Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations (SOR/2012-139)
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Regulations are current to 2024-10-30 and last amended on 2024-05-27. Previous Versions
PART 1Authorization to Deposit (continued)
Reporting (continued)
Combined Sewer Overflow Report
Marginal note:Information
20 The owner or operator of a wastewater system that includes at least one combined sewer overflow point must, in accordance with subsections 19(4) and (5), send to the authorization officer a combined sewer overflow report in respect of each calendar year by February 15 of the following calendar year and the report must contain the following information:
(a) for each month of the calendar year during which effluent was deposited via a combined sewer overflow point, the information referred to in subparagraphs 17(b)(iii) and (iv); and
(b) for each month of the calendar year during which effluent was not deposited via a combined sewer overflow point, a statement indicating that no effluent was deposited via an overflow point during the month.
Record Making and Retention of Documents
Marginal note:When records made
21 Records must be made without delay after the information to be recorded becomes available.
Marginal note:Retention of records
22 (1) An owner or operator of a wastewater system must keep a report referred to in section 17, as well as a record and a copy of a report required to be sent under these Regulations — along with any supporting documents — for at least five years after the day on which the record or report, as the case may be, was made.
Marginal note:Place of retention
(2) The report referred to in section 17, the record and the copy must be kept at the wastewater system or at any other place in Canada where it can be inspected. If that report, record or copy is kept at one of those other places, the owner or operator must provide the authorization officer with information specifying that other place, including its civic address, if any.
Marginal note:Information on monitoring equipment and identification report
(3) Despite subsection (1), the information referred to in paragraph 17(c) must be kept for at least five years after the day on which the monitoring equipment ceased to be used, and the identification report, as it may be updated from time to time, referred to in section 18 must be kept for at least five years after the wastewater system is decommissioned.
PART 2Transitional and Temporary Authorizations to Deposit
Purpose
Marginal note:Paragraph 36(4)(b) of the Act
23 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 36(4)(b) of the Act, an owner or operator of a wastewater system may deposit or permit the deposit of effluent that contains any of the deleterious substances prescribed in section 5 of these Regulations via one or more final discharge points or overflow points in any water or place referred to in subsection 36(3) of the Act, if the deposit is made in accordance with an authorization issued under this Part.
Definition of deposit
(2) For the purposes of sections 24 to 49, deposit, in relation to effluent, includes to permit the deposit of the effluent.
Transitional Authorization
Requirements and Duration
Marginal note:Transitional authorization — eligibility
24 (1) The owner or operator of a wastewater system may apply to an authorization officer for a transitional authorization to deposit, via a final discharge point, effluent that contains any of the deleterious substances prescribed in section 5, if the respective averages of the substances prescribed in paragraphs 5(a) and (b), determined in accordance with subsection (1.1), exceed 25 mg/L.
Marginal note:Transitional authorization – average concentrations
(1.1) The owner or operator of a wastewater system must determine the averages referred to in subsection (1) by averaging, for each substance, the concentrations reported under subparagraphs 19(1)(b)(iv) and (v)
(a) if the applicable reporting period under subsection 19(2) is a calendar year,
(i) in the first completed monitoring report sent in accordance with subsection 19(1) and in which a deposit is reported; or
(ii) in the second monitoring report in which a deposit is reported, if completed and sent consecutively to the first report;
(b) if the applicable reporting period under subsection 19(2) is a quarter, in four consecutive monitoring reports of the first four to eight completed and consecutive monitoring reports sent in accordance with subsection 19(1).
Marginal note:Transitional authorization issued in 2014
(1.2) An owner or operator of a wastewater system to whom a transitional authorization was issued in 2014 under section 26, as it read before the day on which this subsection comes into force, is not permitted to reapply for a transitional authorization.
Marginal note:Transitional authorization issued in 2014 – requirements
(1.3) Sections 24 to 26, 28 and 30, as they read before the day on which this subsection comes into force, continue to apply with respect to any authorization referred to in subsection (1.2).
Marginal note:Duration of authorization — point system in Schedules 2 and 3
(2) The duration, set out in subsection 26(2), of a transitional authorization is based on the system for the allocation of points related to the final discharge point set out in the table to Schedule 2 and, if applicable, related to the system’s combined sewer overflow points set out in Schedule 3.
