Aamjiwnaang First Nation's Chief said he was pleasantly surprised by new proposed emissions limits for petroleum facilities announced by the province.
The Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks is recommending the use of additives to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions, as well as the measurement and public reporting of significant sources of sulphur dioxide, at the five existing petroleum facilities in Ontario including Imperial and Suncor refineries in Sarnia and Shell Corunna.
Chief Chris Plain said it's a move in the right direction.
"I believe on the surface it is a very good positive step towards addressing the issues that our community is facing and the larger community as well," said Plain.
He said over the years steps have been taken to improve the air quality, but more is needed.
"A lot of it is related to downsizing within the Chemical Valley, but of course we don't want to see downsizing, we want to see responsible development," he said. "I know that there's cleaner fuel being generated and cleaner processes within the valley, and I believe that there's been a significant reduction with some of the emissions but this is particular to SO2 and they're still working on benzene standards and other types of pollution to the air."
Aamjiwnaang Chief Chris Plain. May 2020. (Photo courtesy of BWHF via Facebook)
If approved, the proposed regulation includes an immediate reduction of emissions of up to 30 per cent from heavy emitters and sets strict limits for key sources from each facility by the end of 2026.
The ministry said heavy emitters would also be held to account with new monetary environmental penalties of up to $100,000 for every breach of an emission limit.
Residents are able to comment on the proposal until December 24, 2021.