Item - 2025.IE19.7

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the General Manager, Toronto Water, and the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry to negotiate, enter into and execute wastewater energy transfer agreements and any other agreements, other than those agreements set out in Recommendation 2, required to give effect to a wastewater energy transfer agreement, related to wastewater energy program projects, subject to the following conditions with wastewater energy program applicants:

a. The project(s) including, without limitation, its design, specifications, operation and use of City wastewater infrastructure shall be acceptable to the General Manager, Toronto Water;

b. The project(s) will not detrimentally affect in any way or create inefficiencies or impacts of any nature in the operation, maintenance, alteration, repair or use by the City of the City's sewer collection and wastewater treatment systems, as determined by the General Manager, Toronto Water;

c. The project(s) will generate benefits to the City, as determined by the General Manager, Toronto Water and Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry;

d. The project(s) shall be reviewed in accordance with the process set forth in this report;

e. The terms and conditions of any agreement may be based on terms and conditions as the General Manager, Toronto Water and Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry considers appropriate, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor; and

f. The agreements may be for terms up to but not exceeding 30 years in duration, subject to any limitations under law.

2. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services, or designate, to negotiate, enter into and execute encroachment agreements and any other agreements required to give effect there to, related to wastewater energy program projects.

3. City Council adopt the new Environment, Climate and Forestry Wastewater Energy Project Fees set out in Attachment 1 to the report (February 11, 2025) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, to become effective on April 1, 2025.

4. City Council authorize the necessary amendments to the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 441 - Fees and Charges, Appendix C – Schedule 20 and any other necessary Municipal Code Chapters as may be required, to give effect to City Council's decision.

5. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce any necessary Bills required to implement City Council's decision, subject to any necessary refinements, including stylistic, format and organization, as may be identified by the City Solicitor, the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry.

6. City Council direct that all the rates, fees and charges set out in Attachment 1 to the report (February 11, 2025) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry Division, adopted in Part 3 above, continue in full force and effect until such time as they are amended or repealed by City Council.

The primary purpose of this report is to recommend that authority be given to specified City officials, where appropriate, to negotiate and enter into wastewater energy transfer agreements and to provide details on how wastewater energy program project revenues will be collected and appropriately allocated. This report also provides general updates on the wastewater energy program, including the pilot project currently under construction at Toronto Western Hospital.

The City's wastewater energy program is an important initiative that will help achieve TransformTO's goal of sourcing 50 percent of community-wide energy from renewable sources by 2030. The recommended authorities will enable the City to enter into wastewater energy transfer agreements, while ensuring that candidate projects are suitable within the City’s wastewater infrastructure and operations.