One Step Closer to Approval - Mattagami Region Source Protection Committee

November 25, 2013 Timmins, ON --After more than a year of review, the Ministry of the Environment has provided a response to the Mattagami Region Source Protection Committee and the Source Protection Authority regarding the Proposed Source Protection Plan for the City of Timmins municipal drinking water source, the Mattagami River. The Source Protection Plan contains a number of policies, which detail the steps required to reduce the risk posed by existing significant threats, as well as to prevent new ones from developing.

  On October 4, 2013, the Ministry of the Environment provided official comments on the Proposed Source Protection Plan and its policies to the Committee and the Authority. The comments will be addressed at an upcoming Source Protection Committee Meeting on November 27, 2013. The comments require revisions to some of the policies as well as updates to the Explanatory Document. The Explanatory Document provides the rationale for the specific policies.   George Hughes, Chairman of the Mattagami Region Source Protection Committee, said, “We would like to recognize the effort put forward by the Ministry of the Environment regarding the review process for the Proposed Source Protection Plan. It was a tremendous undertaking to review Source Protection Plans from across the province”.   The nineteen Source Protection Committee’s across Ontario were required to submit their Source Protection Plans to the Ministry of the Environment by August 2012.   The revised Proposed Source Protection Plan and Explanatory Document will be reviewed by the Mattagami Region Source Protection Authority at the beginning of December. The Source Protection Authority will then re-submit the revised Plan and Explanatory Document to the Ministry of the Environment before the end of the year.   Once the Plan is approved, the next step is preparing for the implementation of the Plan and the related policies.   For more information on the Source Protection Plan, visit www.dwsp.ca.