who have consulted with the identified Aboriginal communities before submitting their application, must complete and include with the application the Aboriginal Consultation Report (Form # 019-0313).
Note: The Director may require the applicant to submit a consultation report at any time before approving the application to rehabilitate a mine hazard.
The Director evaluates each application on its own merit and makes a determination on a case by case basis. In deciding whether to grant approval for the rehabilitation of the mine hazard or to reject the application, the Director takes into consideration any factor he or she deems appropriate under a situation specific to the application. These considerations include:
Certain types of projects are better suited to voluntary rehabilitation than others. For the most part, volunteers are better suited to deal with simple rehabilitation projects, where the hazard can be easily dealt with – for example, an open mine shaft that can be rehabilitated by installing a cap. Rehabilitation projects that are very large or complex require much more involved rehabilitation (technical studies, consultants’ reports) or that will result in long-term testing or monitoring requirements may not be well suited to volunteer efforts.
Although the Director will determine applications on a case by case basis, the following types of projects are unlikely to be approved:
If the application is approved, the Director will provide approval in writing including conditions. Some conditions will be standard and the Director may include conditions that are specific to the particular project. Examples of standard conditions include:
ENDMwill post a proposal for approval of the application on the Environmental Registry for public review and comment.
If the application is not approved, the Director will notify the applicant in writing, with reasons.
Pursuant to subsection 139.2 (7) of the Act, a person who undertakes rehabilitation of a mine hazard subject to an approval issued by the Director will not be subject to a Ministry of the Environment (MOE) order or direction issued under specific provisions of the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act as of the day that the rehabilitation work commences. Those orders and directions refer to;
However, any such order or direction issued before the volunteer begins the approved rehabilitation work would not be affected by this protection. The Act also provides that such an order or direction may be issued against the volunteer undertaking approved rehabilitation if it is issued with respect to an activity that is not related to the rehabilitation. An MOE order may be issued under the Environmental Protection Act in respect of spills of pollutants if the volunteer caused or permitted the spill.
The applicant is expected to comply with the approved rehabilitation plan and conditions specified in the written approval. Pursuant to Part X of the Mining Act, the Director may direct inspection of the project for consistency with the approved rehabilitation plan and any provisions of the Mining Act.
Upon completion of the rehabilitation project, the approved person must provide the Director a rehabilitation report describing the completed rehabilitation work. The report must include photographs description, GPS location of the rehabilitated mine feature; and any other information required by the Director.
Note: Any decision made by the Director under section 139.2 (including approval or non-approval of an application, or the imposition of conditions) or under section 139.3 (including determination that rehabilitation is not being done according to the approved rehabilitation plan, or ordering rehabilitation to be done in accordance with an approved plan) is final and is not subject to appeal.