Government Announces Moratorium on Water-Taking Permits
UDI Appointed to Implementation Committee
The McGuinty Government today announced an immediate one-year moratorium
on new and expanded water-taking permits. The moratorium is in effect
from December 18, 2003, until December 31, 2004. It applies to new and
expanded water-taking permits for products such as bottled water, and
for other uses that remove water from the watershed. It applies
in Southern Ontario and in those Northern Ontario watersheds that are
covered by a conservation authority.
Municipalities are not affected by the moratorium, and this will not
affect their ability to draw water for municipal use, residential consumption
or emergencies such as fire fighting. Permits for agricultural purposes
are also not affected by the moratorium.
The moratorium does not apply to existing permits to take water. However,
the amount of water a permit holder may take will be frozen at the current
amount of water being permitted. Therefore, permits that allow for an
increase for future water takings will be revoked and new permits will
be issued to implement the freeze.
With respect to source protection planning, the government will release
a White Paper in February 2004 to consult on the planning aspects of
source protection legislation, including the preparation, roles and
responsibilities and approval of source protection plans. The government's
White Paper will also seek input on strengthening the permit to take
water program. New rules will be developed to define how water
takings are to be assessed and by what means.
The government also released details regarding the members of the expert
source water protection committees. Two committees have been formed:
an Implementation and a Technical Expert Committee. UDI has been appointed
on the Implementation Committee. The 21-member Implementation Committee
will provide advice to the government on tools and approaches to implement
watershed-based source protection planning. One of the committee's first
tasks will be to provide advice on new and existing roles and responsibilities
of the province, municipalities and conservation authorities to implement
source protection plans. The committee will also examine innovative
funding mechanisms and incentives. These two committees were formed
in light of the recommendations made in early 2003 by the Source Water
Protection Advisory Committee.
Implementation Committee
Nigel Bellchamber, Co-Chair - General Manager of the Ontario
Municipal Administrators' Association
Doug Barnes, Co-Chair - Assistant Deputy Minister, Integrated
Environmental Planning Division, MOE
Julie Abouchar, Environmental Lawyer, Willms & Shier Environmental
Lawyers
J.S. (Jim) Anderson, Policy and Program Advisor, Ducks Unlimited
Canada
David Armitage, Senior Researcher, Ontario Federation of Agriculture's
Farm Policy Research Group
Milena Avramovic, Senior Policy Advisor, Association of Municipalities
of Ontario
Dr. Ted Boadway, Executive Director of Health Policy, Ontario
Medical Association
Allen Gardiner, Executive Committee, Ontario Federation of
Agriculture
Michael Garrett, CAO, York Region
Richard Hunter, General Manager, Conservation Ontario
Derrick Kamanga, Chiefs of Ontario
Peter Krause, Chairman, Conservation Ontario
Tim Lotimer, Chair, Ontario Water Works Association's Source
Water Protection Committee
John Masskant, Director, Chicken Farmers of Ontario (representing
Huron County)
Theresa McClenaghan, Lawyer, Canadian Environmental Law Association
Earl Morwood, Executive Director, Ontario Ground Water Association
Jim Pine, CAO, County of Hastings
Patrick Reid, President, Ontario Mining Association
Neil Rodgers, President, Urban Development Institute
Dr. Gordon Surgeoner, President, Ontario Agri-Food Technologies
Peter White, Environment and Resource Manager, Aggregate Producers'
Association of Ontario
Technical Expert Committee
This 16-member committee will provide advice on an Ontario-based
threat assessment process. They members include:
Gayle Wood, Co-Chair, CAO, Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority
Joan Andrew, Co-Chair, Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental
Sciences & Standards Division, MOE
Michael Brodsky, Chief of Environmental Microbiology, Ministry
of Health
Robert Clay, Manager, Ducks Unlimited Canada's Habitat Conservation
Program
Marg Evans, Senior Policy Planner, Oxford County Planning Department
Dr. John FitzGibbon, Director, School of Rural Planning & Development,
University of Guelph
Miachel Goss, Professor, Department of Land Resources Science,
University of Guelph
H. James Hawken, Mayor, City of Temiskaming Shores
Eric Hodgins, Manager, City of Waterloo
Steve Holysh, Hydrogeologist, Conservation Authorities Moraine
Coalition
Dr. Douglas Joy, Ontario Rural Wastewater Center
Dr. K. Bruce MacDonald, Retired Scientist, Agriculture Canada
Dr. Ronald Pushchak, Professor, School of Occupational Health,
Ryerson University
Dr. Michael Robin, Faculty, University of Ottawa
Dr. David Rudolph, Associate Professor, Department of Earth
Sciences, University of Waterloo
Dr. David Sharpe, Geologist, Geological Survey of Canada
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