Wastewater and stormwater – Performance assurance

Overview

Performance assurance consists of facility approvals, compliance, and enforcement. In all 3 of these areas staff conduct routine monitoring and inspections to ensure that they are knowledgeable regarding their systems within the region.

Approvals and registrations

The Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) and the accompanying regulations identify activities that require an approval or registration and the process for obtaining an approval or registration.

• Drinking Water and Wastewater Facility Approvals and Registrations Process
• Use the Environmental Records Viewer and the Authorization Viewer to find existing approvals, registrations, licenses, and permits issued under EPEA and the Water Act.
• Registrations must follow conditions stipulated in the Codes of Practice:
  • Code of Practice for Wastewater Systems Consisting Solely of a Wastewater Collection System
  • Code of Practice for Wastewater Systems Using a Wastewater Lagoon

Inspections

Alberta's government conducts routine and unscheduled inspections to verify that wastewater systems are constructed according to the approved design and are operating within their regulatory requirements. Any variances are noted and the owner is required to ensure that all corrections to the system are made. Annual facility reports that document monitoring and operational performance of wastewater facilities are completed by the system owner and are assessed by the department.

• Compliance Inspection Program

Compliance Assurance

Compliance Assurance is preventive in nature by ensuring that legislative requirements are met and compliance assistance actions encourage continuous improvement and process optimization.

• Compliance Assurance Program

Enforcement

When incidents of non-compliance are identified or reported by the owners of the facilities, Alberta’s government works directly with the wastewater facility owner and operator to correct the issue and optimize facility performance.

To address infractions of environmental laws, we can issue warning letters, tickets, enforcement orders, and administrative penalties. We can also prosecute, request or enforce court orders and cancel an approval. Generally, companies voluntarily take the appropriate actions to achieve compliance.

• Compliance Assurance annual reports
• Enforcement actions quarterly reports

Contact

Contact us for more information on the legislation or system performance.