Removing the regulatory baseline for 113 of Ontario’s most heavily polluting facilities in nine environmentally damaging sectors is the wrong approach if the Government of Ontario’s goal is to hold polluters accountable, as it has stated on several occasions. In order to achieve that goal, the MISA regulations should be updated and expanded to new facilities operating in Ontario across the nine industrial sectors.
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Photo by Linda Heron
Category Archives: Pollution
Bill 66 – ERO 013-4234 – Repeal of the Toxics Reduction Act & ERO 013-4235 – Planning & reporting changes under Regs.
Pollution – website banner of toxic water as running from sewers to the environment
Continue readingORA submits that Schedule 5 of Bill 66 is a regressive, unwarranted and potentially risky proposal that is inconsistent with the public interest and does not adequately safeguard the health and safety of Ontarians. Does the MECP really want to set the stage for another Grassy Narrows mercury disaster? Instead, the MECP should be focusing on improving the TRA and its regulations to better protect communities.
Ontario Freshwater Priorities – Joint
Hydrocarbon Pipelines Added to Table of Drinking Water Threats – EBR-013-1839 and 1840
ORA would like to point out that the proposed list does not address an in-water pipeline scenario, it only addresses pipelines above, below and under a water body. Therefore, it is extremely important that the following be added:
Recommendation 1:
EBR 012-8760- Ontario’s Proposal on Reducing Phosphorus to Minimize Algal Blooms in Lake Erie
![lake-erie-algae-4[2]](http://www.ontarioriversalliance.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/lake-erie-algae-42.jpg)
We see this proposal as necessary step toward fulfilling the commitment the Ontario Legislature made through the Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015 to set target(s) for reducing algal blooms within two years of the legislation’s passage. Further comments about the framing of the proposed target are included below.
Simon Lake Community wants Reprieve from Algae
Simon Lake – Summer 2009
The VRS clearly recognizes the serious concerns of the SLCSG, however; we urge caution in the City’s approach to mitigating the algae issue. VRS agrees that action must be taken by the City of Sudbury to resolve the long-standing issue of algae blooms once and for all; however, we differ in the recommended approach.
The Dirty Truth: Home Car Washing – Stormwater Pollution
Inspecting the Springbank Dam gates, Thames River
The City of London inspected the gates of the failed Springbank Dam, on the Thames River, City of London. Around $ 7 million in upgrades, including the installation of the steel gates that would make the dam easier to operate, were nearly complete in 2008 when one of the four gates was dislocated during testing. The Thames River has been flowing unimpeded through the dam ever since. A lawsuit is in the works.
“(The Thames) is actually getting healthier ever single year (the dam) has been left open,” said Rob Huber, president of the TRAA, told the Londoner in June. “The neat thing about what’s going on in London is we’ve actually (had an opportunity) to see what would happen if the dam wasn’t there for the first time in (over) 80 years.” Article here.
This drone flight shows the sludge already beginning to back up behind the gate that was lifted into place on Monday, the 13th of July. There are two upstream wastewater treatment facilities releasing treated, and sometimes untreated, effluent into the Thames.
Start of Summer Sparks Urgent Call to Action on Lake Erie Nutrient Crisis – Joint Letter
Chicago, IL (June 2, 2015) – As the summer season begins around the lakes, more than 50 groups sent a joint letter to the governors and premiers of the Great Lakes states and provinces urging action to ensure the lakes, especially western Lake Erie, are free of harmful algal blooms that threaten the region’s economy, drinking water and way of life. The region’s leaders will be meeting in Quebec City, Quebec for the Leadership Summit of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers, hosted by the Council of Great Lakes Governors, on June 12-14, 2015.
Sewage Bypass Alert – City of Sudbury
The City of Sudbury recently passed a unanimous Council Motion to implement a Sewage Bypass Alert, whereby the public will be informed in real time when there is a sewage bypass or spill at any of their 13 wastewater treatment facilities. Sewage bypasses are becoming more frequent due to the extreme rain events associated with climate change, and this contaminated freshwater could pose a risk to residents who take their drinking water or swim downstream of these facilities. Ontario Rivers Alliance also made a request to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, in October of 2014, to incorporate this important public safety measure into policy throughout the province. All Sewage Bypass Alerts will be posted on the City of Greater Sudbury website here.
Background:
There are numerous Waste Water Treatment Facilities (WWTF) across the province releasing treated, untreated and partially treated effluent into streams and rivers that run through large and small communities that also rely on river water for their public and private drinking water and general household uses. Increasing incidences of extreme rain events are making overflow and bypass of sewage a common and necessary strategy for many WWTF’s in Ontario. ORA understand that in the short-term this is done in order to avoid back-ups into their treatment facilities as well as individual residences; however, in the long-term there must be a province-wide strategy to avoid untreated and partially treated releases of sewage effluent into the environment.
For example, in the Greater City of Sudbury, there are nine wastewater treatment facilities releasing treated, partially treated and untreated effluent into the Vermilion River watershed. On 13 and 14 April, 262,999 m3, and again on 15 May, 59,778 m3, of partially treated sewage was released into the Vermilion River and its connecting lakes. During 2013, 427,235 m3 of partially treated sewage was released through bypass and overflow from one Sudbury facility alone. Many residences rely on the Vermilion River for their drinking water and general household water usage, and public health and safety is placed at risk if untreated and/or partially treated sewage is present in their private water intakes or children and adults are swimming in affected river water. There must be a standardized policy in place that sets out when and how the public is to be alerted when their water supply has been compromised.
ORA is confident that this is not an isolated problem, as very few WWTF were made to handle the extreme rain events that are becoming more and more prevalent with the effects of Climate Change. The cumulative effects of numerous bypass and overflow events on the creeks and rivers feeding the Great Lakes also contribute to the prevalence of Cyanobacteria blooms on area lakes, as well as the Great Lakes.
The City of Kingston has a great model for other municipalities to follow through their Sewage Alert System and on-line Bypass Log which reports bypass and overflow incidents on their website. Facebook and Twitter communications should also be utilized in an effective strategy.
The bottom line is that local downstream residents need to be notified at the earliest possible moment of any potential risk to their water source and/or their health and safety. When an overflow or bypass is reported to the MOECC and local health unit, at the same time the public must also be notified through an alert so that precautions can be taken.
The City of Sudbury is now in the process of implementing this policy; however, we are awaiting a decision by MOECC on whether this policy will be implemented throughout all of Ontario.