Flood Risk Mitigation

Whereas small, rural and remote municipalities have limited resources and capacity to take on complex flood risk mitigation projects; And whereas the regulatory regimes of the provincial and federal agencies responsible for in-stream infrastructure works, and funding those works, operate independently of each other, resulting in mis-aligned approval windows, inconsistent application of environmental regulations, and an unnecessarily onerous and time-consuming process to get approval for critical flood mitigation works in already disturbed ecosystems, resulting in significantly higher costs, missed deadlines, and unacceptable increase in climate-related risk; And whereas flood mitigation has been downloaded by the province while upstream watershed hazards and risks to infrastructure that are outside of local government jurisdiction have generally been ignored; And whereas major flood events are far more destructive to the natural environment than the mitigation works that could help minimize the damage to community in an ecologically balanced way: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM calls upon the provincial government to assume a greater role in planning, funding, and constructing local flood mitigation works, maintaining dikes, and taking a proactive approach to watershed planning; And be it further resolved that the regulatory regime for approving flood-mitigation projects be streamlined and coordinated by the province, including coordination with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, to ensure that projects can proceed quickly, and fully funded, in the best and balanced interests of public safety and the environment.