The Rural Mayors Forum of Eastern Ontario, an organization formed by 14 rural municipalities in Eastern Ontario,  has leant its voice to the opposition side of the proposed changes to the Ontario Building Code that would require mandatory inspections and pump outs every five years (B-08-08-03).

In a letter to MMAH Minister Bill Mauro, spokesperson Ron Higgins (Mayor of North Frontenac Township) said: “Most of rural Ontario and much of small town, urban Ontario use septic systems. The variables affecting the need to pump out a septic tank are quite numerous and these proposed changes penalize those who carefully operate their systems for many more yeas than five without pumping because the variables are in their favour.

“To force people to pay for a service that is unnecessary is incomprehensible.”

The RMFEO also passed a resolution calling for the removal of the changes in which it said: “The change fails to identify the administrative costs to municipalities (and ) “There are many more important issues on which to spend taxpayers’ money than ‘enhancing’ maintenance on existing functioning systems.”

The resolution also points out that at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference Jan. 30 of this year, Premier Kathleen Wynne said the Province recognizes that “one size fits all” solutions do not always work in rural Ontario.