The MOEE will be free to set and enforce discharge standards impartially. Restructuring advocates argue that local responsibility for septic systems is both logical and necessary. Municipalities that fail to protect local groundwater will have to provide municipal services. Seasoned MOEE veterans grumble that some municipalities will heedlessly approve new development, hoping that when systems overflow MOEE will, as it has in the past, bail them out with emergency funding to install services. Municipal Liability Reduced, Clarified Liability limiting Municipal Act amendments recently took effect under Bill 86, to reduce the cost of civil actions and exposure to civil liability.
Nuisance actions based on sewage and water spills can no longer succeed against municipalities.
This reverses the strict trend which culminated in the Supreme Court of Canada's Tock decision. Since Tock it has been extremely difficult for municipalities to defend nuisance actions for sewage backups and watermain breaks. A municipality was previously required to present a successful defence at trial. Now, actions based solely on nuisance can be dismissed before trial. The amendments also codified the common law policy defence to municipal negligence claims.