Storm water management works guidance for the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry

This guidance was written to provide information on Environmental Activity and Sector Registry requirements. It should not be construed as legal advice. While all efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of the requirements summarized below, if there is any discrepancy between this summary and the Acts or regulations, the provisions of the Acts and regulations take precedence.

Introduction

Storm water management works are works constructed for the collection, transmission, treatment and disposal of storm water. In Ontario, permission is needed for the use, operation, establishment, alteration, extension or replacement of most storm water management works. For some storm water management works permission is obtained by registering in the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR). The following guidance provides more information to help you determine whether your storm water management must be registered in the EASR. If required to register, this guidance outlines what you need to complete before you register and then follow after you register.

Exemptions

In Ontario, some storm water management activities may be exempt from requiring an environmental permission.

See Ontario Regulation 525/98: Approval Exemptions to learn more.

Storm water management works not subject to registration in the EASR

Ontario Regulation 137/25: Registrations under part II.2 of the Act - storm water management works, does not allow the registration of storm water management works that service the sites listed below. If your works service any of the following sites, you cannot register, regardless of whether you meet the criteria to register. If the works are not eligible to register on the EASR, you may be required to apply for an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA):

• a waste disposal site as defined in part V of the Act
• an abandoned motor vehicle site as defined in part VII of the Act
• a snow disposal facility or a site for the storage of snow where the predominant use of the site is for the retention, control, storage or disposal of snow
• a bulk plant as defined in Ontario Regulation 217/01 Liquid Fuels made under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000
• a golf course
• a road salt storage facility
• an aerodrome as defined in the Aeronautics Act (Canada)
• a shipyard and any associated maintenance facility
• a renewable energy generation facility
• a greenhouse
• an outdoor surface consisting of aggregate that includes basic oxygen furnace slag
• a site at which any outdoor repair and maintenance of motorized vehicles, equipment and heavy machinery take place
• activities described under any of the following NAICS codes:
  • 31, 32, 33 manufacturing
  • 21 mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
  • 2211 electric power generation, transmission and distribution
  • 2212 natural gas distribution
  • 418110 recyclable metal merchant wholesalers

In addition to the sites listed above, the use, operation or establishment of a new storm water management works cannot be registered in the EASR or apply for an environmental compliance approval if both:

• the activity would be a significant drinking water threat
• the relevant source protection plan prepared under the Clean Water Act, 2006 includes a policy that has the effect of prohibiting the establishment of new storm water management works at the location where the works is proposed to be located

Some source protection plans include policies (listed in “List C” of the appendix of the plan) that prohibit the establishment of storm water management works (facilities and drainage systems) that would be a significant drinking water threat.  This is the type of source protection plan policy that would have the effect of prohibiting the establishment of new storm water management works at the location where the works is proposed to be located.

You can learn more about source protection in Ontario and locally developed source protection plans approved under the Clean Water Act at Source Protection and 2021 Technical Rules under the Clean Water Act.

Storm water management works subject to registration in the EASR

Ontario Regulation 137/25 under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) requires certain storm water management works to be registered in the EASR prior to the:

• use
• operation
• establishment
• alteration
• extension
• replacement

Except where you manage storm water at sites not subject to registration listed above, you must register your storm water management works in the EASR when they meet all the following criteria:

• the works are not owned by a municipality and will not be transferred or assumed by a municipality under an agreement entered into under the Planning Act or Development Charges Act, 1997 with 1 of the following:
  1. a municipality within the meaning of the Municipal Act, 2001
  2. any of the following bodies that is established for the purpose of managing public utilities on behalf of or for a municipality within the meaning of the Municipal Act, 2001:
     1. a public utility commission deemed to be a municipal service board under section 195 of the Municipal Act, 2001
     2. a municipal service board established under sections 9, 10, 11 and 196 of the Municipal Act, 2001 or a city board as defined in subsection 3 (1) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006
     3. a corporation established under sections 9, 10 and 11 of the Municipal Act, 2001 in accordance with section 203 of that Act or under sections 7 and 8 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 in accordance with sections 148 and 154 of that Act
• any processing, repair or maintenance of goods and materials at the property where the works are located are conducted indoors
• the works or any part of the works does not and will not receive any discharge of process water, cooling water, wash water or sanitary sewage

