Transcript GoA PowerPoint Horizontal

WATER ACT 101
College of Alberta Professional
Foresters’
Edmonton
April 16, 2015
1
Evolution of the Legislation
• Northwest Irrigation (Federal) Act (1894)
• Water Resources (Provincial) Act (1931)
• Groundwater Control Act (1953)
• Water Act (1999)
2
Key Changes in the Water Act from the
Water Resources Act
•
•
•
•
Licences are no longer permanent
Transfer of water is permitted
Recognizes household water use as a statutory right
Traditional agricultural users were able to register
their water use for sources not requiring a licence.
• Establishment of Water Management Plans to
address regional water issues
• Appeals to the Environmental Appeals Board
• Provides a wide range of enforcement tools as well
as water management tools.
3
Purpose of the Water Act (s. 2)
• Governs how the Province manages water
• To promote the conservation and management of water,
including the wise allocation and use of water.
• Promote economic growth and prosperity
• Protection of existing rights
4
Principles of the Water Act
• The ownership of all water is vested in the Crown
• Provides for flexibility in times of water shortage
• Ability to appeal some decisions to the Environmental
Appeals Board
• The ability for public consultation
• Water Management Plans
• Does not support speculation in the resource
5
Other Legislation
• EPEA (Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act)
• Public Lands Act (Sustainable Resource Development)
• Municipal Government Act
• Agricultural Operations Practices Act (Natural Resources
Conservation Board)
• Freedom of Information and the Protection of Privacy Act
• Fisheries Act (Federal)
• Migratory Birds Convention Act (Federal)
• Navigable Waters Protection Act. (Federal)
• Canadian Environmental Protection Act (Federal)
6
Licences – (s.
46 – 61)
• Grants an allocation of water and allows for its diversion
and use
• The licensing system operates under a “first in time, first
in right” principle of allocation
• Preliminary Certificates can be issued first
• Licences are issued for a term (s. 12 of the Regulation)
• Issued with an expiry date, therefore the licensee must
apply to renew a Licence to continue diverting
7
Preliminary Certificates – (s 66 – 72)
• Essentially a “promise” for water; if certain pre-conditions are met, a
licence will be issued.
• Done to ensure the project is built before the proponent is given the
water right and that the proponent would only get water for what they
build.
• Does not give the ability to divert water.
• Provides for good stream management to know what is actually built
and diverting, to provide for sound water records.
8
Diversion Types
• Statutory Rights
• Traditional Agriculture User
• Licence
• Exemption
• Code of Practice
Diversion and Use of
Water for Hydrostatic
Testing of Pipelines
9
Temporary Diversion Licences - TDL
(s. 62 - 65)
• Short term diversion of water (issued for a maximum time period of one year)
• No priority or notice required
• Issue dependent on water availability
and may be suspended without notice
• Typical uses:
– Water to supplement livestock
watering during a drought situation
– Water for drilling fluid
– Dust control
– Bridge washing
– Construction activities
10
Principles of First in Time, First in Right
• Each licence (or registration) is given a priority number that
corresponds with the date that a complete application was
received/administratively complete.
• A licence which has an earlier priority date is considered to be a
more senior licence than another licence which has a later priority
date (junior licence).
• All licences other than household use are ranked according to
seniority, not according to purpose for use.
• A priority call is usually made when a senior priority licence holder is
not receiving his entitled allocation.
11
Approval Activities
• Activities that require an Approval
– Construction of a dugout within a watercourse,
lake or wetland
– Realignment of a watercourse
– Drainage
– Road through a wetland
– Erosion protection (riprap, gabions)
– Water intake
– Dams
• A water diversion cannot be conducted under an Approval
12
Codes of Practice
1. Diversion and Use of Water for Hydrostatic Testing of
Pipelines
2. Pipeline and Telecommunication Lines Crossing a
Water Body
3. Watercourse Crossings
4. Outfall Structures
13
Orders
• Oldman River Basin Allocation Order
• Bow, Oldman and South Saskatchewan River Basin
Allocation Order
14
Water Assignments and Transfers
Assignments (s. 33)
Transfers (s. 81 - 83)
Definition: Temporary assignment of a
water allocation with another licensee
or registrant in good standing
Definition: Temporary or permanent
transfer of water allocation rights to
another licensee
Requires only a written agreement
between holders of licensees or
Traditional Agricultural Registrant
Requires Designated Director
Approval – ability to transfer must be
in an approved Water Management
Plan or Order in Council
