HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-09-06
Electronic Council Communications Information
Package
Date:September 6, 2024
Time:12:00 PM
Location:ECCIP is an information package and not a meeting.
Description: An ECCIP is an electronic package containing correspondence received by Staff for
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Pages
1.Region of Durham Correspondence
2.Durham Municipalities Correspondence
3.Other Municipalities Correspondence
3.1 Tay Valley Township - Province Removes Wetlands Protection for
Eastern Ontario - August 28, 2024
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4.Provincial / Federal Government and their Agency Correspondence
5.Miscellaneous Correspondence
September 6, 2024
Electronic Council Communications Information Package (ECCIP)
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Tay Valley Township 217 Harper Road, Tay Valley, Ontario K7H 3C6 www.tayvalleytwp.ca Phone: 613-267-5353 or 800-810-0161 Fax: 613-264-8516
August 28, 2024 The Honorable Graydon Smith Sent by Email Minister of Natural Resources
Unit 2.04/2.05 230 Manitoba St. Bracebridge, ON P1L 2E1 Dear: Graydon Smith
RE: Province Removes Wetlands Protection for Eastern Ontario The Council of the Corporation of Tay Valley Township at its meeting on August 13th, 2024, adopted the following resolution:
RESOLUTION #C-2024-08-11 MOVED BY: Wayne Baker SECONDED BY: Angela Pierman
“THAT, the Council of the Corporation of Tay Valley Township urge the Provincial Government to reopen the wetlands regulation consultation for the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) to:
• allow Tay Valley’s wetlands to receive the same protections as wetlands in the other 29 Conservation Districts in Ontario; and
• ensure Tay Valley’s $1.3 Billion Tax Assessment is protected from degradation.
THAT, landowners be compensated by the Province when wetlands are designated on their property, AND THAT, this resolution and a copy of Report #PD-2024-10 – Province
Removes Wetlands Protection for Eastern Ontario, be provided to the Minister of Natural Resources, to area Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs), the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA), and to all Ontario Municipalities.” ADOPTED
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A detailed report is included. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned
at (613) 267-5353 ext. 130 or deputyclerk@tayvalleytwp.ca
Sincerely,
Aaron Watt, Deputy Clerk
cc: Minister of Natural Resources Graydon Smith, John Jordan, MPP Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA),
and to all Ontario Municipalities
/Enclosure
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REPORT
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE August 13th, 2024 Report #PD-2024-10 Noelle Reeve, Planner PROVINCE REMOVES WETLANDS PROTECTION FOR EASTERN ONTARIO STAFF RECOMMENDATION(S) It is recommended:
“THAT, the Council of the Corporation of Tay Valley Township urge the Provincial Government to reopen the wetlands regulation consultation for the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) to:
• allow Tay Valley’s wetlands to receive the same protections as wetlands in the other 29 Conservation Districts in Ontario;
• ensure Tay Valley’s $1.3 Billion Tax Assessment is protected from degradation.
AND THAT, this resolution and a copy of Report #PD-2024-10 – Province Removes Wetlands Protection for Eastern Ontario, be provided to the Minister of Natural Resources, to area Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs), the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA), and to all Ontario Municipalities.”
BACKGROUND On April 1, 2024, the province enacted Ontario Regulation 41/24: Prohibited Activities, Exemptions and Permits. This regulation replaced 36 individual conservation authority
regulations with a single provincial regulation. The O. Reg was intended to bring consistency
to the conservation authority regulations. It also reduced the area around provincially significant wetlands where a permit is required from 120 to 30m.
In early June 2024, the Rideau Valley, South Nation and Raisin River conservation
authorities began public consultations on regulating all wetlands, to be in conformity with the regulations of the other 29 conservation authorities in the province. On June 25, 2024 the press secretary for the Minister of Natural Resources (MNR) stated, “The province has instructed Rideau Valley, Raisin River, and South Nation Conservation Authorities to
permanently stop their implementation plans regarding their wetland policy and mapping
updates”.
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DISCUSSION
We live in what is often referred to as the Anthropocene (a unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems). As a result of the impact of human activity on the environment, the economy is more closely tied to the health of natural
systems, such as wetlands, than at any time in the past.
For example, Tay Valley Township’s tax assessment for 2024 is $1.3 billion (which is grossly undercounted as the provincial government has not increased this assessment for almost a decade, since 2016). Close to three-quarters of this tax base is generated by the economic
value of waterfront properties. Anything that degrades the ecological value of the lakes and
streams on these properties, or the biodiversity in Tay Valley Township degrades Tay Valley’s tax base. Leaving wetlands unprotected will degrade the value of these properties and, therefore, the
Township’s economy. Wetlands filter nutrients out of water. Wetlands lessen the effects of
climate disruption including rising temperatures by sequestering (storing) carbon. Wetlands also reduce the effects of extreme rain events and flooding by retaining water in the special soils of these low-lying areas. Wetlands reduce the impacts of drought by slowly releasing the stored water to groundwater systems.
