Streamlining environmental permissions for sewage works servicing on-farm worker housing

The government is seeking public feedback on proposed legislative and regulatory changes under the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 to streamline the construction of new homes and infrastructure (e.g., water, wastewater, roads, transit), reduce gridlock, enhance community safety, and improve landlord-tenant frameworks.

Introduction

Ontario is proposing a new regulation, under the Environmental Protection Act to streamline permissions for certain sewage works servicing on-farm worker housing located on agricultural land by moving them to a registration-first approach. These changes would allow systems to be established faster while maintaining regulatory oversight.

This initiative is intended to support the province’s agricultural sector and food-supply chain by allowing these systems to be established faster, while continuing to safeguard human health and maintaining environmental protections.

Registration-first approach

1.New regulation made under the Environmental Protection Act

Ontario is proposing a new regulation under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) to move certain sewage works servicing on-farm housing on agricultural lands used for accommodations of workers to a registration-first approach. This requires proponents to self-register their works online on the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) and follow associated rules in regulation instead of applying for an environmental compliance approval (ECA) which is a ministry-reviewed permission that can take up to a year to obtain.

The change would support the agricultural sector, particularly the fruit, vegetable and greenhouse farming sector in Ontario that provides on-farm accommodation for their labor force, such as temporary foreign agricultural workers, by allowing them to establish and start operating these systems faster. The changes would also reduce burden for farm employers as they look to increase the capacity and quality of on-farm housing to support their workers.

Environmental protection would be maintained through the requirements in the regulation such as:

• minimum design requirements
• operation and maintenance procedures
• effluent criteria and monitoring requirements
• record keeping
• reporting requirements

Proponents would be required to retain qualified professionals to complete a site-specific assessment and produce technical reports such as a water resource impact assessment report and an engineering design and operation report. The reports would need to be prepared in accordance with the proposed regulation to set out:

• assessments
• design aspects
• operation and maintenance procedures
• other information, including an assessment of whether the activity is a significant drinking water threat and measures to manage any potential risks to drinking water

If the activity is determined to be a significant threat, the reports would need to demonstrate that the considerations included are intended to achieve the objective of ensuring that the activity ceases to be or never becomes a significant drinking water threat. In certain circumstances, qualified professionals may be required to engage with the ministry to confirm the adequacy of the technical assessments and to establish monitoring plans and effluent criteria. The proponents would be required to implement the technical reports and comply with other regulatory requirements as they engage in the activity to mitigate the impact of sewage works on the environment and maintain environmental protection.

Once proponents have registered their sewage works activities on the EASR, they can construct and operate the works immediately.

Who can register?

We are proposing to require proponents to register sewage works on the EASR if they meet the following criteria:

• the sewage works and the buildings or structures they service are located on agricultural land
• the sewage works service only buildings or structures that are used for a residential purpose, including any shared facilities
• the sewage works receives only sewage that is domestic in nature and is not mixed with other sewage (for example, no mixing with agricultural wash water)
• the sewage works discharge only to the subsurface and do not discharge directly to surface water
• the total design capacity of all sewage works located on the lot or parcel of land does not exceed 50,000 litres per day, and the design capacity of any individual system is 25,000 litres per day or less

Proponents would not be allowed to register new sewage works in areas where the activity is considered a significant drinking water threat, and the local source protection plan prohibits the establishment of the new sewage works.

Proponents would also not register if the sewage works are captured under the Building Code Act.

Protecting the environment

To maintain environmental protection, proponents of registered works would be required to comply with environmentally protective regulatory requirements. Qualified professionals such as licensed engineering practitioners (LEP) and professional geoscientists, would be required to complete a site assessment and design the sewage works and prepare technical reports with information such as:

• design details
• effluent criteria and monitoring requirements
• water resource impact assessment
• operations and maintenance requirements

The proponents would be required to comply with the requirements set out in the regulation, including spill response requirements, and these reports. The sewage works must be constructed by a licensed sewage system installer in accordance with the requirements in the reports and the regulation. For certain site-specific circumstances, such as when the discharge limits established based on the reasonable use policy for ground water cannot be met according to the ministry’s current guidelines, or where the sewage works include advanced treatment unit(s) that is not considered to be a proven technology, concurrence from the ministry may be needed to confirm the adequacy of technical assessments and monitoring requirements and effluent criteria that are proposed by the qualified professional.

