A drainage ditch is not a pristine fish stream, the federal government has realized in announcing changes to rules governing ditches and field drains.
Federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield announced the government's plans to amend the Fisheries Act and related policy that currently governs "all bodies of water where fish live - or could live."
Under the current regulatory regime, the government said, water bodies such as drainage ditches are indiscriminately subject to the same rules and guidelines as rivers, lakes and oceans that support fish and local fisheries.
"That does not make sense to us, and frankly we don't think it makes sense to the majority of Canadians," Ashfield said.
The government, he said, has heard of "farmers being prevented from cleaning out their irrigation channels, municipalities being delayed in repairing bridge supports and routine maintenance of drainage ditches, businesses not being allowed to clear flooded fields and campsites, and cottage owners prohibited from keeping up their properties - all because of the existing rules."
From the perspective of landowners and municipalities, the proposed new measures are expected to provide "regulatory certainty as to whether and how the fisheries protection provisions apply to them," according to the government.
The new regulatory regime is expected to move Fisheries and Oceans Canada "away from reviewing every activity that landowners may undertake."
For example, the government said, "regulatory standards for routine, low-risk projects such as building a boat launch or a dock at the cottage do not exist at this time."
The new rules are also expected to allow the fisheries ministry to "identify ecologically sensitive areas that require enhanced protection," as opposed to the current regulatory regime, in which "all areas are treated indiscriminately under the law."
Real estate developers have welcomed the move, noting that setbacks from dormant ditches can affect property values.
from Western Investor June 2012
