ontario regulation 208/26

made under the

Clean Water Act, 2006

Made: June 18, 2026
Filed: June 29, 2026
Published on e-Laws: June 29, 2026
Published in The Ontario Gazette: July 18, 2026

Amending O. Reg. 287/07

(GENERAL)

1. (1) Clause 6 (1) (a) of Ontario Regulation 287/07 is revoked and the following substituted:

(a)  publish the draft on the Internet; and

(2) Clause 6 (2) (b) of the Regulation is revoked.

(3) Subsection 6 (3) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(3) The notice shall be published in a manner that, in the opinion of the source protection committee, will bring the notice to the attention of the public in the source protection area.

2. (1) Subsection 10 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Consultation on amendments proposed by source protection committee

(1) A source protection committee that is preparing an amendment to a terms of reference for a source protection area shall, before submitting the proposed amendments to the source protection authority under section 9 of the Act, prepare a draft of the proposed amendments and publish it on the Internet.

(2) Subsection 10 (3) of the Regulation is amended by adding “and” at the end of clause (a) and by revoking clause (b).

3. (1) Clause 14 (1) (b) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(b)  published notice of the resolution referred to in clause (a) in a manner that, in the opinion of the council, will bring the notice to the attention of the public in the municipality; and

(2) Clause 14 (2) (b) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(b)  published notice of the resolution referred to in clause (a) in a manner that, in the opinion of the council, will bring the notice to the attention of the public in the municipality; and

(3) Clause 14 (4) (b) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(b)  published notice of the resolution referred to in clause (a) in a manner that, in the opinion of the council, will bring the notice to the attention of the public in the municipality; and

4. (1) Subsection 15 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Consultation on draft assessment report

(1) A source protection committee that is preparing an assessment report for a source protection area shall, before submitting the proposed assessment report to the source protection authority under section 16 of the Act, prepare a draft of the proposed assessment report and publish it on the Internet.

(2) Clause 15 (2) (a) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(a)  publish a notice described in subsection (3) in a manner that, in the opinion of the source protection committee, will bring the notice to the attention of the public in the source protection area; and

(3) Clauses 15 (2) (b) and (3) (b) of the Regulation are revoked.

5. (1) Subsection 18 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Updating of assessment report

(1) A source protection committee that is preparing an updated assessment report for a source protection area shall, before submitting the updated assessment report to the source protection authority under section 19 of the Act, prepare a draft of the proposed changes to be included in the updated assessment report and publish it on the Internet

(2) Subsection 18 (3) of the Regulation is amended by adding “and” at the end of clause (a) and by revoking clause (b).

6. Subsection 40 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “and make it available for inspection by the public at one or more locations that, in the opinion of the committee, are sufficiently accessible to give the public in the source protection area a reasonable opportunity to inspect the document” at the end.

7. (1) Subsection 41 (1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Consultation on draft source protection plan

(1) A source protection committee that is preparing a source protection plan for a source protection area shall, before submitting the proposed plan to the source protection authority under subsection 22 (16) of the Act, prepare a draft of the proposed source protection plan and publish it on the Internet.

(2) Clause 41 (2) (a) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(a)  publish a notice described in subsection (3) in a manner that, in the opinion of the source protection committee, will bring the notice to the attention of the public in the source protection area; and

(3) Clauses 41 (2) (b) and (3) (b) of the Regulation are revoked.

8. (1) Subsection 48 (1.1) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(1.1) In addition to the circumstances set out in subsection (1), if the owner of an existing or planned municipal drinking water system described in subclause 15 (2) (e) (i) of the Act intends to make an application under section 32 of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002, as described in section 2 or 3 of Ontario Regulation 205/18 (Municipal Residential Drinking Water Systems in Source Protection Areas) made under that Act, and gives notice of the intended application, in writing, to the source protection authority for the source protection area in which the well or surface water intake for the system is located, the source protection authority may propose an amendment to the related source protection plan under section 34 of the Act if,

(a)  the owner requests, in the notice, that the source protection authority notify the owner when the following technical work that is needed as a result of the intended application has been completed:

(i)  the mapping of any new or altered wellhead protection areas or surface water intake protection zones,

