For release: October 19, 2005

Information Bulletin

ONTARIO GOVERNMENT MAKING PROGRESS WITH REGULATION
OF NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT ACROSS THE PROVINCE

TORONTO - Rules governing nutrient management are part of the government of Ontario's comprehensive, science-based approach to protecting drinking water that will contribute to strong, healthy and prosperous communities - both now and for the future.

The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs are responsible for implementing the Nutrient Management Act, 2002. By continuing to implement Justice Dennis O'Connor's recommendations from the Report of the Walkerton Inquiry and the advice of the Environmental Commissioner's Office, along with input from environmental and agricultural stakeholders, the ministries have:

• Amended the nutrient management regulation;
  
• Established a Nutrient Management Standards Science Committee;
  
• Committed to funding research through the nutrient management joint research program; and,
  
• Proposed to prescribe the Nutrient Management Act under the Environmental Bill of Rights.
• Changes to the Nutrient Management Regulation

Final amendments to the Nutrient Management Regulation (O.Reg. 267/03) were filed on September 29, 2005. Key changes to the regulation include:

• Increasing the number of farms practicing nutrient management;
  
• Maintaining priority standards for the protection of streams and wells;
  
• Refining requirements for the approval and registration of strategies and plans;
  
• Simplifying regulations and streamlining the requirements for farmers by allowing more flexibility in the design of their nutrient management strategies and plans;
  
• Applying the nutrient management regulation to smaller expanding farms;
  
• Additional requirements for some farms under the regulation that are within 100m of a municipal well; and,
  
• Requiring approved plans for farms applying non-agricultural source material (eg. biosolids), with an exemption existing for smaller farms that have a valid certificate of approval, unless they are within 100m of a municipal well.
  

Further technical changes to the Regulation include:

• Changes to some construction and siting requirements for small manure storages;
  
• A general prohibition for phased-in farms for agricultural source material application on slopes 25% or greater and removal of rate restrictions for application of liquid agricultural source materials on lesser slopes;
  
• An exemption to the prohibition on livestock access to water in outdoor confinement areas for dugout ponds;
  
• Record keeping requirement to retain a nutrient management strategy and nutrient management plan (if required) on the farm for compliance purposes;
  
• Removal of requirements relating to load bearing surfaces in outdoor confinement areas;
  
• Exclusion of the requirement to use NMAN software;
  
• Elimination of requirements for application of agricultural source materials on saturated soils;
  
• Taking away requirements for sampling and analysis of soil and agricultural source material;
  
• Removal of requirements for minimum distance separation from surface water based on slope, soil texture and application method, the P-Index and the N-Index;
  
• Refined certification and licensing requirements for those who prepare plans and strategies.

Establishing a Nutrient Management Standards Science Committee
As part of its commitments to developing standards that will continue to build on nutrient management principles, the government is establishing a Nutrient Management Standards Science Committee to advise the Ministers of Environment and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on a short list of risk-based nutrient management standards that would apply to all sized farms.

This list will be developed using a risk-based model that will take into account the relative risk of the agricultural activity as well as the geographic, environmental and health risks. The model will also assess the type of farming activity and the type of nutrient applied, including agricultural material, non-agricultural source material and commercial fertilizers.

The Nutrient Management Standards Science Committee membership will consist of five independent experts from diverse fields including agriculture, hydrogeology, land use planning, risk management and risk assessment. The members of this committee will be announced shortly.

Nutrient Management Joint Research Program
In addition to the advice from the science committee, the government is engaged in long-range scientific research related to nutrient management practices and their impact on the environment. The joint research program with the University of Guelph is focused on a longer-term agenda - ensuring future government decisions regarding land application standards are based on the most up-to-date scientific research available.

The three-year joint research program is being supported by the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Environment, with funding of up to $1 million per year. Professor Ivan O'Halloran of Ridgetown College, the University of Guelph has been named as the research coordinator responsible for coordinating this program.

Prescribing the Nutrient Management Act under the Environmental Bill of Rights
To improve public participation in environmental decision-making, the government is proposing to prescribe the Nutrient Management Act under Ontario's Environmental Bill of Rights. This would ensure that the public has at least a 30-day opportunity to comment on proposed changes to the legislation and its existing regulation, as well as any new regulations.

The Environmental Bill of Rights establishes a framework for notifying the public about proposals that could have a significant effect on the environment and then allows for the consideration of the public's input before the government makes a final decision on a proposal. The proposal to prescribe the Nutrient Management Act is posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights registry for public comment.

Prescribing the Nutrient Management Act demonstrates the government's promise of transparency and the public's right to comment on changes to environmental regulations.

For More Information
The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) oversees the compliance and enforcement requirements of the Nutrient Management Act. Please visit www.ene.gov.on.ca for more details.

The Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) works closely with farmers to register or approve nutrient management strategies, to approve plans as required, and provide training and education. For more information, go to OMAFRA's website at www.omafra.gov.on.ca.

More information can also be obtained by calling the nutrient management toll-free information line at 1-866-242-4460.

The regulation that amends O. Reg. 267/03 - Ontario Regulation 511/05 - is available online in the October 15 edition of the Ontario Gazette at www.ontariogazette.gov.on.ca, and a complete version of the regulation, as amended, can be found online at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca.

The proposal to prescribe the Nutrient Management Act will be posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights registry at: http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/ebr/english/index.htm. Written comments to these amendments will be accepted up to 30 days after posting.

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Contacts:
Anne O'Hagan
Minister's Office
Ministry of the Environment
(416) 314-5139

John Steele
Ministry of the Environment (416) 314-6666

Kelly Synnott
Minister's Office
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
(416) 326-6439

Charles Lalonde
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Environmental Policy and Programs Branch
(519) 826-3577

www.ene.gov.on.ca
www.omafra.gov.on.ca