For example, you are not subject to registration in the EASR and may need to apply for an ECA if:

• you are repairing or maintaining equipment outside where storm water could pick up and carry contaminants into your works
• the works receive storm water that encounters or is mixed with water from processing activities or cooling water or wash water or sanitary sewage.

Municipality is within the meaning of the Municipal Act, 2001, and includes any of the following bodies that is established for the purpose of managing public utilities on behalf of or for a municipality:

• a public utility commission that is deemed to be a municipal service board
• a municipal service board established under the Municipal Act
• a corporation established under the Municipal Act

Storm water management works that are contained within a single property owned by a municipality and meet the requirements to register in the EASR include for example:

• hospitals
• recreation centres
• long-term care facilities

The intent in limiting storm water systems owned by a municipality is so that storm water management works that should be captured under a consolidated linear infrastructure approval issued to a municipality are not subject to registration in the EASR. Find out more about municipal consolidated linear infrastructure environmental compliance approvals issued for municipal storm water management systems.

If you have reviewed the criteria to self-register and are still unsure, contact us.

When to register

If you are proposing a new storm water management works and you meet the criteria set out in regulation, you are required to self-register in the EASR prior to the construction of the works.

If you have an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) that authorizes your existing storm water management works, you may continue to operate under your ECA until there is a need to amend your ECA for anything other than an administrative amendment. An administrative amendment can include:

• a change in ownership
• change in address
• name change
• editorial correction

The ministry determines whether a change is administrative.

If you are proposing to expand, alter or replace an existing works with an ECA, the works must be self-registered in the EASR.

When you transition an existing works to the EASR, you must meet all the requirements in Ontario Regulation 137/25 prior to registering. For example, you will need to upload a storm water management (SWM) report in the registry that has been signed and sealed by a licensed engineering practitioner.

Learn more about preparing a storm water management report.

Note, existing storm water management works are not subject to the design requirement of enhanced level protection when registered in the EASR.

Once an existing works is registered in EASR your ECA will cease to apply when you receive your confirmation of registration in the registry. After you self-register, you must follow your storm water management report and the activity requirements in Ontario Regulation 137/25.

Learn more about amending an existing ECA in part B of the Guide for applying for an Environmental Compliance Approval.

Registering in the EASR

As the current or future owner of storm water management works or the person engaging in the activity, you are responsible for completing the following steps:

You must review your SWM report and include a statement in the report confirming the information provided to the LEP is complete and accurate. It is your responsibility to operate and maintain your SWM works by following your SWM report and the activity requirements in Ontario Regulation 137/25.

Questions include:

• the location of your works
• site conditions (including if determined to be a significant drinking water threat)
• design of the works
• operations and maintenance of your works
• erosion and sediment control
• the discharge locations and
• upload your SWM report in the registry

There is no fee to register your storm water management in the EASR.

Operate and maintain your works as directed in your SWM report and Ontario Regulation 137/25 and anytime construction occurs, implement your erosion and sediment control plan.

The information in your SWM report must be kept current and updated if conditions at the site change in a way that impacts the information in your SWM report. For more information see Updating information in the registry.

To register, you will need to access online services for environmental permissions.

Learn more about environmental permissions online services.

See Making changes to registered SWM works for requirements that must be followed when changes are made after you have registered your.

Comply with your registration

To comply with your registration, you must follow the activity requirements set out in Ontario Regulation 137/25, and the procedures and practices set out in your SWM report. The ministry may review your registration for compliance and an environmental compliance officer may visit your property to inspect the works and measure compliance with your SWM report and Ontario Regulation 137/25.

