WHEREAS the health of British Columbia lakes and rivers is deteriorating due to increasing pollution, recreational use, development, and insufficient regulatory enforcement by senior levels of government; AND WHEREAS local governments do not have adequate regulatory powers or the funding capacity to sufficiently protect local lakes and rivers: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of British Columbia restore funding and resources to provincial ministries to ensure the adequate protection of BC lakes and rivers, or provide the enabling regulatory authority and financial means to local governments to properly protect and manage lakes and rivers at the local level, should they so wish.
Ministry of Environment Ministry of Forests, Lands Natural Resource Operations Governments 2010 Lakeshore Development Compliance project identified low compliance with the requirement to obtain an authorization under the Water Act for modifications to the lakeshore or meet bylaw requirements under the Riparian Areas Regulation. The report also suggested that there are significant impacts to aquatic habitat as a result of non-authorized shoreline work. The provincial government is currently reviewing the results of this study to determine what can be done to enhance the effectiveness of current programs and regulations which protect the Provinces lakes and rivers. Protection of lakes and streams is also being addressed through the following initiatives: The provincial government continues to support local collaborative processes and mechanisms such as the Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process SLIPP and the Cowichan Watershed Board to improve agency coordination, public outreach and compliance. The Riparian Areas Regulation provides that named local governments must use the tools available to them in Part 26 of the Local Government Act to not approve or allow stream or lakeside development unless riparian fish habitat is maintained, protected, andor provided with an opportunity of recovery. The Province, through its Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement with UBCM and DFO, continues to work with local governments to meet their regulatory requirements in bringing in and implementing effective bylaws, in particular ensuring their ability to deal with non-compliant development activities that impact stream and lakefront fish habitat. The Province is developing a new Water Sustainability Act that builds on and will replace the current Water Act. Under the proposed new act, provincial water objectives will be established and the opportunity to employ different governance approaches and new tools such as water sustainability plans will be enabled to support increased collaboration and participation. The Province is also reviewing Part 7 of the Water Regulation Changes in and about a Stream. A primary objective of the review is to identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness of the regulation to ensure that water quality, fish and wildlife habitat are not compromised. Funding for additional staff and resources must be evaluated in the context of the provincial governments overall priorities.