(ii)  within each new or altered wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone mentioned in subclause (i), the identification of the areas where an activity or condition is or would be a significant drinking water threat, a moderate drinking water threat and a low drinking water threat, and

(iii)  the identification of,

(A)  any part of a new wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone that is located in an adjacent source protection area, and

(B)  any part of an altered wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone that is located in an adjacent source protection area, but only if the mapping mentioned in subclause (i) results in an alteration to the mapping of that area or zone in the source protection plan for the adjacent source protection area; and

(b)  the source protection authority gives the owner notice, in writing, that includes,

(i)  a statement that the source protection authority is satisfied that the technical work referred to in clause (a) has been completed,

(ii)  an identification of the amendments to the source protection plan that the source protection authority considers advisable as a result of the intended application,

(iii)  an indication of when the source protection authority will be in a position to propose the amendments referred to in subclause (ii) to the source protection plan,

(iv)  if any of the amendments referred to in subclause (ii) have been or will be implemented as a result of a source protection committee updating the source protection plan after completing a review under section 36 of the Act, an identification of those updates,

(v)  if an identification required under subclause (a) (iii) is completed,

(A)  a statement that the source protection authority has given notice of the application under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 to the source protection authority for that adjacent source protection area, and

(B)  information received from the source protection authority for the adjacent source protection area, in response to the notice, respecting the matters set out in subclauses (ii) to (iv) as they relate to the adjacent source protection area and its source protection plan, and

(vi)  in the case of a notice in respect of an application described in section 3 of Ontario Regulation 205/18, an indication whether,

(A)  the source protection authority is of the opinion that a condition mentioned in subsection 4 (2) of that Regulation is not necessary and an explanation of its opinion, having regard to,

(1)  the nature of the technical work mentioned in clause (a),

(2)  the nature of any amendments referred to in subclause (ii),

(3)  the existing policies in the source protection plan, if any, that apply to the drinking water threats mentioned in subclause (a) (ii), and,

(4)  if an identification required under subclause (a) (iii) is completed, the information received from the source protection authority for the adjacent source protection area described in sub-subclause (v) (B), or

(B)  the application involves the replacement of an existing well or intake and all the criteria mentioned in paragraph 13 of subsection 51 (1) are satisfied.

(2) Subsections 48 (5) to (7) of the Regulation are revoked.

9. The Regulation is amended by adding the following sections:

Submission of proposed amendment to Minister

48.1 For the purposes of subsection 34 (4.1) of the Act, the prescribed documents and information are the following:

1.  A covering letter from the source protection authority for the source protection area that includes,

i.  a summary of the proposed amendment, including a brief description of any revisions made to the policies in the plan or to the assessment report portion of the plan as part of the proposed amendment, and any relevant implementation timelines, and

ii.  the summary described in clause 50 (10) (a).

2.  Any document that clearly identifies the proposed amendments to the existing source protection plan, including any revisions to the assessment report portion of the plan and to the policies in the plan.

3.  Any technical reports or studies that were prepared to support any revisions to the assessment report portion of the source protection plan.

4.  A copy of every written comment received in respect of the proposed amendment.

5.  A copy of any resolutions by municipal councils mentioned in subsection 34 (3) of the Act in respect of the proposed amendment.

6.  If the proposed amendment includes the delineation of a new vulnerable area or the alteration to the delineation of an existing vulnerable area in the assessment report portion of the source protection plan, the data supporting the delineation, in a form approved by the Director.

Approval of proposed amendment by source protection authority

48.2 (1) This section applies with respect to the following types of proposed amendments to a source protection plan:

1.  In respect of a proposed amendment described in subsection 48 (1.1), the proposed amendment adds a new wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone, or alters an existing wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone, and the proposed amendment applies policies in respect of the drinking water threats in the new or altered wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone that the plan already applies in respect of the drinking water threats in any other wellhead protection areas or surface water intake protection zones in the source protection area.

2.  In respect of an activity that the source protection plan identifies as a significant drinking water threat, the proposed amendment revises the significant threat policy for the activity from a policy that prohibits the activity or the land use associated with it to a policy that regulates the activity.

(2) For the purposes of subsection 34 (8) of the Act, the proposal of an amendment described in subsection (1) is prescribed as a circumstance when a source protection authority shall decide whether to approve a proposed amendment to a source protection plan.

