Alberta Municipal and Housing, Safety Services Branch is developing a new Standard of Practice (SOP) which should be adopted late in 2007 or early in 2008. A copy of the draft SOP is available on the Safety Codes Council website at www.safetycodes.ab.ca The AOWMA hosted a series of meetings throughtout the Province in March and early April to allow onsite professionals to discuss the draft and provide suggestions and comments prior to the draft being finalized and sent for approval. Meetings were well attended and feedback both positive and negative is being collected and forwarded to Alberta Municipal Affairs for consideration. Comments or concerns about the draft may be emailed to the AOWMA at info@aowma.com or faxed to the AOWMA office at (780) 486-7414.

Changes in the Pumping Industry

The AOWMA in partnership with the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMD&C), the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and Alberta Environment conducted an inventory and research of the hauling or pumping industry in the Province of Alberta. Information gathered concerned the number of people working in this industry and the availability of facilities for disposing of wastewater and effluent in the Province. A series of recommendations has arisen from this inventory and the AOWMA in conjunction with Alberta Environment hosted a series of town hall meetings throughout the Province to discuss these recommendations with the hauling community. Planning is now taking place for the implementation of the recommendations in the report. For a copy of the inventory report and recommendations, please contact the AOWMA office.

New At-Grade Guideline in the Works

For many years, the installers in the Province of Alberta have had to request a variance in order to install At-Grade systems in those areas suited to that disposal and treatment technology. There was some expectation that when a new Standard of Practice was adopted, At-Grades would be removed from variance and would become part of the standard. However, there is some concern regarding the effectiveness of the treatment of the effluent, the dispersal of that effluent and the possibility of exposure to the general public and wildlife.

To mitigate these concerns, a committee has been formed to develop a recommended guideline for the installation of At-Grades. The At-Grade Technical Advisory Group has met to address these concerns and has formulated a guideline for the onsite professionals in the Province to follow. Once the guideline has been accepted by the regulatory bodies concerned, the AOWMA will develop a research plan to prove the effectiveness of the guideline. If the effectiveness of the guideline can be proven, a recommendation to the have the guideline included in the Standard of Practice will be possible.

More information on this process will be sent out to the members through updates and newsletters over the next few months as the situation progresses.