DIDSBURY - Town council has approved an updated wastewater bylaw for the municipality, including updated provisions regarding compensation for damage to the system.
The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
Ethan Gorner, the Town of Didsbury's chief administrative officer, says the updated bylaw is more concise and far less verbose than the former version of the bylaw.
“The former bylaw was quite old and outdated so this is an updated and simplified version of the bylaw,” said Gorner. “This is part of red-tape reduction. The old one had lot of administrative process in it, so this cuts it down to simple governance principles.”
The stated purpose of the updated bylaw is to “protect the wastewater system and its processes from damage, obstruction, toxic upset or loss of efficiency”, “to protect the Town of Didsbury’s employees and the public from exposure to hazardous conditions” and “to control the flow and composition of releases of wastewater and substances to the wastewater system.”
The updated provision of wastewater system section states, in part, that, “A person must not install or operate a private wastewater treatment system that treats wastewater from a source external to that wastewater treatment facility unless authorized by the town” and “anyone causing damage to the wastewater system will be required to compensate the town fully for all associated costs of repairs.”
It also states that, “Any owner or developer’s use of the wastewater system is at the ongoing discretion of the town and may be subject to additional requirements. These additional requirements will be the responsibility of the owner or developer.”
The updated bylaw states that anyone who contravenes any provision of the bylaw is liable for fines between $100 and $1,000 depending upon the severity of the infraction.