The Clean Water Act was…

The Clean Water Act was enacted by the Province to implement recommendations from Justice O’Connor’s inquiry into the Walkerton Tragedy, when seven people died and over twenty-five hundred people became sick from contaminated drinking water in 2000. This important piece of legislation forms the legal framework to protect sources of drinking water in Ontario from drinking water threat activities, and is the first step in the multi-barrier approach the Province has established to ensure Ontario residents have reliable and safe drinking water.

The Town of Orangeville (Orangeville) is concerned about the implications that the Bill 66 may have on its municipal drinking water supplies. Allowing an Open-for-business planning by-law to be passed without the requirement for consideration of Section 39 of the Clean Water Act, or allowing the Risk Management Official to impose restrictions on a development proposal until it reaches the Building Permit stage, could adversely affect the sustainability of Orangeville’s drinking water supplies.

Section 39 of the Clean Water Act requires that Planning Act applicants address Planning Approval Authority policies in the local source protection plan through the Planning approval process with the local municipality. In Orangeville, the Planning Approval Authority policies focus on a requirement to maintain pre-development recharge in the significant water quantity risk area. By not requiring a developer to maintain pre-development groundwater recharge, available drinking water supplies in Orangeville may diminish to the point that there may be insufficient water supply to meet the future needs of residents.

Bill 66 will exempt a development from requiring traditional Planning Act applications. This exemption would also remove the Risk Management Official’s authority to screen the development proposal against policies created in accordance with Part IV of the Clean Water Act (i.e. requirement for risk management plans and/or prohibitions). This is a critical step in any new development application, as the developer may need to modify their plans so that a new significant drinking water threat activity is not established within a source protection vulnerable area. Without the Risk Management Official screening at the Planning Act application stage, the developer may need to make significant and costly changes when they apply for a Building Permit. Section 59 of the Clean Water Act gives the Risk Management Official the authority to prevent the development from proceeding past the Building Permit stage if it does not satisfy the Part IV policies in the source protection plan.

Orangeville recognizes that Bill 66 includes a condition that would allow the municipality passing an Open-for-business planning by-law to impose conditions that the municipality determines are necessary to protect public health and safety. This tool could be used to protect Orangeville’s municipal water supplies from development threats; however, significant portions of Orangeville’s wellhead protection areas extend beyond its municipal boundaries and therefore beyond its authority. An Open-for-business planning by-law enacted by a neighbouring municipality may not impose the same conditions to protect Orangeville’s drinking water supplies. Without the Provincial oversight and requirement to protect all municipal water supplies under the Clean Water Act, Orangeville will now be relying on the goodwill and discretion of its neighbours to protect its municipal drinking water supplies. This is a significant gap in Bill 66 that should be addressed if it is enacted.

Orangeville is concerned that Bill 66 will put municipal drinking water supplies at risk. The Province committed to implementing all one-hundred and twenty-one of Justice O’Connor’s recommendations so that another tragedy such as the one in Walkerton in 2000 would not happen again. Bill 66 backs away from this commitment and opens the door for a breakdown in the multi-barrier approach to safe drinking water. If Bill 66 is enacted as legislation, it should be revised to eliminate exemptions to the Clean Water Act to ensure Ontarians have safe and reliable drinking water now and in the future.