EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 198 and does not form part of the law. Bill 198 has been enacted as Chapter 12 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2007.
The Bill amends the Ontario Water Resources Act and makes changes to related statutes. Some of the features of the Bill are as follows:
1. Amendments are made to the Ontario Water Resources Act to provide for the implementation in Ontario of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, which was agreed to on December 13, 2005 by the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec and the Governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Complementary amendments are made to the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002. The unproclaimed Water Transfer Control Act is repealed.
2. The Ontario Water Resources Act is also amended to authorize regulations requiring the payment of charges to promote the conservation, protection and management of Ontario’s waters and their efficient and sustainable use, or to recover costs the Government of Ontario incurs for that purpose in the administration of the Ontario Water Resources Act or any other Act.
3. Other amendments to the Ontario Water Resources Act modernize the water taking permits system and make consequential changes.