b'FEATUREENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REPORT WE HAVEH 2 OSWCA:In the EPR, as well THE ONTARIOas in earlier reports, such as the 2016 Urban Stormwater Fees: How SEWER ANDUNDERFUNDEDto Pay for Water We Need, you WATERMAINrecommend dedicated sewer and CONSTRUCTIONOUR SEWER ANDstormwater funding.DIANNE SAXE:Yes, I do. We ASSOCIATIONSTORMWATERhave underfunded our sewer and (OSWCA)stormwater infrastructure for so STRONGLYINFRASTRUCTURElong. Its led to a big deficit in infrastructure funding because we SUPPORTS: FOR SO LONG. ITSdont fund it properly. The elimination of combinedIn most municipalities, the storm-sewer and stormwaterLED TO A BIG DEFICITwater infrastructure is paid for by overflows, to contribute tomunicipalities in one of two ways, keeping Ontarios rivers andIN INFRASTRUCTUREneither of which work well. Either lakes clean. its paid from property tax revenue, for which there is tremendous The Association also supportsFUNDING, BECAUSEcompetition all the time. Or, full-cost recovery pricing infrom water rates. This approach order to sustain water andWE DONT FUNDputs the burden generally on wastewater systems, alongthe wrong people. For example, with standardized assetif a municipality is paying for its management audits. THE STORMWATERstormwater management out of water rates, it means a laundromat, For more information, pleaseINFRASTRUCTUREfor example, is paying a great deal consult OSWCAs reportsand contributing almost nothing to the problem. And, a parking lot is Bringing Sustainability toPROPERLY.paying nothing and contributing a Ontarios Water Systems (2016)great deal to the problem.and The State of Ontarios Water and Wastewater Infrastructure DIANNE SAXE, FORMER ENVIRONMENTAL (2018). COMMISSIONER OF ONTARIO H 2 OSWCA:In the EPR, you call for full-cost recovery for stormwater and sewage systems.DIANNE SAXE:Were calling for full-cost recovery. This is not new; Justice OConnor recommended it after the Walkerton tragedy back in 2000almost 20 years ago! Mississauga and Kitchener are two of the outstanding examples of municipalities that have adopted stormwater fees. But you should also know these fees are very common in other placessome municipalities in the United Kingdom and the U.S., Infrastructure - General Contracting for example.Infrastructure - General Contracting Smart Prosperity Institute has Bridge - Aggregates reported that there are something Bridge - Aggregates like 1,500 American municipalities that do use stormwater charging to pay for stormwater management and to give property owners an incentive to keep rain on their property. So its not that we in Ontario have figured this out, its that we in Ontario are catching up with what a lot of other people already know.20H 2 OSWCA Winter 2018-19'