What is the role of all three levels of government in reducing the threat from wastewater effluents?
Reducing pollution from municipal wastewater treatment plants is everyone’s responsibility. The Government of Canada’s role in wastewater effluent is administering and enforcing CEPA 1999 and the Fisheries Act to protect the environment and human health from toxic and/or deleterious substances and to provide leadership in the science related to these areas. Provinces and territories have in place various Acts and regulations that apply to managing wastewater. The provinces and territories approve the design and construction of wastewater collection and treatment systems, issue permits for operations, specify local operating requirements and provide funding to local authorities. Typically, municipalities or other local authorities construct, operate and maintain wastewater collection and treatment systems. Municipalities also levy local charges or surcharges to users of the system(s) through bylaws and other mechanisms. They can also regulate the discharges to the sewer system from non-
