In July 2017, Alberta Municipal Affairs published the following advisory notices for the onsite wastewater industry:

NEW INITIATIVE: Certification Review Committee
In the private sewage discipline, the Administrator is assigned the authority to issue, suspend or cancel certification under the Safety Codes Act.

To hold certification that allows someone to obtain a private sewage permit, an individual must demonstrate certain competencies, such as being knowledgeable in the application of the SOP and the process of obtaining permits. Situations may arise where incomplete design consideration or installations fail to meet SOP requirements, bringing competencies into question, at which time the Administrator is requested to review an individual’s certification.

To assist the Administrator, a Certification Review Committee (CRC) was established for reviewing competency of certified individuals, continuing education, appropriate training to obtain certification and other issues related to certification. The CRC had its first meeting in April 2017 and meets approximately on a monthly basis. The CRC matrix consists of representation from industry training instructors, safety codes officers, industry (an AOWMA representative and installer/designer) and Municipal Affairs technical advisors.

NEW INITIATIVE: Private Sewage Working Group
Under the authority of the Plumbing Sub Council (PSC) and the Safety Codes Council, a permanent working group has been established to review technical matters in the private sewage discipline. The Private Sewage Working Group (PSWG) has been tasked with providing advice to the Administrator and PSC with respect to code clarification, industry initiatives (i.e., work camp guidance, new equipment/product, support documentation, etc.) and training consideration.

The PSWG matrix consists of representation from the PSC, industry training instructors, safety codes officers, industry (an AOWMA representative and installer/designer), the Safety Codes Council and Municipal Affairs staff.

The PSWG had its first meeting in June 2017 and has another meeting scheduled in October 2017. The PSWG is also tasked with reviewing the Alberta Private Sewage Systems Standard of Practice (SOP) and the accompanying SOP Handbook. The PSWG and Safety Codes Council invite the public to participate in this review. Proposals should include, as appropriate, the Article number in the SOP, the rationale for changing the current requirements and supporting information for any proposed change (i.e. costs, supporting research, technical data). Please send your proposals or suggestions to the following email address: communications@safetycodes.ab.ca.