This year, for the first time ever, a lake in Tay Valley Township was confirmed by the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks to have a blue-green algae outbreak. Blue-green algae is caused by increased nutrients washing into lakes during rainstorms and by increased water temperatures.
The province’s information page on blue-green algae Blue-green algae | ontario.ca describes initiatives it is taking to reduce blue-green algae blooms in southern Ontario including “Investing $30 million through the Wetlands Conservation Partner Program to support conservation organizations to enhance and restore wetlands”.
While for southern Ontario, the province recognizes the values of wetlands to: “reduce nutrient run off; improve water quality; improve and increase habitats; and increase biodiversity”, in eastern Ontario the province is prohibiting protection of wetlands that the 29 other conservation authorities provide.
Three-quarters of wetlands have been lost in southern Ontario since European settlement. This difference in treatment of wetlands in eastern Ontario feels like the province only cares about wetlands after they are destroyed when they require millions more dollars to recreate (at a lower level of ecological integrity). Protection of the services wetlands provide is
cheaper and better for the fish, waterfowl and mammals that rely on them. The province also has recognized the value of wetlands as green infrastructure. Ontario's Regulation 588/17, which mandates the inclusion of natural assets in asset management planning, marks a significant change in infrastructure governance. It positions Ontario as the
first and only Canadian province to enforce natural assets as a required component of asset
management planning at the municipal level.
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By identifying and harnessing the value of natural assets and their associated services,
municipalities can enhance the resilience and effectiveness of their infrastructure systems. Green infrastructure, including wetlands, provides a variety of services, including storm water management, recreation, and climate resilience which result in economic benefits, as they provide multiple services at a lower cost than grey infrastructure, which is typically built for a singular purpose.
The province has also identified planning at the watershed scale as a goal in the Provincial Policy Statement. Sustainable watershed planning depends on conserving wetlands. OPTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED
Option #1 (Recommended) – Council supports the motion to urge the Provincial Government to reopen the wetlands regulation consultation for the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) to:
• allow Tay Valley’s wetlands to receive the same protections as wetlands in the other 29 Conservation Districts in Ontario;
• ensure Tay Valley’s $1.3 Billion Tax Assessment is protected from degradation.
And to share the motion and this report with the Minister of Natural Resources, area MPPs, ROMA, and all Ontario Municipalities. Option #2 – Council supports some of the motion and suggests changes.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS None, at this time. However, the loss of wetlands will contribute to increased infrastructure costs in the future from flood impacts.
STRATEGIC PLAN LINK Healthy Environment – The motion encourages protection of wetlands which supports ecosystem health and protects biodiversity. Sustainable Finances – The motion encourages protection of wetlands which supports the province’s requirements to include green infrastructure in asset management. Thriving Culture, Economy and Tourism - The motion encourages protection of wetlands
which supports the water quality of the Township’s lakes and streams which provide economic value via the Township’s tax base and tourism. CLIMATE CONSIDERATIONS
The motion can assist Tay Valley’s ability to mitigate climate disruption by maintaining the ability of wetlands to sequester carbon, mitigate floods and droughts, and maintain the tremendous biodiversity represented in Tay Valley Township by the overlap of ecozones represented by The Land Between and the Frontenac Arch Biosphere.
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CONCLUSIONS
Tay Valley Township supports the mapping of wetlands in eastern Ontario and public consultation on draft mapping. Mapping of wetlands and protective regulations (30m setback as is required by most municipalities from a waterbody or stream) are key for preventing the further loss of the crucial natural heritage feature that wetlands represent. The conservation
of wetlands has been shown elsewhere to provide greater economic and resource value to a
property or an area than the physical development of that property. The water filtration, flood and drought mitigation, carbon sequestration and biodiversity values of wetlands are far more costly to try to recreate than to protect, as southern Ontario
and other jurisdictions have proven.
ATTACHMENTS i) Wetlands Soak Up Climate Change (Climate Network Lanark)
ii) Natural Credit Estimating the Value of Natural Capital in the Credit River Watershed (Credit Valley Conservation and The Pembina Institute) iii) Eastern Ontario Climate Change Projections (Ontario Centre for Climate Impacts and Adaptation Resources/Climate Risk Institute)
Prepared and Submitted By: Approved for Submission By:
Noelle Reeve, Amanda Mabo, Planner Chief Administrative Officer/Clerk
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Attachment i) Wetlands Soak Up Climate Change (Climate Network Lanark)
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Attachment ii) Natural Credit Estimating the Value of Natural Capital in the Credit River
Watershed (Credit Valley Conservation and The Pembina Institute)
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Attachment iii) Eastern Ontario Climate Change Projections (Ontario Centre for
Climate Impacts and Adaptation Resources/Climate Risk Institute)
Summer 2017 Flooding MVCA photo
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