WSER 2016 Annual Report

3.0 Authorizations

There are three types of authorizations under the WSER that allow wastewater systems to temporarily not meet all or some of the WSER effluent quality standards:  transitional authorizations, temporary bypass authorizations  and authorizations to deposit un-ionized ammonia. Information on these authorization is presented below.

3.1  Transitional Authorizations

Owners or operators of a wastewater system subject to the WSER and not designed to achieve the national effluent quality standards had until June 30, 2014 to apply for a Transitional Authorization (TA). A TA establishes the conditions under which such systems may continue to operate and sets the deadline (end of 2020, 2030 or 2040) to meet the mandatory national effluent quality standards. The deadline for upgrading a given wastewater system is based on criteria set out in the WSER.

A total of 65 wastewater systems in the country were issued a TA. The complete list of systems with TAs is posted on the registry of transitional authorizations page.

3.2  Temporary Bypass Authorizations

The owner or operator of a wastewater system may apply for a Temporary Bypass Authorization if treatment processes of the system will need to be bypassed in order to conduct maintenance of the system or make changes to it and, as a result, exceed the effluent quality santadards set-out in the regulations.  The bypass must be designed, within the constraints of technical and economic feasibility, to minimize the volume of effluent deposited and the concentration of deleterious substances in the effluent deposited.

In 2016, 14 temporary bypass authorizations were issued for 12 wastewater systems.

Table 9. Temporary bypass authorizations issued in 2016.

3.3  Temporary Authorization to Deposit Un-ionized Ammonia

The owner or operator of a wastewater system that is at secondary level of treatment (i.e. meets the effluent quality standards for CBOD and SS) may apply for a temporary authorization to deposit un-ionized ammonia if the effluent from the system is acutely lethal due to the presence of un-ionized ammonia.To be accepted, the concentration of un-ionized ammonia in the receiving water at any point that is 100 m from the point of entry where the effluent is deposited must be less than or equal to 0.016 mg/L, expressed as nitrogen (N).

In 2016, there were two temporary authorizations to deposit unionized ammonia, both were issued in 2015.

Table 10.  Systems with a Temporary Authorization to Deposit Un-ionized Ammonia.