Septic Systems

Township Resumes 2-Step Mandatory Septic Reinspection Program

After pausing the provincially mandated program last year due to the Covid-19 restrictions, the Township of Adjtos is resuming the Septic Reinspection Program as of July 2022. Detailed information packages are being mailed out to all affected property owners that outline two components that must be completed by October 30, 2022.

Two-Step Certification Required for Compliance

Component 1 requires a visual surface inspection of the property’s sewage system, which will be conducted by the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio Building Department between August 1, 2022 and October 30, 2022. The property owner does not need to be in attendance for this inspection. The cost will be $150.00, payable to the Township no later than October 30th, 2022. A mailed package to residents in the reinspection area will include an invoice. If a deficiency is noted during the inspection, the property owner(s) will be notified in writing by the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio and they must take the necessary steps to correct the deficiency within the timeframe stipulated.

The second component of the program requires that the septic or holding tank be pumped out and inspected by a licensed sewage hauler. This is the owner’s responsibility for scheduling and payment. The sewage hauler is required to provide property owners with a report (also enclosed in the mailed package and available on the municipal website) confirming the date of the pump-out and both the condition of the tank and size of the tank. The report must be signed by the septic hauler and be submitted to the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio, no later than October 30th, 2022. If a property owner can provide confirmation that their tank has been pumped within the last two years, the Township will recognize that and no new report is required.

If properties are using an advanced treatment unit (Waterloo or Eljen systems for example) the owner(s) must supply the Township with the service agreement and the annual service reports which must be sent into the Township every year. If there is no Current Service Agreement or owners do not submit the mandatory Annual Service Reports; they will be inspected by the Township, in accordance with the fee of $150.00 for the annual inspection, and required to provide Service Agreement at a later date. For residents on these systems there is no fee if an annual service report is submitted to the Township as noted above.

For greater detail, please see the applicable Ontario Building Code references provided below.

The Township appreciates everyone’s co-operation with this proactive program that is focused on protecting Ontario’s drinking water and the natural environment of the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio.

Background

Effective on January 1st, 2011, the Ontario Building Code was amended by Ontario Regulation 315/10 to establish and govern the Mandatory On-Site Sewage System Maintenance Inspection Program to be administered by municipalities in Ontario every 5 years. The last round of inspections in the Township was completed in 2016 and due to Covid restrictions was paused in 2021. The program will now resume with completion scheduled by October 30, 2022. A package has been mailed out to all affected properties in the Township on July 19, 2022

Ontario Building Code

1.10.2. Mandatory Maintenance Inspection Program
1.10.2.1. Scope
(1) This Subsection establishes and governs, for the purposes of subsection 34 (2.2) of the Act, a maintenance inspection program in respect of standards prescribed under clause 34 (2) (b) of the Act in relation to sewage systems.

1.10.2.2. Administration of Maintenance Inspection Program
(1) The principal authority that has jurisdiction in an area affected by the maintenance inspection program established under Sentence 1.10.2.3.(1) shall administer the program for that area and shall conduct inspections under the program in accordance with this Subsection.

1.10.2.3. Maintenance Inspection Program
(1) Subject to Article 1.10.2.5., an inspector shall inspect all sewage systems located in whole or in part in the areas set out in Sentence (2) for compliance with the requirements of Section 8.9. of Division B.
(2) The areas referred to in Sentence (1) are:
(a) the strip of land that is located along the Lake Simcoe shoreline and that is 100 m wide measured horizontally and perpendicular to and upland from the Lake Simcoe shoreline, except for the portions of the strip of land that are described in Sentence (3),

(a.1) portions of the strip of land along the Lake Simcoe shoreline described in Sentence (3),
(a.2) the strip of land that is located along each of the following rivers, streams, lakes or ponds and that is 100 m wide measured horizontally and perpendicular to and upland from the river, stream, lake or pond,
(i) any river or stream in the Lake Simcoe watershed that continually flows in an average year,
(ii) any lake or pond in the Lake Simcoe watershed that is connected on the surface to a river or stream described in Subclause (i), and|

(iii) any other lake or pond in the Lake Simcoe watershed that has a surface area greater than 8 hectares, and
(b) areas within a vulnerable area that are located in a source protection area and that are identified in the most recent of the following documents as the areas where an activity described in Sentence (4) is or would be a significant drinking water threat:
(i) the assessment report for the source protection area, as initially approved under the Clean Water Act, 2006 or as most recently approved following any updating under that Act, or
(ii) the source protection plan for the source protection area, as initially approved under the Clean Water Act, 2006 or as most recently approved following any amendments or reviews under that Act.
(3) The excepted portions of the strip of land along the Lake Simcoe shoreline referred to in Clause (2)(a) are:
(a) that portion of the strip of land in the geographic Township of Oro, now in the municipal Township of Oro-Medonte, in the County of Simcoe, and in the geographic Townships of Innisfil and Vespra, now in the City of Barrie, being bounded on the north by the east limit of Lot 1, Concession 1 East Penetanguishene Road of the said geographic Township of Oro and its southerly prolongation and on the south by the east limit of Lot 14, Concession 13 of the said geographic Township of Innisfil and its northerly prolongation,

