Public consultation and…

Public consultation and access to information on sewer system ECAs:

I recommend, if not already the intention of the government, that all modifications and alterations to an ECA that are submitted to the Minister be posted to the OER for public consultation. I also recommend that all the schedules attached to an ECA be made available through the Ontario Access Environment web site to ensure the public has access to the full ECA on-line. If it is not possible to provide access to all the schedules through the Access Environment web site, a list of the schedules should be included with the main body of the ECA and any missing schedules should be provided upon demand.

Incident Reporting:

Schedule E, section 5 requires incident reporting to the Ministry when wastewater spills or overflows occur. I recommend that Schedule E, section 5 be amended to also require notification of all incidents such as spills or overflows that contain wastewater to the public in real-time, or a soon a possible once a spill or overflow occurs, and provide as much detail as is available, including the location. These incidents represent a potential public health risk. Real-time reporting of wastewater or combined sewer spills and overflows allow the public to take precautionary measures to avoid contact with downstream or impacted water that may be contaminated by the incident.