On August 6, 2026, Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) posted a proposal on the Environmental Registry of Ontario, which proposes to significantly change the rules around environmental permitting in the province.
Currently, most industrial facilities in Ontario operate under the authority of an Ontario environmental permit, called an “environmental compliance approval” (ECA). The current law requires most of these facilities to register on the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) by January 31, 2027, or run the risk of penalties for non-compliance. To do so, facility operators must engage consultants to conduct updated air and noise assessments, file documentation and pay fees. However, Ontario is now proposing to change this transition from ECAs to EASR registration to only take effect when a facility implements changes to its operations. As a result, this proposed change has the potential to save operators tens of thousands of dollars in 2026 and help those unaware of the impending January 31, 2027 deadline to avoid penalties and/or convictions for non-compliance.
In this bulletin, we describe which facilities must register on the EASR, what the current transition rules require of facilities operating under an ECA, and how the recent proposal could change these requirements.
Who Is Currently Required to Register on the EASR
Historically, facilities that discharge contaminants into the air or water or deposit waste on land required an environmental permit authorizing those activities, called an ECA (formerly called a certificate of approval). In 2011, the Government of Ontario created the EASR, an online registration system that was initially designed to allow persons to carry out select low-impact activities, such as operation of specific heating and standby power systems, following registration on the EASR, rather than having to go through the time-intensive ECA application process.
This narrow exemption from the requirement to obtain an ECA was significantly expanded when, on January 31, 2017, Ontario Regulation 1/17 (Registrations Under II.2 of the Act – Activities Requiring Assessment of Air Emissions) (O. Reg 1/17) came into force. This regulation established a comprehensive air emissions and noise regulatory framework that required persons engaging in activities that discharge or may discharge contaminants to the natural environment, other than water, to register in the EASR, except for those carrying out a limited set of higher-risk activities, such as thermal treatment of waste, chemical manufacturing, petroleum refining and cement production. All other facilities were required to register on the EASR within a 10-year transition window.
Existing Transition Requirements
The 10-year transition window is set to expire on January 31, 2027. If an eligible facility is required to register but does not do so by the deadline, its ECA will cease to apply on this date. As a result, the January 31, 2027 deadline is more than an administrative requirement; it may affect a facility’s legal authority to carry out the activity. Importantly, the requirement to transition applies even where no operational changes to the facility are contemplated.
Proposed Amendment
Ontario is proposing to replace the January 31, 2027 deadline with a change-based approach. Under the proposal, facilities could continue operating under existing ECAs into the future and would only be required to register under the EASR when proposed modifications to their facility or its activities would otherwise require an amendment to their ECA.
Key Takeaways
The proposal could provide meaningful regulatory relief for facilities operating under existing ECAs by removing the requirement to transition to the EASR by a fixed deadline. Facilities with no planned operational changes could avoid the immediate need to update technical studies, obtain professional assessments and complete the EASR registration process. Instead, those assessments and associated costs could be deferred until proposed modifications would otherwise require an amendment to the facility’s ECA.
Readers should note that this proposal only applies to air and noise emissions under O. Reg. 1/17 and does not extend to waste transportation systems. Under section 3(2) of Ontario Regulation 119/25 (Registrations Under Part II.2 of the Act – Waste Transportation Systems), existing ECAs governing prescribed waste transportation systems are set to expire automatically on August 1, 2028. Since the MECP has not issued any proposal to alter or delay this deadline, operators of waste transportation systems should remain aware that the August 1, 2028, statutory deadline continues to apply. Accordingly, waste transportation operators must continue preparing for mandatory EASR registration before that date to ensure continued compliance and avoid operating without valid regulatory approval.
For more information, please contact the authors or any other member of our Environmental group.
