Whereas the accumulation of gravel, sediment and debris such as trees and other obstructions in an active creek bed aggradation can increase flood hazards on alluvial fans and promote erosion of previously deposited materials, and an environmentally appropriate in-stream sediment and obstruction management program can be an important part of a local governments flood hazard mitigation program; And whereas careful consideration needs to be given to the scale of intended actions, and recognizing that much larger excavations done under emergency conditions during flood events could greatly increase the scale of unintended actions to the environment; And whereas removal of gravel and obstructions from creek beds as a means of managing water surface elevations is possible, the regulatory requirements are relatively complex, and the timing of the various steps must be considered well in advance of the intended works since the approval process needs to be completed prior to nesting periods and fisheries work windows: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the provincial government and federal government to work with local governments to streamline the regulatory processes and develop management guidelines, best practices, policies, and regulations to permit local governments to perform sediment and obstruction removal work, in the most minimally disturbing way to aquatic habitats, in streambeds in order to minimize flooding during heavy-rain events; And be it further resolved that the development of these stream-bed management guidelines, best practices, policies, and regulations be given high priority.
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development The Province recognizes the importance to public safety that flood hazard mitigation work be undertaken expediently, and does its best to expedite the approval process for these works. Under the Water Sustainability Act, the Province must meet its statutory obligations to evaluate and manage impacts on water users, the environment and First Nations. These obligations take time and cannot be delegated. Local authorities can help streamline the approval process by submitting applications in sufficient time as to be processed to meet work windows.
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans DFO supports the concept of an environmentally-appropriate in-stream sediment and obstruction management program. The Department understands that this can be an important part of a local governments flood hazard mitigation program. The Province of British Columbia has jurisdiction for flood hazard planning and mitigation. DFO would be open to working with British Columbia and the Union of BC Municipalities to ensure that flood planning and response is done effectively and meets the needs for fish and fish habitat. Concerns about potential flooding are most appropriately addressed by the Province of British Columbia. In 2015, Canada established the National Disaster Mitigation Program. This five-year cost-shared program works to reduce the impacts of flooding on Canadians. This program is managed by the Disaster Mitigation Team with the Province of British Columbia, and they can be reached by email at: embcdisastermitigationgov.bc.ca