December 5, 2019
Province Denies City of Winnipeg Request for Extension to Bring North End Treatment Plant into Compliance
– – –Province Takes Action to Bring City into Compliance, Implement Realistic Timelines
Manitoba Conservation and Climate advises the province has denied a request by the City of Winnipeg to extend the deadline for an additional two years to submit an interim Environment Act licence compliance plan for the North End Water Pollution Control Centre. The province will instead take action to assist the City of Winnipeg in meeting the requirements of its licence.
The City of Winnipeg’s Environment Act licence requires them to meet nutrient limits, initially set in 2005, by Dec. 31, 2019. Manitoba provided direction to the City of Winnipeg in January 2019, requiring a Notice of Alteration to extend the compliance date. The Notice of Alteration was to include details of alternatives and a revised implementation timeline with options to expedite construction and meet the targets for phosphorus removal. The City of Winnipeg submitted a request for an extension to Dec. 31, 2021, to develop and submit an interim licence compliance plan, but did not include any proposed target date to meet the limits set out in its licence.
The province has reviewed this request and determined the city’s response does not meet the requirements of the January 2019 letter and therefore, the Notice of Alteration is not approved.
As of Jan. 1, 2020, the City of Winnipeg is expected to be out of compliance with its Environment Act licence and operating without an approved plan. The Manitoba government is requiring the city to participate in a project steering committee and a project advisory committee, both to be co-chaired by Manitoba Conservation and Climate with the City of Winnipeg. The project steering committee will oversee implementation of both an interim phosphorus reduction strategy to commence by Feb. 1, 2020, as well as implementation of the upgrades to meet the licence requirements.
The project advisory committee will provide advice to the project steering committee and will include representation from the City of Winnipeg and multiple provincial government departments, as well as key stakeholders such as the International Institute of Sustainable Development, Lake Winnipeg Foundation and the Lake Winnipeg Indigenous Collective.
The letter to the City of Winnipeg will be posted on the public registry at:
www.gov.mb.ca/sd//eal/registries/1071.1/index.html.
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