City planners and developers are finding themselves wading through murky waters when it comes to protecting Richmond's ecologically sensitive riparian areas.
These buffers of land surrounding waterways provide shade, soil stability, nutrients and pollutant filtering to the water and are, in essence, regulated by all three levels of government to protect them from development.
Richmond's riparian areas are sloughs, large ditches, small streams as well as marsh areas beyond the dyke, such as Sturgeon Bank.
These waterways have protective barriers of five to 15 metres and flow directly into the Fraser River.
The provincial Riparian Areas Regulation (RAR) calls on local governments to protect such areas through bylaws. Meanwhile, federal fisheries laws aim to protect fish through ensuring clean water.
However, a report from Lesley Douglas, manager of environmental sustainability for the City of Richmond, to the city's public works committee on Thursday indicates a number of recent provincial and federal legislative changes have left questions to be answered.
"In recent years, the city has witnessed an unprecedented rate of change to senior government legislation pertaining to environmental management. ...With the number of changes taking place, lack of clarity can arise for both staff and project proponents in the city," Douglas wrote.
The provincial BC Water Sustainability Act is still in the process of being developed to replace the 105 year-old Water Act, but Douglas notes it will allow for better protection of waterways in terms of mandating adequate water flows and efficient water extraction.
However, Douglas noted, the Act still needs to clarify its scope as it relates to agricultural lands, sloughs and wetlands.
With regards to 2012 changes to the federal Fisheries Act Douglas notes, "there has been a withdrawal of Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) staff from municipal Environmental Review Committee processes."
Since this change, the city has had to rely on a "triage" approach to protecting its waterways based on an online application process. This approach "depends heavily" on qualified environmental professionals, who can be hired by both the city and developers when looking at a proposed project.
"DFO staff have made it clear that municipalities should expect less direct support from the (federal) ministry and that the onus is now on the proponent of a project to ensure compliance with the Act," stated Douglas, noting the city responded to this by beefing up its own environmental review process to make developers aware of its bylaws and interests.
This month, the province was handed a review of the Riparian Areas Regulation by the BC Ombudsperson, Kim Carter, who recommended 25 changes to the document to improve gaps in training, oversight and reporting. The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources has accepted all of the changes, except for one. The changes are expected to be implemented in the near future.
Douglas reported that the city hopes the review will provide greater clarity and certainty for the city and development proponents who may wish to encroach on the limits set out by the RAR.
The Ombudsperson noted RAR is part of a "broader shift by the provincial government toward the 'professional reliance model' of environmental regulation."
The one recommendation the Ministry did not accept was having government staff review all development applications. Currently, the Ministry only reviews about 20 per cent of applications. Instead, it relies on the environmental professionals hired by developers. Such professionals must be certified, as recommended by the Ombudsperson, however the review noted the Ministry could not establish that a 20 per cent review rate is reliable in ensuring acceptable levels of compliance.
Douglas was not available for comment when contacted by the Richmond News.
