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<title>June 2003: NY, CT and RI Attorneys General Seek Enforcement of Canadian
Environmental Laws Against Ontario Power Generation</title>
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<p align="left"><strong><small><font face="Arial">About The Author:</font></small></strong></p>
<p align="left"><font face="Arial" style="font-size: 9pt">Robert A. Olson is a partner in the law firm of
Brown, Olson & Gould, P.C. which maintains a nationwide practice in energy law,
public utility law and related commercial transactions.</font></p>
<p><small><font face="Arial"><font style="font-size: 9pt">He can be reached at:</font><br>
<br>
<b><font color="#0000FF">Brown, Olson & Gould, PC</font></b><br>
2 Delta Drive<br>
Suite 301<br>
Concord, NH 03301<br>
<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><br>
(603) 225-9716<br>
<a href="mailto:[email protected]"></a></font></small></p>
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<b>
<p ALIGN="left"><u>June 2003</u><font size="6"><br>
NY, CT And RI Attorneys
General Seek Enforcement of Canadian Environmental Laws Against Ontario
Power Generation</font><strong><br>
by Robert Olson -- Brown, Olson and Wilson, P.C.<br>
</strong>
</b><font face="Arial" size="2">(<em>originally published by PMA OnLine Magazine:
200</em>3/08/11)</font></p><center>
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<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The attorneys general of New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island, along with
forty-eight public interest groups and two municipalities, have filed a
submission (SEM-03-001) (the "Submission") with the Commission for
Environmental Cooperation ("CEC"), requesting the development of a public
record to document the alleged failure of the Canadian government to
effectively enforce its own environmental laws against Ontario Power
Generation ("OPG"). </p>
<font FACE="Palatino" SIZE="2">
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></p>
</font>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">According to the Submission, OPG operates numerous
coal-powered electric generating facilities in Ontario, including one of the
largest such facilities in North America, and most of the plants have few,
if any, pollution control devices. The submitters claim that emissions of
mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from these plants contribute to
air and water pollution downwind in the northeastern United States,
particularly in the form of acid rain. </p>
<font FACE="Palatino" SIZE="2">
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></p>
</font>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Submission states that the Canadian government has
been notified of the harm caused by OPG emissions, and refers to numerous
letters written by the attorneys general of seven northeastern states (some
of whom are parties to the Submission) over a period of years to various
Canadian authorities and also to U.S. federal authorities requesting their
intervention with Canadian authorities. The Submission asserts that the
Canadian government has failed to enforce its own laws under which Canadian
federal authorities are required to take certain steps in the event of
cross-boundary air or water pollution. According to the Submission, such
steps in this case might include requiring OPG to prepare and implement a
pollution prevention plan. </p>
<font FACE="Palatino" SIZE="2">
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></p>
</font>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Submission requests that the CEC "document in a
public record the failure of the Canadian government to enforce effectively
its environmental laws against OPG." The CEC is an international body
created by the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation ("NAAEC"),
which in turn is an ancillary agreement to the North American Free Trade
Agreement. Among other things, the CEC is authorized to develop a factual
record in response to the complaint of any "non-governmental organization or
person" that one of the signatory nations—Canada, Mexico and the United
States—is failing to "effectively enforce" its own environmental laws. The
CEC may decide to release the factual record to the public.</p>
<font FACE="Palatino" SIZE="2">
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></p>
</font>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">An unfavorable public record would presumably generate
public pressure on the government to improve its own enforcement practices.
Apart from such a public reaction, however, the NAAEC provides no clear
remedies. In particular, the NAAEC makes no provision for any form of
damages or injunctive relief against the target government. Nonetheless, if
public pressure results in governmental enforcement action, parties against
whom the enforcement action is brought will presumably suffer real
consequences. </p>
<font FACE="Palatino" SIZE="2">
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></p>
</font>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A submission under the NAAEC may be made against any of
the three signatory nations. Thus, just as U.S. citizens have filed the
Submittal to pressure Canadian authorities to enforce environmental laws
against OPG, so Canadian and Mexican citizens could file a submission to
pressure U.S. authorities to enforce U.S. environmental laws against U.S.
power generators. Of the twelve active files listed on the CEC’s website,
however, none are brought against the United States. </p>
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<blockquote>
<p align="left"><font face="Arial">
<small>Robert A. Olson is a partner in the law firm of Brown, Olson &
Gould P.C.
which maintains a nationwide practice in energy law, public utility law and related
commercial transactions. He can be reached at:</small></font><p align="center">
<font face="Arial"><small><font color="#0000FF"><b>Brown, Olson & Gould, PC</b></font><br>
2 Delta Drive, Suite 301<br>
Concord, NH 03301 <br>
<br>
<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> | (603) 225-9716<a href="mailto:[email protected]"></a></small></font>
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