(3) Before the source protection authority takes the steps required under subsection 34 (3) of the Act and section 50 of this Regulation, the source protection authority shall submit to the Director, for approval, any portion of the assessment report that is part of the proposed amendment.

(4) The source protection authority shall not decide whether to approve the proposed amendment before the Director provides the approval mentioned in subsection (3).

(5) For the purposes of clause 34 (9) (b) of the Act, the following notices and information are prescribed:

1.  Notice of the approval must be given to persons and bodies mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 6 of subsection 50 (2) and must be accompanied by a summary of the amendment.

2.  Notice of the approval must be given to the Director and must be accompanied by a copy of any resolutions by municipal councils under subsection 34 (3) of the Act in respect of the proposed amendment, a summary of the approved amendment, a summary of any written comments mentioned in subsection 50 (9), a brief explanation of the effect, if any, those comments had on the final proposed amendment and, if the proposed amendment is a type of amendment described in paragraph 2 of subsection (1), an updated explanatory document reflecting the approved amendment.

3.  If the proposed amendment includes the delineation of a new or altered wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone in the assessment report portion of the source protection plan, the data supporting the delineation must be submitted to the Director, in a form approved by the Director.

10. Section 49 of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

Updating of explanatory document re proposed amendment

49. The source protection authority shall update the explanatory document to reflect any proposed amendment to a source protection plan under section 34 or 35 of the Act before publishing the proposed amendment in accordance with section 50 of this Regulation.

11. (1) Subsection 50 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “and make it available for inspection by the public at one or more locations that, in the opinion of the authority, are sufficiently accessible to give the public in the source protection area a reasonable opportunity to inspect the proposed amendment and the updated portion of the explanatory document”.

(2) Paragraph 6 of subsection 50 (2) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “given notice under sections 35 to 39” and substituting “mentioned in clause 35 (a), 36 (a), 37 (a), 38 (1) (a) or 39 (a)”.

(3) Subsection 50 (3) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “paragraphs 1 to 6” in the portion before clause (a) and substituting “paragraphs 1 to 8”.

(4) Subsection 50 (3) of the Regulation is amended by adding “and” at the end of clause (a) and by revoking clause (b).

(5) Subsection 50 (4) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “in one or more newspapers that, in the opinion of the source protection authority, are of sufficiently general circulation to bring the notice to the attention of the public” in the portion before clause (a) and substituting “in a manner that, in the opinion of the source protection authority, will bring the notice to the attention of the public”.

(6) Subsection 50 (4) of the Regulation is amended by adding “and” at the end of clause (a) and by revoking clause (b).

(7) Clause 50 (4) (c) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “in the newspaper” at the end.

(8) Section 50 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subsections:

(8) A notice referred to in clause 34 (3) (b) or 35 (5) (c) of the Act that is given to persons or bodies referred to in paragraph 6 of subsection (2) shall include the draft wording of the proposed policy or designation, as applicable, and a summary of the proposed policy or designation, as applicable.

(9) In finalizing the proposed amendment, the source protection authority shall consider written comments that are submitted to it by the date specified in the notice.

(10) The source protection authority shall update the explanatory document to include,

(a)  a summary of any written comments mentioned in subsection (9) and a brief explanation of the effect, if any, those comments had on the final proposed amendment; and

(b)  any further changes as may be necessary to reflect the final proposed amendment.

(11) The updated portion of the explanatory document shall be submitted to the Minister under subsection 34 (4) or 35 (7) of the Act, as the case may be, with the final proposed amendment.

12. (1) Subsection 51 (1) of the Regulation is amended by adding the following paragraphs:

11.  An amendment that is made solely to the narrative text of a source protection plan, if the amendment does not affect the application or legal effect of any policy in the plan and the text is not part of the assessment report portion of the source protection plan.

12.  If, under section 94 of the Act, the Minister has extended the time for doing anything required by a policy in a source protection plan, an amendment to the policy to reflect the extension.

