The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment, today announced new regulations for managing municipal wastewater. The proposed regulations will set national performance standards, timelines and monitoring and reporting requirements, and are expected to be published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, in December 2009.
The new regulations deliver on the Government’s commitment to implementing the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Municipal Wastewater Strategy. They will be developed under the Fisheries Act for more than 4,000 wastewater treatment facilities.
Some quick facts from his speech:
- The Great Lakes supply 18% of world and 84% North American fresh water
- Only 1% of this water is replenished each year
- The Action Plan for Clean Water will invest $323M on priorities like water conservation and protection.
Some quotes from his speech:
“We want to help municipalities take advantage of the available infrastructure funding. Federal infrastructure programs are built on a cost-shared principle. The federal government brings money to the table. It’s matched by provincial or territorial investment. And the municipality pitches in to make its investment as well”
“We need more municipalities across Canada to follow this (New Brunswick) example. But there must be the political will to act on these measures. There are many priorities that compete for the attention of elected officials at all levels. But I do not think there are many priorities that can be higher than the need for clean water”.
Full speech by the Minister of Environment
Learn More: Canada-wide Strategy for the Management of Municipal Wastewater Effluent
CentreLine: I’ll quote Minister Prentice – “Nature is resilient if given half a chance. We must work with nature to restore a balance in our use of our most precious natural resource – Canada’s water”.
Regulations have been published in Canada Gazette, Part I beginning the formal 60-day public comment period.