Bill C-269, An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (prohibition ? deposit of raw sewage).
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This Private Member’s Bill would amend the Fisheries Act in order to entirely prohibit the deposit of raw sewage in water. While the Bill is alarming to our members it is important to note that Private Member Bills rarely pass.
CWWA’s Wastewater and Stormwater Committee have reviewed the Bill and CWWA is preparing a policy statement or comments based on the feedback. The Committee recognized that no utility wants to discharge raw sewage, and we hope that with investment and technological advancement these discharges can be minimized and even eliminated in the future. However, at this time, zero discharge is impossible to achieve, and this legislation would benefit no one. Municipal wastewater systems are designed to allow discharges during heavy rains, for example. There is no redundancy built into the systems, and discharges are necessary during some construction projects. These releases are planned to minimize the impact. When the full CWWA submission is finalized it will be shared with our members.
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