Whereas the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation regulates development within a riparian assessment area and a local government cannot approve a development application until an assessment report from a qualified environmental professional QEP has been submitted through the Riparian Areas Regulation Notification and approved by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship; And whereas the Ministry response time to review QEP reports continues to increase, unreasonably delaying local government development and significantly impacting local economies; And whereas the effectiveness of the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation relies on local government compliance which is compromised by the Ministrys lack of resources and inability to respond in a timely manner: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Province to grant local governments the authority to accept and review qualified environmental professions QEP reports for developments within its own jurisdiction.