No notice or authorization from the
Department is required
Licence is issued for the transferred
allocation; the original licence is either
amended or cancelled
Designated Director may direct that
water cannot be diverted under the
agreement
Designated Director retains the right to
withhold up to 10% of the allocation
being transferred
15
Environmental Assessment Process
(s. 16 - 17)
• Environmental Impact Assessment
– Must be completed pursuant to EPEA, before a Water
Act authorization can be issued
16
Designation of Officials
• Designated under Section 163
• Directors are designated by the
Minister for the purpose of making
decisions under the Act
• The role of a Designated Director is
not tied to the position of a Regional Director
• A Designated Director may also designate other staff
for specific decisions and authorities (inspectors, investigators
and approval decisions)
17
How are Decisions Made?
• The Designated Director will review all relevant
information provided by the applicant and staff
Considers:
• legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines
• water management plans
• existing, potential or cumulative effect
• impact to the aquatic environment
• impact to others
18
Environmental Appeals Board (s. 114 - 117)
• Independent board that provides an opportunity to appeal
decisions made by Alberta Environment under the Water
Act
• Approvals, licences, preliminary certificates,
amendments, administrative penalties and enforcement
orders are decisions that may be appealed.
• Appeals to the Board can be filed by applicant and SOC
filers
– Cannot be any member of the public, they must be directly
affected
19
Compliance Assurance Program
• Environmental laws deal with almost every activity that
can impact the environment
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with Environmental
Protection and Enhancement Act and Water Act
• Legislation sets out clear rules for the protection,
enhancement and wise use of our environment
20
Compliance Responsibilities
• Complaint / Incident Response
• Inspections
• Investigations
• Stakeholder Education
• Initiate Enforcement Actions
21
22
Water Course Crossings
23
Codes of Practice (CoP)
GUIDE
TO THE CODE OF PRACTICE FOR
WATERCOURSE CROSSINGS,
INCLUDING GUIDELINES FOR COMPLYING
WITH THE
CODE OF PRACTICE
May 2000
Revised April 2001
24
GUIDELINES FOR LICENSING
Water Act*
GUIDELINES FOR LICENSING
WATER DIVERSION PROJECTS
(Pursuant to the Water Act)
Revised November 2010
*References to legislation and regulations cited are based on content on the issue date of this guideline. Up-to-date
information on amendments or other changes is available from the Alberta Queen’s Printer and Alberta Environment.
The original act and Regulations should be consulted for all purposes of interpreting and applying the law.
ISBN: 978-0-7785-8805-4 (Printed)
ISBN: 978-0-7785-8806-1 (On-line)
25
GROUNDWATER AUTHORIZATION
26
WETLANDS
27
Current Policy
• Wetland
Management
.
in the Settled
Beyond
Prairie
Potholes
Area of Alberta
·An Interim Policy
.
. . -. .· .
.. . ·. :,;, .... z··
;
.·
..:
: :· .
..·.,
·_
·.,
·-. .....
.,
..
.
'
.
A Draft Policy for Managing
Alberta’s Peatlands and
•
•
28
AIOO.ta
WATER RESOURCES
COMMISSION
Compensation Guidelines
Wetland replacement graph
Definitions:
Alberta’s wetland areas provide clean water,
wildlife viewing opportunities and other outdoor
recreation activities. They can also help to reduce
soil erosion, retain sediments, absorb nutrients,
degrade pesticides, store water to moderate impacts
of floods and droughts, and help to moderate climate
change.
Alberta’s wetland areas are under considerable
pressure from development in the province. Alberta
has lost approximately 64% of its slough/marsh
wetlands in the settled area of Alberta.
Alberta’s Water Act requires that an approval be
obtained before undertaking a construction activity in
a wetland. A construction activity includes but is not
limited to disturbing, altering, infilling or draining a
wetland.
A Water Act fact sheet about approvals and licenses
can be obtained from:
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env/water/legislation/
factSheets/index.cfm
Alberta’s priority is to reduce loss of wetlands
by:
Wetland restoration
Wetland restoration is the responsibility of Wetland
Restoration Agencies. Ducks Unlimited Canada is
currently the only recognized agency in Alberta.
These agencies are responsible for selecting,
developing, and maintaining restored wetlands. The
benefit to the approval applicant is:
• Overall cost and time required for restoration
projects is less than if an applicant were to
restore a wetland area on their own.
• The agency accepts the long-term management
responsibility or liability of the restored wetland.
•
•
• Minimizing impacts and requiring applicable
compensation; and
It is not always possible to avoid wetland impacts.
This fact sheet has been written for cases where
wetland compensation is required.