13.  An amendment that is made to reflect the replacement of an existing well or intake if all of the following criteria are satisfied:

i.  The amendment involves an alteration to the delineation of an existing wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone for the well or intake that is being replaced, and,

A.  in the case of a new well, the altered delineation is only required for the part of the wellhead protection area that is identified as “WHPA-A” under Part V.3 of the rules made by the Director under section 107 of the Act, as amended from time to time, and

B.  in the case of a new intake, the altered delineation is only required for the part of the surface water intake protection zone identified as “IPZ-1” under Part VI.3 of the rules made by the Director under section 107 of the Act, as amended from time to time.

ii.  The previous delineation of the wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone and the previous identification of drinking water threats in respect of the wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone comply with the version of the rules made by the Director under section 107 of the Act that is in effect when the altered delineation is prepared.

iii.  The altered delineation results in the identification of either no activity that is a significant drinking water threat not previously identified in the previous delineation of the wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone, or of an activity that is a significant drinking water threat but which there is no reasonable prospect of a person engaging in.

14.  An amendment that is made involving a new or altered delineation of a wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone for the purpose of protecting a well or intake located in an adjacent source protection area, if all of the following criteria are satisfied:

i.  In respect of the source protection plan for the source protection area where the well or intake is located, an amendment to that area’s plan involving a new or altered delineation of the wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone in respect of the well or intake has previously been approved.

ii.  The technical work that supported the amendment referred to in subparagraph i included,

A.  a new or altered delineation of the entire wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone in respect of the well or intake, as applicable, including the parts of the wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone that are located in the adjacent source protection area where the well or intake is not located, and

B.  the identification of drinking water threats in the parts of the wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone that are located in the adjacent source protection area where the well or intake is not located.

iii.  In respect of the identification of drinking water threats referred to in sub-subparagraph ii B, no significant drinking water threat activity was identified that was not previously identified in the parts of the wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone that are located in the adjacent source protection area where the well or intake is not located.

(2) Section 51 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subsections:

(2.1) If an amendment described in paragraph 13 of subsection (1) is made, the source protection authority shall provide the Director with a written explanation of why the altered delineation is only required for the specific part of the wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone mentioned in sub-subparagraph 13 i A or B of subsection (1), as the case may be.

(2.2) If an amendment described in paragraph 13 or 14 of subsection (1) is made, the source protection authority shall,

(a)  give a copy of the notice referred to in clause (2) (b) to every municipality in which any part of the new or altered delineation of the wellhead protection area or surface water intake protection zone is located;

(b)  submit the data supporting the delineation to the Director in a form approved by the Director; and

(c)  update the explanatory document to reflect the amendment.

13. (1) Subsection 61 (4) of the Regulation is revoked and the following substituted:

(4) If the instrument identified in a notice under subsection (2) states that conditions designed to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 2 of subsection 22 (2) of the Act have been included in the instrument, for the purposes of the activity the person is engaged in or is proposing to engage in at the particular location, the notice shall also identify where the statement appears in the instrument.

(2) Subsection 61 (5) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “the instrument conforms to the significant threat policies set out in the source protection plan” and substituting “the instrument includes conditions that are designed to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 2 of subsection 22 (2) of the Act”.

(3) Clause 61 (6) (a) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “to ensure that it conforms to the significant threat policies set out in the source protection plan” and substituting “that are designed to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 2 of subsection 22 (2) of the Act”.

(4) Clause 61 (6) (b) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “conforms to the significant threat policies set out in the source protection plan” at the end and substituting “includes conditions that are designed to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 2 of subsection 22 (2) of the Act”.

(5) Subsection 61 (7) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “will conform to the significant threat policies set out in the source protection plan” at the end and substituting “will include conditions that are designed to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 2 of subsection 22 (2) of the Act”.

(6) Clause 61 (8) (a) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “to ensure that it conforms to the significant threat policies set out in the source protection plan” and substituting “that are designed to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 2 of subsection 22 (2) of the Act”.

(7) Clause 61 (8) (b) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “conforms to the significant threat policies set out in the source protection plan” at the end and substituting “includes conditions that are designed to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 2 of subsection 22 (2) of the Act”.

Commencement

14. This Regulation comes into force on the later of the day subsection 11 (1) of Schedule 1 to the Building a More Competitive Economy Act, 2025 comes into force and the day this Regulation is filed.