When the Ministry of the Environment Takes Action
This page is for owners and operators of facilities, landowners, and those in management or control of an undertaking or property under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). Action often follows a spill, an odour or noise complaint, a failed compliance inspection, or the discovery of contamination.
Illustrative example, not an actual Ministry order
“Provincial Officer’s Order: The company shall retain a qualified person to delineate the extent of contamination on the property and submit a report to the Ministry by the date specified. You may request that the Director review this order within seven days after being served with it.”
Who Investigates and Who Decides
- Regulator
- The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, through provincial officers and Directors under the EPA.
- Provincial officer orders
- Provincial officers can issue orders to people who own or manage an undertaking or property (EPA, ss. 157–157.2). These are reviewed first by a Director (s. 157.3).
- Director orders
- Directors can issue orders under various parts of the Act, and can confirm, alter or revoke provincial officer orders on review.
- Appeals
- Hearings on Director orders are held by the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) (ss. 139–140).
- Prosecutions
- Contraventions are offences (s. 186), prosecuted in the Ontario Court of Justice.
Common Issues in Environmental Enforcement
Spills and discharges
Discharging a contaminant that causes or may cause an adverse effect, and failing to report a spill promptly.
Approvals and registrations
Operating without the required environmental compliance approval or registration, or breaching its conditions.
Contaminated property
Orders to investigate and clean up contamination, including against current owners and people who had management or control.
Waste management
Storage, transport and disposal of waste outside approved methods or locations.
Odour and noise
Repeated complaints leading to orders to install controls or change operations.
What Can Happen Next
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Director review of a provincial officer’s order
Deadline
You may request that the Director review a provincial officer’s order within seven days after being served with it. The request can be made orally, with written confirmation within the same time (EPA, s. 157.3(1)–(2)).
A request does not stay the order unless the Director orders otherwise in writing (s. 157.3(4)). The Director may revoke, confirm or alter the order (s. 157.3(5)–(6)). If the Director does not decide and give notice within seven days of your request, the order is deemed confirmed, which then opens the appeal route below (s. 157.3(8)–(9)).
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Ontario Land Tribunal hearing
Deadline
A person to whom a Director’s order is directed may require a hearing by serving written notice on the Director and the Tribunal within 15 days after being served with a copy of the order (EPA, s. 140(1)).
Starting a Tribunal proceeding generally does not stay the order, except for orders to pay costs or penalties listed in the Act (s. 143(1)).
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Environmental penalties
For regulated persons, a Director may order payment of an environmental penalty in the circumstances set out in the Act and regulations (EPA, s. 182.1). A new administrative penalty regime enacted in 2019 will replace s. 182.1 once proclaimed, and as of this page’s research date it was not yet in force.
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Prosecution
Fines depend on the offence and the offender, and can apply for each day an offence continues. For the most serious offences, corporations face fines of up to $6,000,000 on a first conviction and up to $10,000,000 on later convictions (EPA, s. 187).
Checklist: Responding to an Environmental Order
Documents to gather
- The order and proof of the date and method of service
- Environmental compliance approvals, registrations and conditions
- Monitoring data, spill reports and notifications to the Ministry
- Environmental site assessments and consultant reports
- Records showing who owned, managed or controlled the property or undertaking, and when
Details to check
- Who issued the order: a provincial officer (7 days for review) or a Director (15 days to request a hearing)
- The service date for each order
- The work required and the compliance dates
- Whether others, such as former owners or tenants, are also named
Rules and resources to consult
- Environmental Protection Act, ss. 139–145, 157–157.3, 182.1, 186–187
- Regulations relevant to your sector, such as spills, waste and records of site condition
- Ontario Land Tribunal rules and forms
- Your environmental consultant and insurer
The seven-day review window is one of the shortest deadlines in Ontario regulatory law. Calendar it the day the order is served.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the Director does not respond to my review request?
If the Director does not decide and give notice within seven days of receiving your request, the order is deemed confirmed (s. 157.3(8)). That deemed confirmation is treated as a Director’s order for the purpose of requesting an OLT hearing (s. 157.3(9)), so your 15-day hearing window then becomes important.
Do I have to comply while I challenge the order?
Generally, yes. Neither a review request nor an OLT proceeding stays the order, unless the Director orders otherwise or the order is one of the payment orders the Act excludes (ss. 143(1), 157.3(4)).
Can I be ordered to clean up contamination I did not cause?
The EPA allows orders against people who own or have management or control of an undertaking or property. Whether an order against you is fair is a common issue at the Tribunal.
Sources
Statutory references are to the provisions listed below, as consolidated on e-Laws when this page was prepared.
- Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19, ss. 139–143, 157–157.3, 182.1, 186–187 — e-Laws consolidation period beginning June 5, 2025; checked November 10, 2026.