Last week, AAMDC and AUMA co-hosted a webinar titled Wetlands: Why? What? Who? How? which provided an opportunity for the province to respond to questions submitted by municipalities regarding Alberta’s Wetland Policy. A variety of questions were discussed during the webinar around how to better identify and conserve wetlands and improve alignment between provincial and municipal decision making processes.
The AAMDC would like to thank members who submitted questions. For those unable to participate, a recording of the webinar is available here.
Key insights from the webinar included the identification of tools available for municipalities to use in their implementation efforts, including:
- The Wetlands Application Checklist which is intended to assist applicants (including municipalities) through the application process. The checklist directs anyone proposing to destroy or otherwise impact a wetland to engage in a preliminary meeting the municipality in order to align development proposals with municipal plans and bylaws before seeking approvals from the province.
- The province’s Wetland Mitigation Directive outlines requirements for all activities that may have impacts on wetlands. The Directive stipulates that replacement of a wetland should occur within the boundaries of the municipality in which the wetland loss occurred.
The Government of Alberta reminded members that any municipality that suspects a wetland is being destroyed or impacted without the appropriate approvals is encouraged to call Alberta Environment’s Emergency Hotline at 1.800.222.6514.
There are still many questions to be answered as implementation of the Alberta Wetland Policy continues. AAMDC and AUMA will continue to pursue opportunities to provide municipalities with information and tools to support municipal wetland conservation efforts.
Enquiries may be directed to:
| Tasha Blumenthal Policy Analyst 780.955.4094 |
Kim Heyman Director of Advocacy & Communications 780.955.4079 |