volume 1 - Halifax Regional Municipality

Halifax Water Integrated Resource Plan
IRP Planning Context and Levels of Service
The internal organizational structure of Halifax Water is comprised of a senior executive,
two lead operational departments: Water Services and Wastewater/Stormwater
Services and other major supporting departments including: Engineering and
Information Services, Environmental Services, Finance and Customer Service and Human
Resources.
The main source of funding for Halifax Water operation is from rates. From time-to-time
the provincial and federal levels of government assist with capital projects. This may
include funding assistance for renewing old infrastructure or creating new
infrastructure. Developers also provide funding for new infrastructure within individual
developments. In some cases developers also pay a Capital Cost Contribution (CCC)
towards Regional infrastructure that is used to support the particular development.
Two provincial bodies have responsibility for oversight of Halifax Water – Nova Scotia
Utility and Review Board (NSUARB) and Nova Scotia Environment (NSE). Federal
departments including Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Environment Canada
(EC) and Health Canada (HC) may also play a role for specific issues, projects and
activities.
Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board
The NSUARB role in relation to a utility is governed by the Public Utilities Act which
provides it with the powers to set rates, tolls and charges, rules and regulations, fire
protection regulations, charges and rates and for the provision of service and approval
of capital expenditures in excess of $250,000. It also provides an independent forum in
which customer complaints can be heard.
From the perspective of Halifax Water the NSUARB is the critical body that approves
business plans, significant projects and sets rates for water, wastewater, and
stormwater services. Any new projects or programs would be subject to Board approval,
for example a specific project related to a regulatory requirement. As was noted in
Section 1, the NSUARB required the preparation of the IRP as the vehicle to be used for
Halifax Water’s long term business planning.
Nova Scotia Environment
Nova Scotia Environment (NSE) is governed by the Environment Act 13 , which provides it
with authority to issue municipal water approvals from the Activities Designation
Regulations section of the Act. Effectively the role of NSE is as the environmental
regulator ensuring public health and environmental quality. NSE specifically regulates
drinking water quality as well as municipal and industrial discharges from wastewater
treatment plants and other sources such as overflows. NSE key roles in relation to this
can be summarized as:
13 Environment Act, Nova Scotia Environment, 1994-95 (last amended 2006)
Revision: 2012-10-29 Integrated Resource Plan 12
October 31 2012 Page 45 of 272