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6. SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PLAN
FOR THE OTTAWA RIVER - MOTION 60/30 PLAN DE
PROTECTION DES SOURCES D'EAU POUR LA RIVIÈRE DES OUTAOUAIS - MOTION 60/30 |
Committee recommendation
That Council approve the motion attached in
Document 1 in order to send a strong and cohesive message to the Province of
Ontario of the need for an inter-jurisdictional approach to the protection of
the Ottawa River.
Recommandation DU Comité
Que le Conseil approuve la motion énoncée dans le document 1 afin
d'envoyer au gouvernement de l'Ontario un message fort et cohérent concernant
la nécessité d'adopter une démarche pangouvernementale à l'égard de la
protection de la rivière des Outaouais.
Documentation
1.
Deputy
City Manager’s report, Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability
dated 17 April 2009 (ACS2009-ICS-CCS-0024).
Report to/Rapport au :
Planning
and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement
17 April 2009 / le 17 avril 2009
Submitted
by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager
Directrice municipale adjointe,
Infrastructure Services and Community
Sustainability
Services d’infrastructure et
Viabilité des collectivités
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Carol Christensen, Manager, Environmental
Sustainability
Economic
and Environmental Sustainability/Direction de la viabilité économique et de la
durabilité de l’environnement
(613)
580-2424 x21610, Carol.Christensen@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
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SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PLAN FOR THE
OTTAWA RIVER - MOTION 60/30 |
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OBJET :
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PLAN DE
PROTECTION DES SOURCES D'EAU POUR LA RIVIÈRE DES OUTAOUAIS - MOTION 60/30 |
REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
That Planning
and Environment Committee recommend that Council approve the motion attached in
Document 1 in order to send a strong and cohesive message to the Province of
Ontario of the need for an inter-jurisdictional approach to the protection of
the Ottawa River.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement recommande au Conseil d'approuver la motion énoncée dans le
document 1 afin d'envoyer au gouvernement de l'Ontario un message fort et
cohérent concernant la nécessité d'adopter une démarche pangouvernementale à
l'égard de la protection de la rivière des Outaouais.
BACKGROUND
At its meeting of 25 February 2009 City Council approved that the following motion be referred to staff for a report to Planning and Environment Committee’s second meeting in April 2009.
MOTION NO. 61/17
Moved by Councillor C. Doucet
Seconded by Councillor C. Leadman
WHEREAS the
Ottawa River is the largest and most important supply of drinking water for
Eastern Ontario and West Quebec municipalities;
WHEREAS the
Ottawa River follows the provincial boundary between Quebec and Ontario;
WHEREAS
Ontario has established source water protection for all municipalities in
Ontario with the authority to prepare source water protection plans for those
municipalities;
WHEREAS the
source water protection plans developed under Ontario’s authority to protect
clean drinking water from the Ottawa River will not address source water
protection on a watershed basis;
WHEREAS
taking a piecemeal approach to source protection for communities along the
Ottawa River will not satisfy the intent of the Walkerton Inquiry
recommendations to protect source drinking water on a watershed basis;
WHEREAS,
without source water programs being in place on both sides of the
River, the
efforts to ensure that our mutual interest in maintaining clean drinking water
cannot be met;
BE IT
RESOLVED that the City of Ottawa petition the Federal, Ontario and Quebec
governments for a source water protection plan for the Ottawa River including
all municipalities on both sides of the river for recommendations to protect
the public;
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that given the urgency of this matter, that timetable be established
with deadlines for responses from all levels of government with an objective of
May 31, 2009.
Per Council’s direction, this report discusses the
proposed motion on source water protection for the Ottawa River.
DISCUSSION
Source water protection for the Ottawa River can be
done effectively only with the participation of the Federal government and the
Province of Quebec. City Council has
repeatedly raised this issue in its various submissions to the Province of
Ontario throughout the development of the Clean Water Act and the
resultant Drinking Water Source Protection program.
City staff and
staff from the Mississippi Rideau and Raisin-South
Nation Source Protection Regions have been working together to bring the
Province of Quebec and Quebec municipalities to the table. A meeting was convened with the City of
Ottawa, City of Gatineau, the Province of Quebec, Ministry of the Environment
(MOE) and source water staff from Mississippi-Rideau and Raisin-South Nation in
February 2008, but there has been no follow-up.