Application
Marginal note:Required information
25 (1) An application for a transitional authorization in respect of a wastewater system must contain 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) the period of 12 consecutive months referred to in subsection 24(1) upon which the application is based;
(e) information that establishes that at the time of the application
(i) half or more of the monitoring reports sent in respect of the two most recent calendar years during which a deposit occurred indicate that one of the conditions set out in paragraphs 6(1)(a) and (b) was not met,
(ii) the condition was not met because of the design characteristics of the wastewater system,
(iii) it was not technically or economically feasible before the time of the application to have modified the wastewater system, including its processes, in order to meet that condition, and
(iv) the requirement set out in section 24 is met;
(f) a plan for the modifications to be made to the wastewater system, including a description of the modifications to be made to its processes, so that the effluent deposited via its final discharge point is not acutely lethal and meets the conditions for authorization set out in paragraphs 6(1)(a) and (b), along with a schedule for implementation of the plan;
(g) the latitude and longitude of the final discharge point expressed in decimal degrees in accordance with subsection 18(3);
(h) the number of points allocated under the table to Schedule 2;
(i) a statement as to which of the waters set out in paragraphs 5(a) to (g), column 2, of the table to Schedule 2 describes the water where the effluent is deposited, or may enter from the place where the effluent is deposited, via the final discharge point and, among the points set out in column 3 for those waters, the highest number of points;
(j) the average daily volume of effluent deposited via the final discharge point, as determined in accordance with section 7, for the period of 12 consecutive months referred to in subsection 24(1) upon which the application is based, and the number of points set out in item 1, column 3, of the table to Schedule 2 that applies to that volume based on the ranges of volume set out in column 2;
(k) the averages referred to in paragraphs 6(1)(a) and (b) on which the application is based, as determined in accordance with subsection 24(1.1);
(l) the number of points determined in accordance with the formula set out in item 2, column 2, of the table to Schedule 2 when using in that formula the averages set out in paragraph (k);
(m) [Repealed, SOR/2024-97, s. 19]
(n) where chlorine, or one of its compounds, was used in the treatment of wastewater in the wastewater system, the number of points set out in item 3, column 3, of the table to Schedule 2 if
(i) the average concentration of total residual chlorine in the effluent deposited via the final discharge point — for the period of 12 consecutive months referred to in subsection 24(1) upon which the application is based — exceeded 0.02 mg/L, or
(ii) the wastewater system’s effluent is not dechlorinated before it is deposited via the final discharge point;
(o) the maximum concentration of un-ionized ammonia in the effluent, expressed in mg/L as nitrogen (N), at 15°C ± 1°C, over the earliest period of 12 consecutive months since the coming into force of these Regulations, when
(i) for a continuous wastewater system, at least four samples have been collected, each at least 60 days after the previous sample was taken, and the concentrations determined in accordance with section 14, and
(ii) for an intermittent wastewater system, at least one sample has been collected during each period referred to in paragraph 3(a) and the concentration determined in accordance with section 14;
(p) if the maximum concentration referred to in paragraph (o) is greater than or equal to 1.25 mg/L, expressed as nitrogen (N), at 15°C ± 1°C, the number of points set out in item 4, column 3, of the table to Schedule 2;
(q) if the duration of the transitional authorization sought in the application relies on an allocation of points under Schedule 3, in addition to points allocated under the table to Schedule 2, for any combined sewer overflow point that is, under Schedule 3, allocated a number of points greater than or equal to the number of points allocated under the table to Schedule 2 to the final discharge point
(i) the percentage referred to in item 1, column 1, of Schedule 3 that is described in whichever of paragraphs 1(a) to (d), column 2, of that Schedule that applies,
(ii) the number of deposits referred to in item 2, column 1, of Schedule 3 that are described in whichever of paragraphs 2(a) to (d), column 2, of that Schedule that applies, for the period of 12 consecutive months referred to in subsection 24(1) upon which the application is based,
(iii) a statement as to which of the waters set out in paragraphs 3(a) to (c), column 2, of Schedule 3 describes the water where the effluent is deposited, or may enter from the place where the effluent is deposited, via that combined sewer overflow point, and
(iv) the number of points set out in column 3 of Schedule 3 for the applicable paragraph set out in column 2 of that Schedule as determined for the purposes of subparagraphs (i) and (ii) and the number of those points that applies for each statement referred to in subparagraph (iii);
(r) the information set out in paragraph 18(1)(g) for the combined sewer overflow point referred to in paragraph (q);
(s) for an application referred to in paragraph (q), a plan that describes the modifications to be made to the wastewater system, and any other measure to be taken, to reduce, after the expiry of the period for which the transitional authorization is sought, the quantity of deleterious substances prescribed in section 5 in the effluent deposited via overflow points of a combined sewer and a schedule for implementation of the plan; and
(t) a statement signed and dated by the owner or operator or their authorized representative that certifies that information provided in the application is true, accurate and complete
(i) in the case of information that was prepared by the owner or operator, to the best of the owner’s or operator’s information and belief, and
(ii) in the case of information that was prepared by other persons with sufficient knowledge to evaluate that information, to the best of the owner’s or operator’s information and belief, based on representations made to them by those persons.
Marginal note:Required information — fictional consolidated wastewater system
(2) Despite subsection (1), an application for a transitional authorization made by an owner or operator of a fictional consolidated wastewater system referred to in section 4 must contain the latitude and longitude of the final discharge point considered in accordance with subsection 4(2) and a copy of the consolidation plan referred to in subsection 4(3) instead of the plan referred to in paragraph (1)(f).
