EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Ontario Water Resources Act is amended to require municipalities that own or operate a water treatment facility, or persons who operate such a facility under an agreement with or with the consent of a municipality, to report certain information to the Ministry in cases where they divert sewage into waters that may impair its quality. The Bill further requires the Ministry to publish this information.

Bill 141 2017

An Act to amend the Ontario Water Resources Act with respect to the public reporting of sewage bypassing

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

1 Section 30 of the Ontario Water Resources Act is amended by adding the following subsections:

Same, sewage bypass

(3)  If the material that has been discharged and that may impair the quality of the waters is sewage, and the sewage was discharged into waters because the person who owns or operates a water treatment facility described in subsection (4) has diverted a waste stream away from the facility or discharged it from the facility before it has been fully treated, the notification under subsection (2) shall include the following information:

    1.  The duration and measured or estimated volume of the discharge.

    2.  The reasons for the diversion that caused the discharge.

Water treatment facility

(4)  A water treatment facility mentioned in subsection (3) is a water treatment facility that is owned or operated by,

  (a)  a local or upper-tier municipality;

  (b)  a person who has an agreement with a local or upper-tier municipality to operate a private water or sewage works; or

   (c)  a person who has the consent, of the local or upper-tier municipality that has jurisdiction to provide a water or sewage public utility in the area, to operate such a utility.

Information to be published

(5)  The Ministry shall publish the information set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection (3) on a Government of Ontario website as soon as possible but no later than 24 hours after receiving the notification.

Commencement

2 This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

3 The short title of this Act is the Sewage Bypass Reporting Act, 2017.