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AMO Policy Update – May 20,
2010
Fisheries Act
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Draft Federal Wastewater Effluent Regulations
under the Fisheries Act
The federal government has
proposed draft regulations under the Fisheries Act that require
municipal sewage treatment plants across Canada to upgrade to secondary
treatment levels or equivalent. If approved the regulations are
estimated to cost between $5.9 and $13 billion and more to implement.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Canadian Water
and Wastewater Association (CWWA) have called on the federal government
to work with the provinces/territories and municipalities to accurately
assess costs and develop a workable cost-shared finance strategy to
implement the regulations. While impacts for most affected Ontario
municipalities will not occur until after 2040 because the majority of
municipal plants in the province requiring upgrade to comply with the
strategy are categorized as low risk, there are significant impacts for
municipal property tax payers in Ontario and beyond. AMO urges member
municipalities to review the FCM and CWWA materials and consider
supporting their positions.
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