If this regulatory proposal is implemented, the ministry would continue to inspect the registered works as needed to enforce compliance with these regulatory rules.

See our discussion paper attached to the supporting materials section of this notice for further details on the proposed rules that would have to be followed by proponents and qualified professionals.

2. Proposed amendments to Ontario Regulation 287/07made under the Clean Water Act, 2006

The ministry considered how risks to sources of drinking water could be managed under an EASR framework and determined that risks can be addressed by the rules proposed in the new EASR Regulation.

We are proposing to amend Ontario Regulation 287/07 - General, made under the Clean Water Act, 2006 to reduce duplicative requirements while maintaining the ongoing protection of drinking water sources by:

• Restricting the use of Part IV policies (section 57 prohibition and section 58 risk management plan) in source protection plans for significant drinking water threat activities managed through this new proposed EASR Regulation.
• Providing that source protection plans are not required to include any significant threat policies for activities that are significant drinking water threats and prescribed for the new proposed .
• Enabling certain related amendments to be made to source protection plans using an existing streamlined process.

These regulatory amendments are generally intended to reflect that significant drinking water threats related to activities prescribed under the new EASR Regulation will now be managed by requirements under that regulation.

Background

On-farm accommodation for temporary workers

Each year Ontario farms employ 30,000 international agricultural workers to support the planting, growing, and harvesting of fruits, vegetables, and other high value horticultural crops. These workers are often housed on-farm in structures that require on-site sewage treatment (such as septic systems), where municipal servicing does not exist.

Current regulatory framework

Ontario has two main regulatory frameworks for sewage systems and sewage works:

• typically, simpler subsurface sewage systems are regulated under the Building Code Act (BCA), with approvals and enforcement managed by local municipalities, public health units and conservation authorities.
• larger subsurface sewage works, including those located on a separate lot or parcel of land than the building they serve, are subject to requirements for an environmental compliance approval under section 53 of the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA).

Ontario’s registration-first approach requires proponents to self-register prescribed activities online on the EASR and follow associated rules in regulation. Instead of waiting up to a year for ministry reviewed permission, proponents can proceed as soon as they register and must comply with the regulatory requirements as they engage in their activities. This practical approach maintains strong environmental protections by establishing clear, enforceable rules for proponents to follow. The ministry has a mandate to conduct compliance assessments, including the assessment of registered activities, to protect the environment and human health.

Changes to current Ontario Water Resources Act and Building Code Act requirements

Amendments to the Ontario Water Resources Act are being proposed (ERO 025-0900) to enable the regulation of additional sewage systems under the Building Code to support construction of on-farm housing for workers. A companion policy proposal (ERO 025-0899) to regulate additional sewage systems under the Building Code to support construction of on-farm housing is being proposed, which outlines possible rules and criteria for those systems to be regulated under the Building Code. Sewage works that are regulated by the BCA (and not under the OWRA requirement for an environmental compliance approval) would not be prescribed for this proposed EASR.

Read more about the proposed amendments in ERO # 025-0900 and ERO # 025-0899.

Public consultation opportunities

This proposal has been posted for a 45-day public review and comment period. We encourage interested parties to make comments on this proposal. Comments made on this proposal and discussion paper will be considered before making a decision.

Regulatory impact assessment

This proposal is expected to reduce burden on the regulated community, particularly the farming sector, by allowing farmers to obtain environmental permissions faster as they look to increase the capacity and quality of on-farm housing to support workers. The proposed changes would also reduce time, cost and resources that farmers spend on seeking environmental permissions from the ministry.

The proposal would create a faster permitting process for the farming sector while maintaining environmental protection, which:

• supports the increase in on-farm housing demand of agricultural workers
• supports Ontario farmers
• boosts the province’s economy
• supports job creation

We are working to develop a Regulatory Impact Assessment to determine potential costs or estimated savings related to this proposal. Please see the discussion paper attached in the supporting materials section for specific discussion questions.