Federal government decriminalizes sewage dumping with new permissive regulations for municipal wastewater facilities
Vancouver, BC – Environment Canada has proposed the enactment of new wastewater regulations that would allow for continued dumping of untreated sewage into Canadian waterways, says Fraser Riverkeeper. The proposed changes would decriminalize sewage discharges that are currently illegal under the Fisheries Act, and would give many Canadian municipalities up to 30 years to reduce their discharges.
In a formal written statement to Environment Canada, Fraser Riverkeeper, Ottawa Riverkeeper, and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper assert that the new regulations are an attempt at decriminalizing sewage dumping by giving municipalities permission to pollute our waterways without consequences. The regulations also fail to adequately address combined sewer overflows (CSOs), one of the largest contributors of source water pollution in Canada.
“This regulation lacks enforceable targets for the reduction and elimination of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs)”, says Meredith Brown, Ottawa Riverkeeper. “It gives municipalities permission to discharge untreated sewage into the rivers that we swim, drink, and fish from, and provides no incentive for cities to upgrade their wastewater infrastructure before 2039.”
“British Colombia remains in the dark ages with regard to sewage treatment,” says Doug Chapman, Fraser Riverkeeper. Metro Vancouver discharges significant amounts of raw sewage through its combined sewer systems. The City of Vancouver has dumped millions of liters of raw sewage, prompting advisories from public health officials, the closure of beaches, and public backlash about the city’s role as a significant polluter.
“Permissive federal regulation is a step backwards,” says Brown. This new regulation would allow sewage dumping to continue at current levels for another three decades, despite the human health risk from pathogenic microorganisms and the threat to aquatic ecosystems.
“It is outrageous that the Canadian government is allowing municipalities like Metro Vancouver to continue to violate the federal Fisheries Act with impunity. Annually, Vancouver’s Iona sewage facility dumps tons of chemicals and heavy metals into the fisheries waters, right at the mouth of the Fraser River, and this discharge is regularly toxic to fish. Millions of salmon must live in these contaminated waters. Canada is about to legalize the environmental crimes that have been committed by Metro Vancouver. It must be nice to have friends in high places,” says Chapman.
To read the full Canadian Waterkeeper submission, please click here.
