“The province has been on-side with this for quite some time,” Minister Brown said. “Now that the City agrees that improvements are a priority, we can present a unified case to the federal government – and get the work underway as soon as possible.

“It is very important to respect, recognize and understand the role of the municipality in a project like this. Once the municipality has formally recognized a project as an infrastructure priority, it is then possible for other levels of government to get involved.”

Once funding is finalized, current estimates suggest that the project will take roughly three years to complete.

“Responsibility for the city’s water and sewer system rests with the municipality and I am very glad to see that Charlottetown has made it a priority to upgrade its aging infrastructure,” said Minister Brown. “This is a significant environmental issue and improvements are needed to protect the health of our citizens, the environment and the shellfishery.”

Combined storm systems are no longer being built in Canada. In February 2009, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CMME) endorsed a national strategy and a call for stricter regulations for wastewater management to protect human health and the environment.

“The Government of Prince Edward Island supported that strategy which identified the need to cost-share funding,” he said. “All provinces are looking for funding programs so they can adhere to the 2009 regulations.”

The City commissioned a study last year on separating the combined system with the understanding that the province supported the project, said the minister.