Below are two documents which is the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport (former Ministry of Health) response to the current issues and concerns related to the Sewerage System regulation.

One document is an Order in Counsel which changes the responsibility for qualifications under the regulation from BC Onsite Sewage Association to the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC

The second document is information related to further policy direction of the ministry for the future of the industry and regulation.

These are VERY important documents and should be considered carefully.

  Sewerage System Regulation

We have asked the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport for clarification of these setbacks and the questions and replies from Rupert Benzon are as follows:

Question 1. What is the setback to watertight treatment tanks (15m or 30m)?
Answer: 15m setback distance to holding tanks, and 30m setback to septic tanks.

Question 2. What is the setback to collection and delivery piping?
Answer: If you are referring to the solid pipe which runs from the
septic tank to the distribution box, as well as the pipe from the
structure (house) to the septic tank, there is no minimum setback
required.

Question 3. For an existing filing what is to be done where:

a. The filing has setback reductions but these have been made by a
professional who is not a hydrogeologist.

Answer: Please note that in the SSR, the definition of 'construct'
includes the planning of a sewerage system. Therefore, construction of
the system can be considered to have commenced at the planning stage
(i.e. when the filing for the system has been submitted) and the
recent amendments to the SSR would not apply in these cases.

b. The filing has tanks within 30 m of a well
Answer: The same holds true for septic tanks within 30 m.

Question 4. What is to be done in repair situations where a system was constructed under the SSR and does not meet this new standard (for example, where there was a setback reduction by a non hydrogeologist)? Note that the repair might be to a part of the system not within the setback.
Answer: Repairs which are being implemented on systems which have
already been constructed under the SSR , do not have to meet the new
setback standard (i.e. if the existing system was built with setback
reductions).