FMSC proposes regulatory changes to smooth new development in rural areas

Frontenac Municipal Services Corporation (FMSC) officials have asked the Ontario Government to consider adjustments to a proposed Environmental Assessment Act regulation.The FMSC recommendations will further clear the way for shared water and wastewater services, reduce the time and cost it takes to approve new development projects, and help make new development more affordable for families and businesses across Frontenac County.

Despite recent and ongoing improvements, Ontario lags behind the rest of Canada and the developed world in the time and cost it takes to get new building projects approved. The environmental assessment process, even for modest development projects in Frontenac, can take up to two years.

As part of ongoing reform, the Ontario Government has proposed a change to the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) aimed at streamlining the regulatory process and ultimately reducing costs for builders and homebuyers. In a March 7 letter to Ontario Environment Minister Andrea Khanjin, FMSC President Frances Smith asks for adjustments to the proposed regulation that will further facilitate the efficient construction and operation of communal water and wastewater systems in Frontenac.

Among the FMSC recommendations are:

That two required approval processes that are regulated under separate Acts be harmonized into one process regulated under the Ontario Planning Act.
That service corporations like the FMSC be acknowledged as leading experts and authorities in developments that employ communal services approaches and technologies, and that the FMSC help guide developers through the approval process.
That specific, well-iterated, and expertly tested communal water and wastewater system designs be identified and evaluated as safe and standard approaches rather than requiring that each communal service installation be evaluated and approved as a one-off prototype.

Phil Tibble, Jim McIntosh, Dan Hulton, and Roy Huetl are members of the FMSC Technical Advisory Committee. Mike Jablonicky, and Jerry Lichty are members of the FMSC Board.

Read the FMSC letter to Minister Khanjin.

Read about the proposed changes to the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act.

The Ontario Government invites further input on the proposed regulatory changes to the Environmental Assessment Act before March 18.