The confirmation of registration that you received after completing your registration has important information that will help you understand your compliance obligations, including:

• your registration number
• the date of registration
• the date your registration was updated, if applicable
• schedule A — a summary of post-registration activity requirements
• schedule B — a summary of your registration

Below is a summarized version of the activity requirements, refer to Ontario Regulation 137/25 for more details.

• Your SWM report must be made available to any person who operates or maintains your works.
• You must follow your SWM report and any addenda that has been added, while operating your works; for example, when performing operations and maintenance of your works, you must follow the procedures detailed in your SWM report.
• If your SWM works are a significant drinking water threat, notify the local source protection authority in writing before you begin operating your works. The notice must include:
  • a description of the works, for example, the type of works
  • a statement that your works are a significant drinking water threat
  • your EASR registration number
• After you have registered, you may receive notice from the local source protection authority of proposed changes to the local source protection plan that could affect whether your works are a significant drinking water threat. In this case, once the plan amendments take effect, you must re-assess the works to determine whether the activity is a significant drinking water threat and notify the local source protection authority if it is. See Significant Drinking Water Threat Assessment guidance for more details.
• The effluent from your works must be essentially free of floating and settleable solids and must not have oil or any other substances in amounts sufficient to create a visible film, sheen, foam, or discoloration on the receiving waters. You may consider discussing this requirement with a LEP to make sure you are aware of preventative and corrective measures that can be implemented to address this.
• If your SWM report includes a monitoring plan with effluent objectives provided by a LEP, you must make your best efforts to meet the objectives. If there is an exceedance of an effluent objective, you must notify the ministry district office immediately and in writing within seven days. In addition, sampling equipment must be maintained and calibrated.
• A LEP must prepare, date and sign as-built drawings of the works within 6 months of construction, alteration, extension or replacement of the works.
• You must retain and make available to anyone operating the works any manufacturer’s specification sheets, relevant technical information and agreements for equipment components of the works.

Spill contingency plan

All activities in Ontario have obligations under Part X of the EPA and Ontario Regulation 675/98: Classification and Exemption of Spills and Reporting of Discharges related to planning for and reporting on spills. In addition to those obligations, under Ontario Regulation 137/25 you must prepare a spill contingency plan when:

• there is outdoor storage or handling of soil, raw material, intermediate products, finished products or by-products at the property where the works are located
• your SWM works are determined to be a significant drinking water threat

A spill is defined in Part X of the EPA.

At a minimum, your spills contingency plan must include the following to prevent a spill from entering your works or discharging from your works into the natural environment:

• procedures to prevent or reduce the risk of a spill
• procedures to prevent, eliminate or ameliorate any adverse effect that may result from a spill
• procedures to provide annual spill response training to anyone who operates the works
• an inventory of response and clean-up equipment

Your spill contingency plan must be implemented in the event of a spill.

Your spill contingency plan may include the following additional information:

• the date on which the plan was prepared
• the name, job title, address and phone number of the owner or person in charge of the site serviced by the SWM works
• the steps and measures to be taken to report, contain, clean up and dispose of pollutants following a spill that enters or has a potential to enter your SWM works
• listing of telephone numbers for:
  • local clean-up companies who may be called upon to aid in responding to spills
  • local emergency responders including health institutions
  • the ministry Spills Action Centre 1-800-268-6060
• the procedures by which the plan is activated in response to a spill and the name, job title and 24-hour telephone number of the people responsible for activating the spill contingency plan
• a site plan drawn to scale showing:
  • the catchment area serviced by the storm water management works
  • nearby buildings, streets, catch-basins and manholes
  • drainage patterns (including direction of flow in storm sewers)
  • any receiving body of water that could potentially be significantly impacted by a spill and any features which need to be considered in terms of potential impacts on access and response, including physical obstructions and location of response and clean-up equipment
  • any nearby municipal drinking water system wells or intakes
• safety data sheets for each hazardous material which may be transported or stored within the area serviced by the storm water management works
• procedures for keeping records of any spills per Ontario Regulation 675/98
• if your storm water management works is identified as a significant drinking water threat, include the following:
  • identify that the activity is a significant drinking water threat
  • identify that the activity is taking place in a wellhead protection area or intake protection zone as shown in the source protection plan
  • the name of the drinking water system for the wellhead protection area or intake protection zone that the activity is occurring in
  • list the telephone number for the drinking water system operator for the wellhead protection area or intake protection zone that the activity is occurring in, to contact them, should a spill occur