Conditions of Issuance
Marginal note:Required information
26 (1) Subject to subsection (3), the authorization officer must issue the transitional authorization if
(a) the application contains the information required by subsection 25(1) or (2), as the case may be;
(b) the information referred to in paragraph 25(1)(e) can reasonably be regarded as establishing that at the time of the application
(i) half or more of the monitoring reports sent in respect of the two most recent calendar years during which a deposit occurred indicate that one of the conditions set out in paragraphs 6(1)(a) and (b) was not met,
(ii) that condition was not met because of the design of the wastewater system,
(iii) it was not technically or economically feasible before the time of the application to have modified the wastewater system, including its processes, in order to meet that condition, and
(iv) the requirement set out in section 24 is met; and
(c) the schedule to implement the plan referred to in paragraph 25(1)(f) or subsection 4(1), and, if applicable, paragraph 25(1)(s) can reasonably be regarded as feasible for the purpose of meeting the requirements referred to in paragraph 25(1)(f) or subsection 4(3) and, if applicable, achieve the reduction referred to in paragraph 25(1)(s).
Marginal note:Duration of transitional authorization
(2) The transitional authorization must be issued for the following period:
(a) the period beginning on the day on which the transitional authorization is issued and ending on December 31, 2030, if the final discharge point is, under the table to Schedule 2, allocated 50 or more points but less than 70 points and, in the case of a wastewater system that has combined sewer overflow points for which points are allocated under Schedule 3, each combined sewer overflow point of the wastewater system is allocated fewer points than the number of points allocated under the table to Schedule 2 to the final discharge point; and
(b) [Repealed, SOR/2024-97, s. 20]
(c) the period beginning on the day on which the transitional authorization is issued and ending on December 31, 2040,
(i) if the final discharge point is, under the table to Schedule 2, allocated less than 50 points, or
(ii) if the final discharge point is, under the table to Schedule 2, allocated 50 or more points and the wastewater system has combined sewer overflow points for which points are allocated under Schedule 3, there is at least one combined sewer overflow point that is, under Schedule 3, allocated a number of points that is greater than or equal to the number of points allocated under the table to Schedule 2 to the final discharge point.
Marginal note:Refusal
(3) The authorization officer must refuse to issue the transitional authorization if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the information contained in, or provided in support of, the application is false or misleading in a material respect.
Marginal note:Condition of issuance — exception
(4) The authorization officer must refuse to issue the transitional authorization if the final discharge point is, under the table to Schedule 2, allocated 70 or more points and, in the case of a wastewater system that has combined sewer overflow points for which points are allocated under Schedule 3, each combined sewer overflow point of the wastewater system is allocated fewer points than the number of points allocated to the final discharge point under Schedule 2.
27 [Repealed, SOR/2024-97, s. 21]
Conditions on Transitional Authorizations
Marginal note:Authorized deposits — transitional authorization
28 (1) A holder of a transitional authorization in respect of a wastewater system is authorized — during a given calendar year, quarter or month, determined in accordance with subsection 6(2), in the period of authorization — to deposit effluent that contains any of the deleterious substances prescribed in section 5 via the final discharge point if — during the previous calendar year, previous quarter or previous month — the effluent met the following conditions:
(a) the average carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand due to the quantity of CBOD matter in the effluent referred to in paragraph 6(1)(a), determined in accordance with subsections 6(2) and (3), did not exceed
(i) 1.25 times the average determined for the carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand due to the quantity of CBOD matter referred to in paragraph 25(1)(k), if the product of that multiplication is greater than 25 mg/L, and
(ii) 25 mg/L, in any other case;
(b) the average concentration of suspended solids in the effluent referred to in paragraph 6(1)(b), determined in accordance with subsections 6(2) and (3), did not exceed
(i) 1.25 times the average concentration of suspended solids referred to in paragraph 25(1)(k), if the product of that multiplication is greater than 25 mg/L, and
(ii) 25 mg/L, in any other case;
(c) the average concentration of total residual chlorine in the effluent referred to in paragraph 6(1)(c) did not exceed 0.02 mg/L, if chlorine, or one of its compounds, was used in the treatment of wastewater; and
(d) the maximum concentration of un-ionized ammonia in the effluent referred to in subsection 6(1) was less than
(i) 1.25 times the maximum concentration referred to in paragraph 25(1)(o), if the product of that multiplication is greater than or equal to 1.25 mg/L, expressed as nitrogen (N), at 15°C ± 1°C, and
(ii) 1.25 mg/L, expressed as nitrogen (N), at 15°C ± 1°C, in any other case.
Marginal note:Authorized deposits — fictional consolidated wastewater system
(2) A holder of a transitional authorization in respect of a fictional consolidated wastewater system referred to in section 4 is also authorized, during the given calendar year, quarter or month referred to in subsection (1), to deposit effluent that contains any of the deleterious substances prescribed in section 5 via the final discharge point of each of the original wastewater systems that constitute the fictional consolidated wastewater system if the effluent deposited via the final discharge point of each of those original wastewater systems — during the previous calendar year, previous quarter or previous month — met the conditions set out in subsection (1).
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