Ontario is proposing to eliminate a January 2027 deadline that would require certain businesses with air and noise emissions to move from existing Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECAs) to the province’s Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR).
The proposed amendments to Ontario Regulation 1/17 under the Environmental Protection Act would allow facilities to continue operating under their existing ECAs indefinitely, provided they do not make operational changes that would otherwise require an amendment to their approval.
Currently, prescribed facilities operating under an ECA must transition to the Air Emissions EASR by January 31, 2027, even when no changes to their operations are planned.
Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks says removing the deadline would reduce administrative and financial burdens on businesses while maintaining existing environmental protections.
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Under the proposed changes, registration on the EASR would instead be triggered when a facility makes modifications that would normally require an ECA amendment. These could include changes to air pollution control equipment, operational parameters that affect air emissions, or the addition of activities prescribed under the Air Emissions EASR regulation.
Facilities with no proposed operational changes would be permitted to continue operating under their existing ECAs. Changes limited to administrative information, such as a company name or address, could continue to be handled through administrative amendments to the ECA.
Province cites cost of technical assessments
Ontario introduced the Air Emissions EASR as part of a “registration first” approach to environmental permissions. Certain prescribed activities and sectors, including food processing, cabinet-making and general manufacturing, register their air and noise emissions through the EASR rather than applying for a ministry-issued ECA.
Facilities registered under the EASR must comply with regulatory requirements and applicable operating standards intended to protect human health and the environment. Requirements can include retaining licensed engineering practitioners to conduct technical assessments.
Under the existing 2027 transition requirement, businesses may have to hire licensed engineering practitioners to prepare or update air, noise and odour assessments, including Emission Summary and Dispersion Modelling reports, even when their approved operations have not changed.
The province says eliminating the transition requirement for unchanged facilities would reduce duplication and allow the ministry to concentrate its regulatory resources on more complex facilities and those undergoing operational changes.
The proposed approach would effectively replace the regulation’s time-based transition requirement with a change-based system.
According to the ministry, documentation and assessment requirements would therefore be tied to the extent of changes at a facility rather than a fixed transition date.
The province describes removal of the deadline as an administrative amendment and says it is not expected to have an environmental impact.
Ontario is conducting a 45-day public review and comment period on the proposal. The ministry says comments received by September 20, 2026, will be considered before a final decision is made.
A regulatory impact assessment is also underway to determine potential cost impacts. The province expects the amendments to reduce administrative costs and unnecessary technical-report updates for businesses operating without changes to their approved activities.