Wetland compensation will be provided through
restoration of a drained wetland. Restoration should
take place within the same watershed as the
impacted wetland, or in a watershed close by.
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
•
An approval applicant is planning to develop
a site that affects a five-hectare wetland.
•
The site assessment indicates that the
2
wetland is an emergent freshwater wetland
and that four hectares of restored wetland
will be required for every one hectare of
naturally occurring wetland destroyed. This
ratio is selected because the nearest
wetland restoration site is less than 30 km
from the impacted wetland.
•
It is almost impossible to fully replicate a
wetland ecosystem. To compensate, an
approval applicant must restore a larger
area of wetland (hectares) when a smaller
area of natural wetland is destroyed. See
wetland replacement graph.
30
Wetland compensation (example)
Approval applicants should also consult with
Alberta Sustainable Resource
Development’s Public Lands and Forest
Division.
•
20
Graph based on material sourced from “Wetland Mitigation in
Canada a Framework for Application”.
•
An assessment and classification of the
affected wetland must be completed if the
1
wetland is to be destroyed or altered .
10
Distance from Site (kms)
Approval applicants should discuss their
proposal, including options to avoid or
minimize the impact on the wetland, with a
wetlands specialist or restoration agency
and the local municipality before applying for
a Water Act approval.
•
Compensation: payment into a fund for wetland
restoration work.
0
Approval process and the use of wetland
compensation
• Avoiding impacts to the wetland;
• Compensating for impacts that cannot be
avoided or minimized.
Ratio to 1
Provincial Wetland
Restoration/Compensation Fact Sheet
Approval Applicant: a person(s) who is proposing
activities in and around a wetland or considering
restoring a naturally occurring wetland.
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
•
The approval applicant now has the option
of contacting a wetland restoration agency
to do the restoration work. The company is
required to pay the agency to restore twenty
3
hectares of wetland.
The payment is based on the agency’s cost
to restore the same type of wetland (e.g.
land acquisition, including upland area and
wetland margins, cost of restoration work
and monitoring).
Payment to the wetland restoration agency
is required before an approval to affect a
wetland will be issued.
Note: The Director, under the Water Act, can refuse
to grant an approval where he/she considers it
appropriate to do so.
Restoration: re-establishment of a naturally
occurring wetland with a functioning natural
ecosystem whose characteristics are as close as
possible to conditions prior to drainage or other
alteration.
Wetland area: the flooded portion of the wetland
including the transition zone from aquatic to
terrestrial vegetation.
Wetland Restoration Agency: a conservation
agency responsible for restoring drained or altered
wetlands to near natural conditions.
Supplementary Information
View the complete Provincial Wetland
Restoration/Compensation Guide at:
www.gov.ab.ca/env/info/infocentre/publist.cfm
Submit Water Act applications and wetland
mitigation plan to your nearest regional office:
http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env/water/legislation/
RegionalContacts.html
Visit Ducks Unlimited Canada at:
www.ducks.ca
Cowardin Classification System can be found at:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1998/classwet/
classwet.htm
Stewart and Kantrud Wetland Classification System
can be found at:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tools/pondlake/
pondlake.htm
Compensation requires approval applicants to pay
into a fund established for wetland restoration work.
1
November 2005
To classify a wetland use either the Cowardin or Stewart and Kantrud wetland classification
system.
29
2
This classification is based on the Cowardin Wetland Classification System.
3
The agency will restore twenty hectares based on the requirement for the approval
applicant to restore four hectares of wetland for each of the five hectares impacted by
development.
Coming Policy
30
QUESTIONS
31
Activities List
32
AGGREGATE MINING CHECKLIST –
WATER ACT
AGGREGATE MINING CHECKLIST – WATER ACT
General Requirements for both Licences & Approvals
 Signed & dated application including term required for authorization
 Site & detail plan showing all surrounding land ownership, and water bodies (air photos
may be used)
 Cross-sections for Pits, ponds and ditches (maximum depth of pit, distance between
ground surface and water table, etc.)
 Permission to use County infrastructure such as road ditches, railroads or culverts (if
applicable)
 Permission from all affected adjacent landowners included in application (if applicable)
Licence Application Requirements for Aggregate Washing









