Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations

Marginal note:Deposit without or with partial treatment

• 43 (1) An owner or operator of a wastewater system may apply to an authorization officer for a temporary authorization to bypass at least one of the treatment processes normally applied to wastewater in the system and, as a result, to deposit effluent that contains any deleterious substance prescribed in section 5.

• Marginal note:Conditions precedent

  (2) An application for a temporary bypass authorization is not to be made unless

  • (a) the requirement to bypass those treatment processes arises from

    • (i) construction work to make changes to the system,

    • (ii) the maintenance of the system, or

    • (iii) the response to an anticipated event that is beyond the control of the owner or operator of the system;

  • (b) the bypass is designed, within the constraints of technical and economic feasibility, to minimize the volume of effluent deposited and the concentration of deleterious substances prescribed in section 5 in the effluent deposited;

  • (c) notice of the proposed bypass has been given to members of the public and to any community or Indigenous governing body, if the owner or operator has reasonable grounds to believe that the member, community or governing body could be affected by the bypass or may have used or may use the receiving environment before, during or after the bypass; and

  • (d) notice of the proposed bypass has been given to the National Manager of the Shellfish Water Classification Program, Department of the Environment, if the proposed bypass will result in the deposit of effluent in open marine waters or marine port waters, as defined in Schedule 2, or a shellfish harvesting area or within a radius of 20 km of such an area or such waters.

• Marginal note:Period for application

  (3) An application for a temporary bypass authorization must be made at least

  • (a) 21 days before the day on which the requirement referred to in paragraph (2)(a) is to arise, if the bypass is a Category 1 bypass as determined in accordance with sections 43.2 to 43.4;

  • (b) 45 days before the day on which the requirement referred to in paragraph (2)(a) is to arise, if the bypass is a Category 2 bypass as determined in accordance with sections 43.2 to 43.4; or

  • (c) 90 days before the day on which the requirement referred to in paragraph (2)(a) is to arise, if the bypass is a Category 3 bypass as determined in accordance with sections 43.2 to 43.4.