Noise and the Law in Ontario

With Emphasis on Aggregate Pits

By Ric Holt, comments and corrections welcome, last updated 10 October 2003.

I've tried to record the situation as I understand it. See a lawyer if you want legal advice.

Ontario's Environmental Protection Act

The Ontario law that deals with noise is the EPA (Environmental Protection Act). This is a pretty good law. However, around 1996, Ontario down-sized the Ministry of Environment to such extent that enforcement of the act became lax or non-existent. This downsizing contributed to the Walkerton disaster of many deaths due to lack of attention to ground water contaminants.

The EPA (Section 1.1) defines a contaminant as any solid, liquid, gas, odour, heat, sound, vibration, radiation or combination of any of them resulting directly or indirectly from human activities that may cause an adverse effect.

The EPA (Section 1.1) defines an adverse effect as one or more of

(a) impairment of the quality of the natural environment for any use that can be made of it,
(b) injury or damage to property or to plant or animal life,
(c) harm or material discomfort to any person,
(d) an adverse effect on the health of any person,
(e) impairment of the safety of any person,
(f) rendering any property or plant or animal life unfit for human use,

(g) loss of enjoyment of normal use of property, and (h) interference with the normal conduct of business

So, the law makes clear that noise is a contaminant and that it can have an adverse effect.

The EPA Section 14 states no person shall discharge a contaminant or cause or permit the discharge of a contaminant into the natural environment that causes or is likely to cause an adverse effect.

This makes clear that creating excess noise is illegal.

If you cannot enjoy your property, because it is so noisy that you can't stand to be outside, you have suffered harm and material discomfort.

The EPA Section 15 states Every person who discharges a contaminant or causes or permits the discharge of a contaminant into the natural environment out of the normal course of events that causes or is likely to cause an adverse effect shall forthwith notify the Ministry. So, if you are going to make excess noise in Ontario, tell the MOE first, or you're breaking the law.

As you can see, the law protects you against excess sound.

Ontario Noise Guidelines

Publication NPC-232 determines the amount of noise that is allowed in a rural area. Its title is "Sound level limits for stationary sources in class 3 areas (rural)". It is published by the Ministry of the Environment. NPC-232 says This Publication establishes sound level limits for stationary sources of sound such as industrial and commercial establishments or ancillary transportation facilities, affecting points of reception in Class 3 Areas (Rural). The limits apply to noise complaint investigations carried out in order to determine potential violation of Section 14 of the Environmental Protection Act. The limits also apply to the assessment of planned stationary sources of sound in compliance with Section 9 of the Environmental Protection Act, and under the provisions of the Aggregate Resources Act and the Environmental Assessment Act.

Publication NPC-233 describes the information that must be included in an acoustic study report carried out under NPC-232. Its title is "Information to be submitted for approval of stationary sources of sound". It is published by MOE. NPC-233 says This Publication is a comprehensive document that specifies technical information to be submitted for approval to operate sources of sound and vibration.

In practice, an acoustic engineer carries out the procedures in NPC-232 and writes a report in the form described in NPC-233. Beware that a noise report produced by one engineer may not agree with the opinion of another engineer. You may wish to hire an acoustic engineer to review a noise report produced by a proponent of a new pit or quarry.

In urban or semi-urban areas, the guide that applies is NPC-205.

From the EPA Sections 9, 14 and 15 and from these Guidelines, it is clear that an NPC-232 acoustic study is required for any proposed rural gravel pit for which there is a reasonable chance of excess noise.

Recent experience indicates that the MOE doesn't carry out this responsibility, claiming that pits are the responsibility of the MNR. MNR follows its own policies and does not otherwise require an NPC-232 study. The EPA and its guidelines are reasonably good, but the Ministries do not enforce them.