Other groups in
Eastern Ontario share these concerns about protecting the Ottawa River. In August 2008, as
part of the Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Committee’s (MRSPC) review of
the draft Assessment Report Regulation and Technical Rules posted to the
Environmental Bill Registry (EBR), the MRSPC unanimously approved a similar
motion requesting the creation of an inter-jurisdictional Committee empowered
to protect the water quality, water quantity and ecological integrity of the
Ottawa River through a watershed approach. The motion is as follows:
We strongly recommend that the Province initiate
the creation of an inter-jurisdictional Committee empowered to protect the
water quality, water quantity and ecological integrity of the Ottawa River
through a watershed approach, including coordinated research, collaborative
development of decision-making tools, and coherent and consistent policies,
programs and public outreach initiatives for the river.
We strongly recommend that the
inter-jurisdictional committee includes representation of applicable ministries
within the Government of Ontario, relevant Conservation Authorities, the
Government of Canada, applicable ministries of the Province of Quebec,
municipalities in both Ontario and Quebec with intakes or discharges to the
river, Hydro authorities, and representatives from industrial sectors and
non-governmental organizations with the first task being the development of
Terms of Reference for the Committee.
The overall health of the Ottawa River has been an issue of
concern to the MRSPC since they convened in January 2008. They
acknowledge that there is a larger issue at play, that is, the overall water
quality, water quantity and ecological integrity of the Ottawa River, that is
beyond the existing scope of their source water protection efforts.
The MRSPC brought a report forward to their two Source
Protection Authorities (who are the Conservation Authority Boards of
Directors for Mississippi Valley Conservation and the Rideau Valley
Conservation Authority) to obtain their endorsement of the August motion.
The Mississippi and Rideau Source Protection Authorities endorsed the motion at
their meetings on March 25 and 26, 2009 respectively. The MRSPC also
intends to approach the South Nation Source Protection Committee for their
endorsement of the motion.
It is important to understand that the Ottawa watershed
encompasses an area of approximately 146,000 square kilometres (95,000 square
kilometres upstream of Ottawa’s surface water intakes). The watershed is split
one third in Ontario and two thirds in Quebec.
Two Ontario Source Protection Regions include area draining to the
Ottawa River. Together these three
Source Protection Areas (Mississippi 3%; Rideau 3%; and South Nation 4%)
encompass a mere 10 per cent of this total area.
Since adopting the motion, MRSPC has also been working
closely with the Source Protection Programs Branch of the MOE to bring this
issue to a higher level. In early March, Ian Smith, Director of the
Source Protection Programs Branch in MOE, indicated in a conversation with the
Chair of the MRSPC, Janet Stavinga, that they are working to have this matter
placed on the upcoming agenda of the Interprovincial Cabinet Ministers' meeting
scheduled for June.
Although the City has raised this concern repeatedly with
the Province of Ontario, it has been done in the context of responses to
various EBR postings, where it was only one of a number of issues and
comments.
Councillor Doucet’s motion that was referred by Council and
the MRSPC motion address the same desire for inter-jurisdictional action to
protect the Ottawa River. This is an
opportunity for Eastern Ontario to deliver a strong, cohesive message to the
Government of Ontario on the importance of working in partnership with the
Province of Quebec, municipalities, conservation authorities and other partners
to ensure the long-term health and integrity of the Ottawa River.
To keep the message strong and cohesive, an amended motion
is attached in Document 1 that combines many elements of Councillor’s Doucet’s
motion with the motion endorsed by the MRSPC and the two (likely soon to be
three) Source Protection Authorities.
The amended motion retains the concept of City action if the Province of
Ontario does not take action within a specified time frame.
