TORONTO, December 13, 2001 -- A new report on water quality assessment in Ontario shows a drastic decline in both levels of testing and monitoring of lakes and rivers, while the amount of reported pollutants released into surface waters has more than doubled.
The report, Liquid Assets: Monitoring Water Quality in Ontario, produced by the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP) and members of the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) at York University, will be released at a news conference on Monday, Dec. 17, 10:30 a.m. in the Queen’s Park media studio.
The report concludes that the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) is not sufficiently funded to enable it to determine whether water quality in the province’s surface and ground waters meets safety guidelines for environmental health. It says the MOE does not adequately inform the private sector and the public about environmental quality. The full report will be made available on the CIELAP website at www.cielap.org and on the York FES website at www.yorku.ca/fes.
| WHO: | Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP) |
| Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES), York University |
| WHAT: | News Conference |
| Liquid Assets: Monitoring Water Quality in Ontario |
| WHEN: | Monday, Dec. 17, 10:30 a.m. |
| WHERE: | Media Studio |
| Main Legislative Building | |
| Queen’s Park |
-30-
For more information, please contact:
| Anne Mitchell | Prof. Lewis Molot |
| Executive Director | Faculty of Environmental Studies |
| Canadian Institute for Environmental Law & Policy | York University |
| 416-923-3529, ext. 24 | 416-736-2100, ext. 22613 |
| anne@cielap.org | lmolot@yorku.ca |
| Susan Bigelow | |
| Media Relations | |
| York University | |
| 416-736-2100, ext. 22091 | |
| sbigelow@yorku.ca |
YU/136/01
