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For immediate release
August 1, 2003

EVES GOVERNMENT TOUGHENS WASTE DISPOSAL RULES
Regulation bans spreading of untreated portable toilet waste

TORONTO – The Ernie Eves government is banning the spreading of untreated portable toilet waste on fields, Environment Minister Jim Wilson announced today.

Under a new amendment to Regulation 347, the general waste protection regulation under the Environmental Protection Act, waste haulers can no longer spread untreated waste from portable toilets on land. This untreated waste, a type of septage, will have to be treated at a sewage treatment plant, a lagoon or disposed of at an approved waste disposal site. The amended regulation will take effect on October 30, 2003.

“Effective waste management is an important part of our nutrient management strategy to protect drinking water and human health,” said Wilson. “The Eves government is encouraged to see waste haulers and municipalities sharing in the responsibility for keeping our water clean and safe.”

The amendment to the regulation applies to untreated portable toilet waste. As part of its commitment to ban land application of all untreated septage in five years, the government has a draft phase-out strategy for the spreading of all untreated septage from other sources, and consulted on land application of septage during stakeholder discussions for Nutrient Management Act regulations earlier this year. This regulation is an important step towards completing our commitment to implement all of the recommendations of the O’Connor Inquiry.

Currently in Ontario, septage cannot be spread on land that is being used at the time for crop harvesting or grazing. A Certificate of Approval from the Ministry of the Environment is required for the land application of septage. The amended regulation goes further and bans the spreading of untreated portable toilet wastes.

The amended regulation affects waste haulers as well as any of their clients that use portable toilets, such as construction companies, road crews and outdoor festivals. The regulation has been posted for viewing on the ministry’s Environmental Bill of Rights website. It can be viewed at http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/ebr/english/index.htm.

This regulation is only one of a series of recent actions to protect Ontario’s drinking water supply. It builds on such initiatives as the Drinking Water Systems Regulation, new rules on well construction, new accountability measures for Permit To Take Water applicants, and a regulation on the certification and training of water treatment plant operators.

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