Item - 2021.IE24.8

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the General Manager, Toronto Water, to represent the City, as owner, and designate the General Manager, Toronto Water, as the owner's authorized representative, for the purposes of any application, including any future renewal, extension or amendment application, to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for a Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Environmental Compliance Approval (Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Environmental Compliance Approval) for the City's Municipal Sewage Collection System and the City's Stormwater Management System.

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Toronto Water, to apply to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, on behalf of the City, for an initial Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Environmental Compliance Approval for each of the City's Municipal Sewage Collection System and the City's Stormwater Management System, and any future renewal, extension or amendment application, including the negotiation and execution thereof, as may be necessary in the determination of the General Manager, Toronto Water, on terms and conditions satisfactory to the General Manager, Toronto Water.

3. City Council delegate authority to the General Manager, Toronto Water, to administer any Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Environmental Compliance Approvals issued by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to the City including the authority to prescribe any related City form or procedure, and to amend or revise such City form or procedure.

4. Notwithstanding the delegation of authority to the General Manager, Toronto Water, set out in Part 3 above, City Council delegate authority to the General Manager, Toronto Water and the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, in consultation, to designate in writing the appropriate staff within their respective divisions authorized to sign, on behalf of the City, any forms, letters of acceptance or such further documents, as may be required by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks related to the administration of the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Environmental Compliance Approvals.

5. For infrastructure work that does not fall within the scope of the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Environmental Compliance Approvals issued by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to the City, City Council delegate authority to the General Manager, Toronto Water and the Chief Engineer and Executive Director, Engineering and Construction Services, in consultation, to either sign or designate in writing the appropriate staff within their respective divisions authorized to sign, on behalf of the City, any direct submission applications not covered by the pre-authorized process under the Ontario Water Resources Act and Environmental Protection Act, as may be required by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

6. City Council direct the General Manager, Toronto Water, to report back on any steps necessary to phase out the City's Transfer of Review Program, including the termination of the City's related existing agreement with the Province, as represented by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, dated October 3, 2018, and the establishment of any new fees related to the administration of the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Environmental Compliance Approvals.

The Province is adopting a Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach to replace the current Ontario environmental compliance approvals framework for low risk projects related to municipal sanitary collection and stormwater management, and is now rolling out implementation of the new permissions approach inviting the City of Toronto to apply on or before January 21, 2022 for a Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approval (Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approval) for these projects. The purpose of the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach is to consolidate certain municipal sewage works approvals into the following: a single Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approval for all of a municipality's sanitary collection works and a single Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance

Approval for all of a municipality's stormwater management works (collectively, Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approvals).

The Province's stated objective with transitioning to Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach and consolidating approvals under the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approvals is to reduce administrative regulatory burden, provide clear and consistent requirements across the province and improve environmental protection.

The Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach will replace the current 'one-for-one' or 'pipe-by-pipe' environmental compliance approval system with a consolidated list of approved municipal sewage works, in one approval document for each type of municipal sewage system, that will cover all infrastructure, as applicable, within i) the City's sewage collection system and ii) the City's stormwater management system.

A separate application on behalf of the municipality is required for each of the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approvals. This new permissions framework has been modelled after the existing provincial permissions framework for municipal drinking water systems implemented in recent years and reported to Council back in 2010.

All infrastructure identified in the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approvals will be subject to updated and standardized Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks requirements. As a result, some older infrastructure will be subject to new and additional requirements. Also, certain future alterations to the infrastructure will be pre-authorized based on new (updated) Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks design criteria. Currently, all such requirements including Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks design criteria are under development by the Province. Assuming all applicable requirements of the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approvals are met, it is intended that municipalities (and a third party such as developers and transit agencies constructing sewage infrastructure on behalf of the municipalities) will be permitted to proceed without having to obtain an additional Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks permission as is now currently required. The City will be responsible for ensuring that municipal sewage works constructed by a third party comply with such design criteria.

With the implementation and transition to Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will also be phasing out the Transfer of Review Program for municipalities, like the City, that participate in it through agreements with the Province.

This report recommends that City Council designate the General Manager, Toronto Water, as the owner's representative for the purposes of the necessary Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approval applications to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and seeks from City Council the necessary delegations of authority to the appropriate staff related to the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approval applications and the administration of the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approvals once issued to the City by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Staff will report further to City Council at a future date, as part of a separate report, regarding the establishment of any necessary City fees for the services to be provided by the City to the public under the Consolidated Linear Infrastructure Permissions Approach Environmental Compliance Approvals, and on any steps necessary to phase out the City's Transfer of Review Program.