Notice of Bylaw Violation

GVS&DD Notice of Bylaw Violation Enforcement and Dispute Adjudication Bylaw

This bylaw has been approved. View the bylaw​:

​ Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District Notice of Bylaw Violation Enforcement and Dispute Adjudication Bylaw No. 378, 2024

T​he Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District Notice of Bylaw Violation Enforcement and Dispute Adjudication Bylaw provides additional enforcement tools to encourage compliance with the existing bylaws that protect our regional wastewater system.

The bylaw includes:​

• Penalty amounts of up to $500, depending on the violation
• Discounted penalties for early payment and surcharges for late payment
• A discounted penalty for entering into a compliance agreement
• A process for disputing violations
  

Encouraging bylaw compliance

Metro Vancouver developed the bylaw to have a simple, cost-effective system for enforcing bylaw violations. The bylaw encourages compliance with the following wastewater bylaws:

• Sewer Use Bylaw (regulates discharge of waste into the sewage system, to protect the environment and human health, safety and infrastructure)
• Sani-dump Bylaw (requires the registration of sani-dump facilities and for sani-dump operators to only accept waste from recreational vehicles)
• Trucked Liquid Waste Bylaw (regulates discharge of high strength wastewater that cannot travel through the sanitary sewer system)
• Fermentation Operations Bylaw (requires small fermentation operations, such as breweries, to remove solids from wastewater and monitor and control the pH of cleaning and sterilization wastewater, prior to discharge into the sewer system)
• Hospital Pollution Prevention Bylaw (requires hospitals to develop pollution prevention plans to reduce the discharge of pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, disinfectants, and biomedical waste into the sewer system)
• Food Sector Grease Interceptor Bylaw (provides sizing and maintenance requirements for grease interceptors in food sector establishments, to prevent grease from entering and damaging the sewer system)

Types of violations of existing wastewater bylaws include:

• Failure to meet a main requirement of the bylaw
• Failure to provide reasonable access
• Violation of a monitoring requirement
• Failure to have adequate treatment
• Failure to pay fees​
  
• Failure to keep or provide records

The complete list of violations of existing wastewater bylaws designated for the notice of bylaw violation process are included in the bylaw.

​Penalties associated with notices of bylaw violation are in addition to existing compliance and enforcement tools that include education, warnings, violation notices, and prosecutions. To further encourage bylaw compliance, Metro Vancouver may publish information on the Metro Vancouver website about notices of bylaw violations issued to corporate entities. Metro Vancouver will not publish personal information.​

Implemen​​tation of the bylaw​

The Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District Notice of Bylaw Violation Enforcement and Dispute Adjudication Bylaw was approved in May 2024 and is now in effect.

Metro Vancouver’s enforcement officers will carefully consider the circumstances of each violation before issuing any notices of bylaw violation. Enforcement officers will continue to focus on education and warnings when violations are first noticed.

Please contact us at ​​LWSbylaws@metrovancouver.org with your questions about the bylaw.