EBR Registry Number – 013…

EBR Registry Number – 013-1839 – Amendments to Ontario Regulation 287/07 “General” under the Clean Water Act, 2006

Purpose: to improve the regulatory framework, address implementation challenges and increase transparency

Comments on Minor Amendment Provisions:

While it makes sense to streamline the amendments of the Assessment Reports and Source Protection plans to reflect the removal of an intake protection zone or wellhead protection area, we suggest that the regulations include the requirement for the Source Protection Authorities (SPA) to work in collaboration with municipalities to send timely notices to affected residents indicating that certain Significant Drinking Water Threats (SDWT) and/or Risk Management Plans (RMPs) cease by a certain date. Transition towards continuous best management practices (BMP) should be considered for those land owners in order to carry forward the message about protecting groundwater resources at a local level.

In a situation where a municipal groundwater source has been decommissioned due to local issues (i.e. nitrates from agricultural practices or septic) would MOECC be interested in maintaining the RMPs that address those sources of pollution in order to limit excess groundwater contamination?

Comments on Continuous Improvement: Hydrocarbon Pipelines

The proposal to amend the General regulation (287/07) under the CWA requires liquid hydrocarbon pipelines to be assessed as a drinking water threat equally in all source protection areas. Pipelines cross many source protection region boundaries throughout southern Ontario. The MOECC should develop one standard policy for incorporation into all SPPs in order to ensure pipelines are designated as a significant drinking water threat. The pipeline companies would likely appeal SPP policies that vary multiple times along the length of their infrastructure. In addition, many pipelines in Ontario are federally regulated which adds a layer of complexity in terms of how the policy could be enforced with the companies.

EBR Registry Number - 013-1840 - Proposed regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002

The proposed regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), 2002, is intended to ensure that sources of drinking water for new or expanding drinking water systems are protected before providing water to the public. Therefor the municipalities will be required to ensure work compulsory under the Clean Water Act is completed, and endorsed by council, before they can apply for a drinking water works permit.

Comments on Posting

Wording within the regulation such as “new or expanded municipal drinking water sources” would help. This would allow narrowing down the applicability of the proposed regulation. Expansion of drinking water system includes expansion of the drinking water distribution system for new developments. This type of work does not directly impact the water source and therefore the proposed regulation would not apply. Under the current wording the reference to the Clean Water Act requirements under the SDWA produces confusion especially in larger municipalities where different divisions look after the linear infrastructure and a separate division manages the vertical infrastructure such as wells and pumping stations associated with a new well.

The proposed regulations talk about having Source Protection Plan policies into place for new or expanded municipal drinking water systems prior to drinking water being provided to the public. Nevertheless increasing the yield of an existing municipal well will trigger the proposed regulations even if drinking water is already being provided to the public. Considering that Source Protection Plan policies are already implemented for an existing source and that the drinking water source is thoroughly monitored, there should be some added flexibility in terms of obtain the up-dated Drinking Water Permit prior to the Council resolution for the amendment of the Assessment Report and Source Protection Plan. This would give the municipality additional time to go through a new round of groundwater modelling to delineate the WHPAs, identifying threats and policies.

In order to identify amendments to the SPP, the work needs to proceed in a certain sequence and requires extensive consultation with the Source Protection Authority and the SPC. As a matter of fact is the SPC that determines what policies are needed to address the threat activities. Therefore the municipality cannot proceed with the work in isolation of the Source Protection Authority and the SPC.

MOECC recommends identifying the vulnerable areas and the threats through early consultation between the municipality and the SPC to ensure that the municipal council resolution reflects what is acceptable to the SPC and the actual end products. However in order to finalize the WHPAs thorough a modelling exercise, the municipality would usually rely on the approved PTTW yields and GUDI assessments. The PTTW can only be obtained once the EA study is complete.

This multistep process has a great impact on the schedule of the project. Other constrains: budgeting cycles, availability of the modelling consultant, timing of SPC meetings and public consultation. Based on similar projects the source protection work for a new groundwater source takes around two years. Therefore it would be helpful for municipalities to have the option under the Safe Drinking Water Act to demonstrate that the work according to CWA is underway at the time of the drinking water permit application and that it would be finalized at the time the new well is in operation. This would allow for the source protection work to be carried in parallel with the construction work associated most of the times with the drinking water permit. There will be great time efficiencies as these projects rely on different municipal teams and on different consultants.

A Provincial fund should be established to compensate land owners in wellhead protection area or intake protection zones or a new or expanded municipal water supply for documented loss of use due to source protection policies.

The Province should consider a requirement for review by the Risk Management Official during the Class Environment Assessment (EA) process to ensure that threat assessment is conducted in accordance with the applicable Source Protection Plan. Most of the consulting team conducting Municipal Class EAs are lacking a thorough understanding of the CWA requirements.

[Original Comment ID: 212786]