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WATER ACT 101

College of Alberta Professional Foresters’

Edmonton

April 16, 2015

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Evolution of the Legislation

• Northwest Irrigation (Federal) Act (1894)

• Water Resources (Provincial) Act (1931)

• Groundwater Control Act (1953)

• Water Act (1999)

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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.

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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.

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Diversion Types

• Statutory Rights

• Traditional Agriculture User

• Licence

• Exemption

• Code of Practice

Diversion and Use of Water

for Hydrostatic Testing of

Pipelines

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Orders

• Oldman River Basin Allocation Order

• Bow, Oldman and South Saskatchewan River Basin Allocation Order

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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

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Environmental Assessment Process (s. 16 - 17)

• Environmental Impact Assessment– Must be completed pursuant to EPEA, before a Water

Act authorization can be issued

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Designation of Officials

• Designated under Section 163

• Directors are designated by theMinister for the purpose of making decisions under the Act

• The role of a Designated Director isnot tied to the position of a Regional Director

• A Designated Director may also designate other stafffor specific decisions and authorities (inspectors, investigatorsand approval decisions)

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• 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

How are Decisions Made?

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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

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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

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Compliance Responsibilities

• Complaint / Incident Response

• Inspections

• Investigations

• Stakeholder Education

• Initiate Enforcement Actions

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Water Course Crossings

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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

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GUIDELINES FOR LICENSINGWater 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)

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GROUNDWATER AUTHORIZATION

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WETLANDS

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Current Policy

•

• W etland

M anagem ent .

in the Settled

Area o f A lberta

·An In terim P o licy

. . . - . .· .

.. . ·. :,;, ... . z·· ; ..· ..: ..·., ·_ ·., ·-. . .. .. ., ..

: :· . . ' .

•

A IO O .ta W A T E R R E SO U R C ES

COMMISSION

BeyondPrairiePotholes

A Draft Policy for Managing

Alberta’s Peatlands and

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Compensation Guidelines

Provincial Wetland Restoration/Compensation Fact Sheet

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:

• Avoiding impacts to the wetland;

• Minimizing impacts and requiring applicable compensation; and

• Compensating for impacts that cannot be avoided or minimized.

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.

Compensation requires approval applicants to pay into a fund established for wetland restoration work.

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.

Approval process and the use of wetland compensation

• 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.

• Approval applicants should also consult with

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development’s Public Lands and Forest Division.

• An assessment and classification of the

affected wetland must be completed if the wetland is to be destroyed or altered1.

• 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.

1 To classify a wetland use either the Cowardin or Stewart and Kantrud wetland classification system.

Rat

io t

o 1

Wetland replacement graph

12 11 10

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110

Distance from Site (kms)

Graph based on material sourced from “Wetland Mitigation in Canada a Framework for Application”.

Wetland compensation (example)

• An approval applicant is planning to develop

a site that affects a five-hectare wetland.

• The site assessment indicates that the wetland is an emergent freshwater wetland2

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.

• 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 hectares3 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.

Definitions:

Approval Applicant: a person(s) who is proposing activities in and around a wetland or considering restoring a naturally occurring wetland.

Compensation: payment into a fund for wetland restoration work.

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

November 2005

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.

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Coming Policy

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QUESTIONS

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Activities List

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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

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End Pit LakePlans

SUBJECT Y N COMMENTS

title block and legend (including scale)

     

signed and stamped      

plans should go beyond property boundaries to showtopographic 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 

     

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End Pit LakeCross 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 

     

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End Pit LakeReports

SUBJECT Y N COMMENTSpurpose of the feature (trout pond, recreation, etc)

     

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 pitoff 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

     

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PLAN VIEW

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Cross-Section 1

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Cross–Section 2