When contacting Spills Action Centre, inform them that you have a storm water management works in an intake protection zone or wellhead protection area, and a spill of pollutants has occurred from the works or has occurred nearby and may enter the works.

Your spill contingency plan should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis to confirm it has accurate information in case of a spill.

Record keeping

The records section of Ontario Regulation 137/25 requires various records relating to the use, operation, establishment, alteration, extension or replacement of your works to be created and retained. Some records must be retained for the lifetime of the works whereas others are required to be retained for a minimum of 5 years. These records must be made available to the ministry upon request and may be used to measure compliance with environmental legislation and associated regulations.  

Records to be kept for the lifetime of the works include:

• as-built drawings
• manufacturer specification sheets and copies of maintenance agreements with equipment manufacturers
• landowner consent if the registrant does not own the land where the works are located
• any applicable permits or approvals from others for example, Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development permit
• Environmental Assessment Act undertakings
• your SWM report
• your spill contingency plan

Records requiring retention for a minimum of 5 years include:

• monitoring records if monitoring is required by a LEP, date and location of an exceedance of an effluent objective and corrective actions taken, and maintenance of sampling equipment
• complaints about your SWM works that have been received and summary of measures taken, if any, to address the complaint
• inspection and maintenance of erosion and sediment control measures

• operation, maintenance and inspection activities of your SWM works
• abnormal situations including emergency shutdowns and breakdowns

Making changes to registered SWM works

If you are planning to make changes to your SWM works or undertake work that will impact the storm water captured by your SWM works you must:

• upload an updated SWM report or add an addendum to the registry before making those changes
• have a LEP update the relevant sections of your SWM report or create an addendum to the report.

An addendum must describe the changes and identify the sections of the SWM report that it is replacing. Any changes made must comply with Ontario Regulation 137/25. The updated SWM report or addendum must be uploaded to the registry before the works are altered or extended.  Once the changes are made, as-built drawings of your works must be updated by a LEP and retained for the lifetime of the works. When uploading the updated SWM report or addendum to the registry, you should consider updating any other information in your registration that is no longer complete or accurate as you are required to update the registry within 30 days of changes being made as outlined in the next section.

Updating information in the registry

Ontario Regulation 245/11, Registration under Part II.2 of the Act - General under the EPA applies to all registered activities in the EASR. Under section 3(1) when any person engaging in an activity that is registered becomes aware that any information filed in the registry is no longer complete or accurate, the person must update the information within 30 days of becoming aware of the change.

This includes updating the registry after SWM works have been expanded, altered or replaced in accordance with an updated SWM report or addendum, or other changes have happened in the catchment area of the SWM works that impact any other part of the registration.

There is no fee or added approval process for updating information in the registry, see Update your registration under Register in the EASR for more information.

Contact us

For more information, you can contact the Client Services and Permissions Branch at:

• Tel: 416-314-8001 (Toll-free: 1-800-461-6290), Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• email: enviropermissions@ontario.ca

Appendix A: legislation and regulations

• Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.40
• Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.19
• Ontario Regulation 245/11: Registrations under Part II.2 of the Act - General
• Ontario Regulation 137/25 Registrations under part II.2 of the Act - storm water management works