Total volume of water passing through wash plant
There is a settling pond
Water is cycle through the active pit
No. of days washing will occur annually _________
Total evaporation loss from settling pond calculation included in application*
Total volume of water adhesion to gravel calculation included in application*
Water cycled through the wash plant stays completely on site (if not explain)
Water is used for other purposes (explain)
Driller report if water is diverted from a well
Approval Application Requirements for Off Site Water Drainage**












Type of pit water to be discharged (pit dewatering, pit washing, pit runoff, other)
Timing of discharge
Volume of water discharged off site included in application
Rate of discharge included in application
Water drained and receiving body are hydraulically connected
Receiving water body (slough, wetland, lake, river)
Water quality analysis of discharge water and receiving water body included in
application (if applicable)
Mitigative measures planned to minimize erosion at the confluence of the drainage
structure and discharge point
Confirmation from Fish and Wildlife concerning any fisheries issues in the receiving body
(if applicable)
Hydrology assessment showing conveyance capacity sufficient to handle discharge
Monitoring program to ensure there are no adverse effects of discharge on the receiving
environment (if applicable)
Contingency plans in case an adverse effect is discovered or the discharge cannot occur
* Example evaporation & adhesion loss calculation
(Volume of water per minutes x minutes x hours x days per year) x % evaporation loss =
m3/year loss due to adhesion and evaporation
**See Water Act Ministerial Regulation, Schedule 3(1)(f) for exemption
33
End Pit Lake
Plans
SUBJECT
Y
N
title block and legend (including
scale)
signed and stamped
plans should go beyond property
boundaries to show

topographic features
(slopes, water courses,
etc)

adjacent interests (roads,
other pits, etc)
location of cross sectional lines
location of created water bodies
bank location of any created water
bodies
dimensions of the water body
(surface area and capacity)
reclaimed slope angles
direction of drainage
groundwater discharge and recharge
areas
buffers and setbacks
landscape plan
pit water discharge location
water diversion infrastructure
inlet/outlet structure location
inlet/outlet channel location
34
COMMENTS
End Pit Lake
Cross Sections
SUBJECT
Y
N
COMMENTS
title block and legend
signed and stamped
should go beyond property boundaries to
show
o
topographic features (slopes,
water courses, etc)
o
adjacent interests (roads,
other pits, etc)
slope one metre above and one metre
below the normal water line
level of lake bottom (elevation)
stratigraphy (sand, gravel, etc)(bedrock
contact if applicable)
water table levels (full supply level)
existing groundwater table elevation
water levels of other water bodies (lakes,
rivers, dugouts, etc) that could be
effected
liner if one is used
35
End Pit Lake
Reports
SUBJECT
purpose of the feature (trout pond, recreation,
etc)
Y
N
evaporative losses (to include data and
methodology)
median runoff yield of the water features
catchment area
is the water surface water, groundwater,
surface runoff or a combination
hydraulic connection to natural water bodies
is the feature a net groundwater recharge or
discharge point
time to complete
siltation and erosion control (measures)

pit to pit

off site
effects on other users and the environment
inlet/outlet channel design
inlet/outlet structure design
signed and stamped
benefit to wildlife (vegetation)
Other Information
WA Approval can’t be issued unless
Municipal Development Permit and EPEA
registration are issued
36
COMMENTS
PLAN VIEW
37
Cross-Section 1
38
Cross–Section 2
39