The Clean Water Act source protection process is chugging ahead on schedule. All 38 Threat Assessment Reports are expected by the end of December 2010; 25 have already been submitted for MOE review and approval. All Source Protection Plans must be submitted by August 20, 2012, and could be in force by the end of that year.
Substantial amendments to Reg. 287/07 came into effect this July, including new provisions on the preparation, content and consultation on Source Protection Plans. The regulations require Source Protection Committees to consult early, widely and vociferously on their proposed plans. They must also do more to explain their decisions. Each Plan must include a chart indicating which statutory provisions will be overridden by each specific provision of the Plan; it must also be accompanied by a clear, plain language explanation of the discretionary portions of the Plan.
The Regulation now prescribes the specific instruments that must, by law, be made to conform with each approved Source Protection Plan. While the list contains no surprises, it is useful to have it confirmed.