b'FEATUREENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REPORTBACK TO BASICSThe Environmental Protection Report (EPR)and Clean Water in OntarioBY BEV CLINEV olume 2, Clean Water, of the EPR, highlightsThe Environmental Protection Report Back to challenges and opportunities for the province in its role as a guardian of ourBasics, issued by the Environmental Commissioner water.of Ontarios office (ECO) in 2018, makes a number of recommendations that, potentially, could have a Below is an interview with Dr. Dianne Saxe, formersubstantial impact on OSWCA members.Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, on critical issues that affect OSWCA members. These include:H OSWCA:How aware is the public of theThe Ministry of the Environment, Conservation 2 and Parks (MECP) insert, into the environmental impact of combined sewer overflows on ourcompliance approval of every municipality that drinking water and natural habitat? has a combined sewer system, a legal obligation to adopt a public Pollution Prevention and Control DIANNE SAXE:I dont think the public wasPlan to virtually eliminate combined sewer very aware that we still had combined sewers,overflows within a reasonable time, and the MECP particularly in Ontario. There are some parts ofshould enforce these Plans.the country where sewage is still dumped into the ocean. And that, people often know about. ButThe ECO recommends that the Ministry of in Ontario, my impression is that most peopleInfrastructure and the MECP work with municipali-thought wed solved these problems a long timeties to achieve full-cost recovery for stormwater and ago. Yet as our Environmental Protection Reportsewage systems.(EPR) shows, since 1985 Ontario has prohibited 16H 2 OSWCA Winter 2018-19'