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Policy Id:

SPR/SPA:

Risk:

2.42

Lower Thames Valley, St. Clair Region, Upper Thames River

Significant

Implementing Body

Legal Effect

Policy Tool

Threat Type

Status

Comment

MECP – MRDWS – Fuel Handling & Storage

Conform with

Prescribed Instruments

Existing

Implemented

Existing/Future - All municipal drinking water permissions where fuel storage and handling has been identified as a significant threat contain conditions to manage the threat and typically require the Owner to undertake an annual TSSA inspection of their fuel-oil system. To better manage ongoing alterations to fuel oil systems at municipal drinking water systems, during this round of renewals (occurring between 2024 and 2027), updated standard source protection conditions are being rolled out to all municipal drinking water permissions to address fuel storage and handling significant drinking water threats and ensure they reflect the most current version of the Directors Technical Rules under the Clean Water Act. The updated conditions will preauthorize alterations to fuel storage and handing at municipal drinking water systems under the condition the owner assesses all new and existing fuel storage and handling against the most current Technical Rules to identify if fuel storage and handling associated with the drinking water system is a significant drinking water threat. The conditions require documentation of the fuel storage assessment, implementation of annual TSSA inspections for any identified fuel storage significant threats, and require the owner to implement any additional source protection policies identified by their local source protection plan. The fuel storage assessments are to be reviewed regularly to ensure they remain up to date and conform to current policies. To date, 287 municipal drinking water licences have been renewed throughout the province, and contain these updated conditions. For those permissions that have not yet been renewed, alterations to fuel storage and handling are not yet preauthorized and still require an application to the ministry before they can proceed. These applications will continue to be reviewed by the ministry to determine if fuel storage or handling activities are being proposed and if these activities present a significant threat based on the most current Technical Rules. Where a significant threat is identified, conditions are added to the prescribed instrument (Drinking Water Works Permit or Municipal Drinking Water Licence) to address source protection plan policies, and typically include the requirement for the owner to undertake an annual TSSA inspection of the their fuel-oil system.

MECP – MRDWS – Fuel Handling & Storage

Conform with

Prescribed Instruments

Future

Implemented

Existing/Future - All municipal drinking water permissions where fuel storage and handling has been identified as a significant threat contain conditions to manage the threat and typically require the Owner to undertake an annual TSSA inspection of their fuel-oil system. To better manage ongoing alterations to fuel oil systems at municipal drinking water systems, during this round of renewals (occurring between 2024 and 2027), updated standard source protection conditions are being rolled out to all municipal drinking water permissions to address fuel storage and handling significant drinking water threats and ensure they reflect the most current version of the Directors Technical Rules under the Clean Water Act. The updated conditions will preauthorize alterations to fuel storage and handing at municipal drinking water systems under the condition the owner assesses all new and existing fuel storage and handling against the most current Technical Rules to identify if fuel storage and handling associated with the drinking water system is a significant drinking water threat. The conditions require documentation of the fuel storage assessment, implementation of annual TSSA inspections for any identified fuel storage significant threats, and require the owner to implement any additional source protection policies identified by their local source protection plan. The fuel storage assessments are to be reviewed regularly to ensure they remain up to date and conform to current policies. To date, 287 municipal drinking water licences have been renewed throughout the province, and contain these updated conditions. For those permissions that have not yet been renewed, alterations to fuel storage and handling are not yet preauthorized and still require an application to the ministry before they can proceed. These applications will continue to be reviewed by the ministry to determine if fuel storage or handling activities are being proposed and if these activities present a significant threat based on the most current Technical Rules. Where a significant threat is identified, conditions are added to the prescribed instrument (Drinking Water Works Permit or Municipal Drinking Water Licence) to address source protection plan policies, and typically include the requirement for the owner to undertake an annual TSSA inspection of the their fuel-oil system.

Policy Text:

To reduce the risk to municipal drinking water sources from the handling and storage of fuel for use in back-up generators for Water Works, this activity shall be managed where it is or would be a significant threat.

The Province (Ministry of Environment) shall create, review and, where necessary, amend any required approvals, licenses or permits to adequately manage the activity such that it ceases to be a significant drinking water threat. These approvals, licenses or permits shall incorporate terms and conditions. These terms and conditions, when implemented, shall manage the activity such that it ceases to be or never becomes a significant drinking water threat.

The terms and conditions may include, but not necessarily be limited to:

require the use of double-walled tanks;
secondary containment;
regular inspection of fuel tanks and fuel handling equipment.

Monitoring Text:

5.04: Ministry of Environment, and all other implementers, shall establish monitoring programs as per Section 45 of the Clean Water Act. The information collected through these monitoring programs shall be included in a monitoring report that shall be submitted annually to the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. The information submitted to the Conservation Authority shall be consistent with the guidance developed pursuant to policy 5.02 where that guidance identifies items required to meet provincial reporting requirements of the implementer or SPA.

Aspects of the guidance which are beyond that which is necessary to satisfy provincial reporting requirements shall be considered in submitting the monitoring reports. Monitoring reports are to be submitted by February 1 of each year following the first anniversary of the effective date of the Source Protection Plan. Monitoring reports shall include information since the submission of the previous monitoring report to December 31 of the year previous to the deadline for report submission. For the first report, the
information shall include information from the effective date of the Source Protection Plan.