It is encouraging that the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec
have already signed an Agreement concerning Transboundary Environmental
Impacts, which makes reference to surface and groundwater management;
monitoring and reduction of pollution in rivers, lakes and waterways; and to
St. Lawrence watershed issues (of which the Ottawa River watershed is a
part). It is staff’s understanding that
the two provinces have taken action under this agreement with respect to air
quality. It is hoped that these motions
from Eastern Ontario will result in action with respect to water quality. The full text of the Agreement is attached
as Document 2.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
The successful establishment of a watershed approach to protection of the Ottawa River, guided by an inter-jurisdictional committee including representatives of applicable federal departments, provincial ministries from both Ontario and Quebec, municipalities and conservation authorities along the Ottawa River, would be a major step forward in maintaining and enhancing the health of the Ottawa River.
CONSULTATION
There has been no public consultation specifically on this report. However, the previous Ottawa submissions to the Province have all been adopted through public processes and the meetings of both Source Protection Committees and Source Protection Authorities are public.
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS:
While the
City and residents of Ottawa have a significant interest in the water quality
of the Ottawa River, there are no direct legal/risk management implications
from the consideration of this report.
As outlined in this report, legislative authority with respect to the
Ottawa River lies with the Federal Government, the Province of Ontario and the
Province of Québec.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial implications to this report. City staff time with regard to this issue will be funded from approved operating budgets.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Amended Motion
Document 2 Agreement concerning Transboundary Environmental Impacts between the Government of Ontario and the Gouvernement du Québec
DISPOSITION
If approved, the Deputy City Manager of Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability will forward the motion to the Ontario Minister of the Environment.
AMENDED MOTION DOCUMENT 1
WHEREAS, the
Ottawa River provides the largest supply of drinking water for municipalities
in Eastern Ontario and West Quebec;
Whereas, the Ottawa River follows
the provincial boundary between Quebec and Ontario;
WHEREAS, the Ottawa River watershed
encompasses an area of approximately 146,000 square kilometres (approximately
95,000 square kilometres is upstream of the two municipal surface water intakes
of the City of Ottawa) with countless rivers, lakes, streams and drainage areas
in both Ontario as well as Quebec;
WHEREAS, the Clean Water Act, 2006 is part of the Ontario Government's
commitment to promote the sustainability of clean, safe drinking water for all
Ontarians and to implement the Walkerton Inquiry Recommendations;
WHEREAS, the Act establishes a
locally driven, science based, multi-stakeholder process to protect municipal
drinking water sources through the efforts of 19 Source Protection Regions
working in partnership with municipalities;
Whereas, the two eastern Ontario Source Protection Regions,
Mississippi-Rideau and Raisin-South Nation (specifically the South Nation
Source Protection Area), encompass a mere 6% and 4% of the total Ottawa River
watershed area, respectively;
Whereas, the overall water quality, water quantity and ecological integrity
of the Ottawa River is beyond the scope of the source water protection efforts
in Eastern Ontario as currently defined under the Clean Water Act, 2006;
WHEREAS
taking a piecemeal approach to source protection for communities along the
Ottawa River will not satisfy the intent of the Walkerton Inquiry
recommendations to protect source drinking water on a watershed basis;
WHEREAS,
without source water protection programs being in place on both sides of the
River, the efforts to ensure that our mutual interest in maintaining clean
drinking water cannot be met;
Therefore be it
resolved that the Province of Ontario initiate the creation of an
inter-jurisdictional Committee empowered to protect the water quality, water
quantity and ecological integrity of the Ottawa River through a watershed
approach, including coordinated research, collaborative development of
decision-making tools, and coherent and consistent policies, programs and
public outreach initiatives for the river;
Further be it
resolved that the
inter-jurisdictional committee includes representation of applicable ministries
within the Government of Ontario, relevant Conservation Authorities, the
Government of Canada, applicable ministries of the Province of Quebec, municipalities
in both Ontario and Quebec with intakes or discharges to the river, Hydro
authorities, and representatives from industrial sectors and non-governmental
organizations with the first task being the development of Terms of Reference
for the Committee;
And be it further
resolved that should
the Province not have undertaken any tangible measures to bring the various
parties together by mid‑September 2009 that the City of Ottawa organize a
forum with these parties to advocate for the formation of an inter-jurisdictional
committee.
AGREEMENT CONCERNING TRANSBOUNBARY ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO
AND THE GOUVERNEMENT DU QUÉBEC DOCUMENT 2
