New Fisheries Act Permitting Regulations now in Force

The November issue of the Bulletin featured an article on the new habitat protection provisions under the Fisheries Act, which came into force at the end of November. The revised Act will limit the scope of the Fisheries Act to prohibit "serious harm" to fish in commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fisheries. These changes will come with new permitting processes and revised punitive measures.

New Regulations applying to applications for authorization under the new provisions are now also in effect.

The regulations list the information and documentation required by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in an application for authorization.  It is important to note that in determining if  an activity has  the potential to cause serious harm to fish that are part of, or support, a fishery it is the proponent not DFO who will make this determination. Information then required includes:

• a letter of credit to cover the costs of implementing the offsetting plan;
• a description of the proposed work, and if applicable, of the project of which the proposed work, undertaking or activity is a part;
• a description of the anticipated phases of the proposed work;
• a description of the location of the proposed work;
• a description of the fish and fish habitat found at the location of the proposed work and within the area likely to be affected by the proposed work;
• a description of the likely effects of the proposed work on fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery or on fish that support such a fishery, and the likely effect on the habitat of those fish;
• a description of the measures and standards that will be implemented to avoid or mitigate serious harm to fish;
• a description of the monitoring measures that will be put in place;
• a description of the contingency measures that will be implemented;
• a quantitative description of the anticipated serious harm to fish that is likely to result from the work, despite the  implementation of the proposed mitigation; and
• an offsetting plan in respect of the serious harm to fish that is likely to result from the work, undertaking or activity despite the implementation of the measures and standards to avoid or mitigate serious harm to fish.

CWWA has arranged a speaker from DFO to attend the Canadian Wastewater Management Conference and 49th Central Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research. They will address the changes to the Fisheries Act and how it will impact permitting and other activities for our sector.

Canadian Water and Wastewater Association