Watermark > Fall 2003 > CWWA Director's Report

CWWA Director's Report

Bob Smith, CWWA President

Over the past several months, CWWA has been active in two fronts. CWWA has written to the provincial and territorial Ministry of Environment raising concerns that Environment Canada’s proposed P3 requirements for municipal wastewa-ter effluents will erode provincial and territorial controls and jurisdictions over these matters, and will establish duplicate requirements for an existing provincial and territorial regulatory framework. CWWA is lobbying Environ-ment Canada on this matter, and the letter to the provincial and territorial Ministry of Environment is intended to get their support for this endeavor. Secondly, CWWA facilitated a meeting in Ottawa in June, of certification agencies across Canada, including First Nations. The purpose of this meeting was to confirm the intention and support for the establishment of a standardized approach to water and wastewater operator certification in Canada.

The group agreed to form a certification coordinating community (C3) to promote national harmony and high levels of excellence in meeting operator certification needs in both the water and wastewater industries in Canada. The ultimate goal is to develop a Canadian standardized approach that is able to respond quickly to changing and uniquely Canadian needs, by ensuring operator competency and national reciprocity.