ASPHALTopics | Spring 2014 | VOL 27 | NO 1

ENVIRONMENTAL
ESSENTIALS
by Corey Kinart
Ministry releases new
noise guildeline NPC-300
On October 21, 2013, the Ontario Ministry of the
Environment (MOE) released its new noise criteria
guideline, Publication NPC-300, “Environmental Noise
Guideline – Stationary and Transportation Noise
Sources – Approval and Planning.” The creation
of NPC-300 was motivated by the need to eliminate
or reduce conflicts between the now superseded
guidelines NPC-205, NPC-232, LU-131 and “Noise
Assessment Criteria in Land Use Planning:
Requirements, Procedures and Implementation.”
NPC-205 and NPC-232 contained the noise criteria
that the MOE used when assessing noise from stationary
sources such as industries and commercial establishments
in the context of granting Environmental Compliance
Approvals. NPC-300 effectively harmonizes the four
superseded guidelines, and has been issued for the
dual purpose of Environmental Approval of stationary
sources by the MOE and land use approvals by municipal
authorities. For the most part, the changes introduced
by the promulgation of NPC-300 are not a significant
departure from the previous guidelines and in several
aspects are less stringent than before. The changes
of most relevance to hot mix asphalt producers are
outlined below.
Evening limit in Class 1 areas
In general, NPC-300 has resolved the conflicts in sound
level limits among the various superseded guidelines
by relaxing the more stringent limit in cases where the
previous limits were at odds. One of the most blatant
discrepancies was that the exclusion limit during evening
hours (19:00 to 23:00) for sound from stationary sources
in a Class 1 (Urban) Environment was stipulated as 47 dBA
in NPC-205, but 50 dBA in LU-131. NPC-300 has adopted
the less stringent limit of 50 dBA for stationary sources
in a Class 1 Environment during evening hours.
Need to consider vacant lands
One important change which may make the assessment
of stationary sources more stringent is the need to
consider hypothetical, potential points of reception on
vacant lands that might permit sound-sensitive land uses
in future. In the past, the MOE had required that Acoustic
Assessments consider hypothetical points of reception
only on undeveloped residentially zoned lands.
NPC-300 explicitly requires that Acoustic Assessments
consider potential points of reception on vacant lands
with any zoning designation that allows a sound sensitive
use. This could include institutional zones which could
conceivably host schools, hospitals or places of worship,
agricultural zones which often allow one dwelling per
parcel, commercial zones which typically allow daycare
facilities, and open space which often allow camping
facilities.
This change means that there are likely to be hypothetical
points of reception closer to many stationary sources
than the existing bona-fide points of reception which
38 OHMPA | ASPHALTOPICS