(b) that portion of the strip of land in the geographic Townships of North Gwillimbury and Georgina, now in the Town of Georgina, and in the geographic Township of East Gwillimbury, now in the Town of East Gwillimbury, all in The Regional Municipality of York, being bounded on the west by the west limit of Lot 6, Concession 1 of the said geographic Township of North Gwillimbury and its northerly prolongation and on the east by the east limit of Lot 3, Concession 8 of the said geographic Township of Georgina and its northerly prolongation, and
(c) that portion of the strip of land in the geographic Township of Mara, now in the municipal Township of Ramara, in the County of Simcoe, and in the geographic Township of Thorah, now in the municipal Township of Brock, in The Regional Municipality of Durham, being bounded on the north by the west limit of Lot 13, Concession C of the said geographic Township of Mara and its southerly prolongation and on the south by the west limit of Lot 14, Concession 6 of the said geographic Township of Thorah and its northerly prolongation.
(4) The activity referred to in Clause (2)(b) is an activity that is subject to the Act and that is described in paragraph 2 of subsection 1.1 (1) of Ontario Regulation 287/07 (General) made under the Clean Water Act, 2006.

1.10.2.4. Time Periods for Maintenance Inspections
(1) An inspection required under Sentence 1.10.2.3.(1) shall be conducted in respect of a sewage system in an area described in Clause 1.10.2.3.(2)(a),
(a) initially, no later than,
(i) January 1, 2016, in the case of a sewage system constructed before January 1, 2011, or
(ii) five years after the construction of the sewage system, in the case of a sewage system constructed on or after January 1, 2011, and
(b) thereafter, every five years after the most recent inspection of the sewage system has been conducted.

(1.1) An inspection required under Sentence

1.10.2.3.(1) shall be conducted in respect of a sewage system in an area described in Clause 1.10.2.3.(2)(a.1) or (a.2),
(a) initially, no later than,
(i) January 1, 2021, in the case of a sewage system constructed before January 1, 2016, or
(ii) five years after the construction of the sewage system, in the case of a sewage system constructed on or after January 1, 2016, and
(b) thereafter, every five years after the most recent inspection of the sewage system has been conducted.
(2) An inspection required under Sentence 1.10.2.3.(1) shall be conducted in respect of a sewage system in an area affected by a significant drinking water threat,
(a) initially, no later than,
(i) five years after the date on which notice of the approval of one of the following documents is published on the environmental registry under the Clean Water Act, 2006, in the case of a sewage system constructed before the date of publication,
(A) the assessment report for the source protection area, if the source protection plan is one prepared under section 22 of the Clean Water Act, 2006, or
(B) the source protection plan for the source protection area, if the source protection plan is one prepared under section 26 or 33 of the Clean Water Act, 2006, or
(ii) five years after the construction of the sewage system, in the case of a sewage system constructed on or after the date of publication, and
(b) thereafter, every five years after the most recent inspection of the sewage system has been conducted.
(3) If additional areas affected by a significant drinking water threat are identified for a source protection area after the date of publication referred to in Clause (2)(a), an inspection required under Sentence 1.10.2.3.(1) shall be conducted in respect of a sewage system in those additional areas,
(a) initially, no later than,
(i) five years after the following date of approval or publication, as applicable, in the case of a sewage system constructed before that date,
(A) the date of approval under section 19 of the Clean Water Act, 2006 of the updated assessment report in which the additional areas are identified, or
(B) the date of publication on the environmental registry under the Clean Water Act, 2006 of notice of the approval of the amended or updated source protection plan in which the additional areas are identified, or
(ii) five years after the construction of the sewage system, in the case of a sewage system constructed on or after the date of approval or publication, as applicable, and
(b) thereafter, every five years after the most recent inspection of the sewage system has been conducted.

1.10.2.5. Certificate as Alternative to Maintenance Inspection.

(1) The principal authority that administers the maintenance inspection program established under Sentence 1.10.2.3.(1), may, as an alternative to conducting an inspection of a sewage system required under Sentence 1.10.2.3.(1), accept a certificate described in Sentence (2) from the owner of the property on which the sewage system is located.
(2) The certificate required by Sentence (1) shall satisfy the requirements of Sentence 1.10.1.3.(2) and for these purposes Sentences 1.10.1.3.(3) to (5) apply with necessary modifications.

Mandatory Letter Mandatory On-Site Sewage System Maintenance Inspection

Septic Tank Pump Form

Invoice for 2022