Ontario's Regulations Governing On-site Septic Systems

 

 

 

Buildings in the province of Ontario are covered by the Building Code Act, 1992. The 2006 Building Code came into effect on December 31, 2006 enacted by Ontario Regulation 350/06.

 

• Private sewage systems are regulated under Part 8 – Sewage Systems of the Ontario Building Code and are therefore defined as buildings.

• Part 8 governs the design, construction, operation and maintenance of various class of sewage systems located within properties. It addresses sewage systems up to 10000 liters capacity serving one lot

• Systems larger than 10,000 liters/day are regulated by the Ministry of the Environment under the Ontario Water Resources Act.

• For electronic copies of both the Building Code Act and the Ontario Building Code visit e-laws (www.e-laws.gov.on.ca)

Ontario Building Code:

Effective April 6th, 1998, the responsibilities of the on-site sewage systems with a total daily flow of less than 10,000 litres per day were legislated from the Ministry of the Environment to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Part 8 of the Ontario Building Code is a direct transfer of responsibilities from the Environmental Protection Act.

Building Code Commission:

The Building Code Commission (BCC) is an adjudicative tribunal, authorized under the Building Code Act. Its mandate is to resolve disputes concerning the sufficiency of compliance with the technical requirements of the Building Code, time period disputes for site inspections and time period disputes for processing permit applications. Parties to the BCC are typically builders, developers, architects, engineers, etc. as applicants and municipal plan reviewers, building inspectors, registered code agencies (RCAs) and health officials as respondents. http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page7394.aspx

Building Material Evaluation Commission:

The Building Materials Evaluation Commission (BMEC) is a regulatory agency authorized under the Building Code Act, 1992 (BCA). It has a mandate to conduct or authorize the examination of materials, systems and building designs for construction. When approving a material, system or building design, the BMEC may attach certain conditions for its use. The BMEC may also make recommendations to the Minister regarding changes to the BCA or Building Code. http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page8295.aspx