WHEREAS the Ministry of Environment carries responsibility for the overall water quality of lake systems in the province and originally recognized the negative impacts of invasive aquatic species within its lakes by funding milfoil control programs; AND WHEREAS local governments have, since 1999, been required to assume these programs and fund same with taxes collected from local property owners without contribution from the Province; AND WHEREAS the Province assumes a far greater benefit from enhancements to the lake recreation tourism industry than do local property owners: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities lobby the provincial government to reinstate funding support for active milfoil control programs.
Ministry of Environment Currently, the Ministry of Environment Ministry does not fund control for aquatic plants in water bodies, or operate programs to manage these invasive species. The previous milfoil control program, operated by the Ministry in the 1970-80s, was determined to be outside of the core mandate of the Ministry, and has been discontinued. The management of invasive species, such as milfoil, is the responsibility of local government. Some funding is available for invasive plant control through the Ministry of Community Services, on a cost-sharing basis. RESPONSE: Ministry of Community Services Local governments can apply to the Ministry of Community Services for both Infrastructure Planning Grants andor capital works grants such as the recently announced Canada-BC Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund. These grants provide funding for local government infrastructure projects which, among other things, improve drinking water quality. If milfoil was determined to be negatively impacting water quality in a communitys drinking water supply, then a project to manage and mitigate the milfoil problem may be considered an eligible project.