Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations

Marginal note:Required information

• 18 (1) The owner or operator of a wastewater system must send to the authorization officer an identification report that contains the following information:

  • (a) the owner’s and the operator’s name, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, email address and fax number;

  • (b) the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, email address and fax number, of a contact person;

  • (c) if any, the wastewater system’s name and civic address;

  • (d) with respect to the wastewater system:

    • (i) a statement indicating whether it is an intermittent or continuous wastewater system,

    • (ii) for a continuous wastewater system, a statement indicating whether its hydraulic retention time is five days or more,

    • (iii) a statement indicating whether the system is owned or operated, or both, by one or several of the following:

      • (A) His Majesty in right of Canada or another federal body,

      • (B) His Majesty in right of a province or another provincial body,

      • (C) a municipality or another local authority,

      • (D) an Indigenous governing body, or

      • (E) an entity other than one referred to in clauses (A) to (D),

    • (iv) a description of the type of wastewater treatment used, if any, and

    • (v) if chlorine or one of its compounds is used, a statement indicating whether a dechlorination system that meets the requirements of paragraph 6(7)(h) is in use;

  • (e) the latitude and longitude of the final discharge point;

  • (f) for a point of entry in relation to the final discharge point,

    • (i) its latitude and longitude,

    • (ii) a description of the water frequented by fish into which effluent is deposited, including

      • (A) a description of its use, if any, and

      • (B) its name, if any, and the name, if any, of the body of water that includes that water, and

    • (iii) a statement as to whether the effluent is deposited in water frequented by fish via the final discharge point or from a place where it was deposited via the final discharge point;

  • (g) the number of overflow points for each of the combined sewers and sanitary sewers of the wastewater system and the latitude and longitude of each of those overflow points;

  • (h) for a point of entry in relation to each overflow point, a description of the water frequented by fish into which effluent is deposited, including

    • (i) a description of its use, if any, and

    • (ii) its name, if any, and the name, if any, of the body of water that includes that water; and

  • (i) for the calendar year before the calendar year in which the identification report is sent, the average daily volume, expressed in m³, of effluent deposited via all of the wastewater system’s final discharge points — calculated in accordance with subsection 7(1) or by using another method based on measurements or, if not so calculated, determined on the basis of the system’s average design rate of flow of influent — and a statement of the method of calculation or determination used and, in the case of a method of calculation based on measurements, a brief description of that method.

• Marginal note:Required information — fictional consolidated wastewater system

  (2) Despite subsection (1), the owner or operator of a fictional consolidated wastewater system must send an identification report, for each of the original wastewater systems that constitute the fictional system, containing a statement as to whether the final discharge point of that original wastewater system is, in accordance with subsection 4(2), considered to be the final discharge point of the fictional consolidated wastewater system.

• Marginal note:Latitude and longitude

  (3) The latitude and longitude of a point referred to in paragraph (1)(e), subparagraph (1)(f)(i) and paragraph (1)(g) are to be expressed in decimal degrees to four decimal places rounded to the nearest ten-thousandth of a degree and, if the latitude or longitude is equidistant between two ten-thousandths of a degree, to the higher of them.

• Marginal note:Electronic report

  (4) The identification report must be sent electronically, within 45 days after the day on which the wastewater system is put into service, in the form and format specified by the Minister of the Environment and must bear the electronic signature of the owner or operator or their authorized representative.

• Marginal note:Paper report

  (5) If the Minister of the Environment has not specified an electronic form and format or if it is not feasible to send the report electronically in accordance with subsection (4) because of circumstances beyond the control of the owner or operator, the report must be sent on paper, signed by the owner or operator, or their authorized representative, and in the form and format specified by the Minister of the Environment, if applicable.

• Marginal note:Change of information

  (6) If the information provided in the identification report changes, the owner or operator or authorized representative must update the identification report no later than 45 days after the day on which the change is made.

• Marginal note:Decommissioning

  (7) An owner or operator of a wastewater system must, at least 45 days before the planned decommissioning of the wastewater system, send a notice to the authorization officer setting out the planned date of the decommissioning and information specifying the place, including the civic address, if any, of that place, where the identification report is to be kept.