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Policy Id:

SPR/SPA:

Risk:

R.5.1, A.5.1, C.5.1

Ausable Bayfield, Maitland Valley

Significant

Implementing Body

Legal Effect

Policy Tool

Threat Type

Status

Comment

MECP – WDS – Hauled Sewage, Biosolids

Conform with

Prescribed Instruments

Future

Implemented

Since May 2015, the ministry screens all (including new and existing) hauled sewage, processed organic waste, and biosolids disposal site Environmental Compliance Approval applications in accordance with Source Water Protection Plans. This includes consideration of whether the proposed activity would be a drinking water threat as outlined in the relevant Source Water Protection Plan under the Clean Water Act. The ministry will not issue an Environmental Compliance Approval for a site deemed as a significant drinking water threat. For sites deemed as a low or moderate drinking water threat, the ministry will consider the application, but additional site restrictions may apply. The ministry’s review and approval process is included in the Standard Operating Procedure that can be found in Environmental Registry No. 012-2968 (https://ero.ontario.ca/archive/012-2968).

MECP - WDS - Landfilling and Storage

Conform with

Prescribed Instruments

Future

Implemented

At the secondary screening stage, ministry staff use the ECA application, other project-specific documents, the Source Protection Information Atlas online mapping tool, and the 2021 Technical Rules to determine if the proposed activity poses a significant drinking water threat (SDWT) activity. Where the proposed activity is assessed as posing a SDWT activity, the MECP’s Standard Operating Policy (SOP) related to the design and/or operational requirements and the applicable source protection plan (SPP) are referenced to inform the decision to be taken to ensure the new or amended ECA conforms with the applicable prescribed instrument (PI) policy to either manage or prohibit the activity.

Policy Text:

For those lands within a wellhead protection area where the vulnerability score is 10, future waste disposal sites within the meaning of Part V of the Environmental Protection Act which would be a significant drinking water threat will not be permitted. This includes, for example, but is not limited to the following (for full circumstance details refer to the MOE Tables of Circumstances):

a) the application of septage to land (hauled sewage) or
b) the storage, treatment and discharge of tailings from mines when:
i. tailings are stored in a pit or
ii. tailings are stored in an above grade impoundment structure,
c) the landfarming of petroleum refining waste in areas that are more than 10 hectares or
d) the landfilling of: hazardous waste, liquid industrial waste, municipal waste, solid non-hazardous industrial or commercial waste or
e) the injection of liquid industrial waste into a well where the combined rate of discharge from all wells located at the site is more than 380 cubic metres per year or
f) PCB waste storage either below grade, partially below grade in a tank, or outdoors and not in an approved container or
g) the storage of hazardous waste or liquid industrial waste or
h) the storage of wastes as described in clauses (p), (q), (r), (s), (t), or (u) of the definition of hazardous waste at a site that is not approved to accept hazardous waste or liquid industrial waste.

Monitoring Text:

Policy P.12.8 – Monitoring Policy for Prescribed Instrument Policies
Where a policy of this Plan prescribes the use of a prescribed instrument under the purview of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, by February 1 of each year, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change shall prepare and submit to the Source Protection Authority an annual summary of the action it has taken to implement policies.