LATEST NEWS

Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) has released the Draft Alberta Risk Management Plan Guide for contaminated sites and is seeking input from stakeholders, site managers and environmental professionals.  Contaminated sites are created by the release of a substance or substances into the environment, and regulatory concerns arise when those substance(s) are capable of causing adverse effects on human health, the environment, safety or property.

The Guide provides information on AEP and Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) contaminated site requirements and provides guidance for defining when risk management would be considered over remediation or in association with remediation to manage risk. The Guide also includes a Risk Management Plan Checklist to support the development of risk management plans for submission to AEP or AER.

The Guide supports provisions outlined in a number of provincial policies and legislation, including the Alberta Contaminated Sites Policy Framework and the Alberta Exposure Control Guide.

AEP is accepting feedback until August 31, 2016 and are requesting that input only be submitted in the provided Excel spreadsheet and to attach and submit comments by email to Land.Management@gov.ab.ca.

Please include “Risk Management Plan Guide Feedback” as the subject of any submissions.

Enquiries may be directed to:

Tasha Blumenthal Policy Analyst 780.955.4094

Kim Heyman Director of Advocacy & Communications 780.955.4079

The AAMDC was recently informed of recommended dates for mailing and shipping in advance of a potential work disruption resulting from labour negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.  With tax and assessment notices due to go out in the near future if not already, we thought the dates below would be of particular interest.

Canada Post has expressed that new collective agreements may be reached but is encouraging customers to take precautions for mailing and shipping in the event that a labour disruption occurs.  In the event of a full labour disruption, Canada Post will not operate and any mail and parcels within the postal system will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume.

To ensure delivery prior to this potential disruption occurring, customers are encouraged to send items on or before the dates below:

Mail and Publications
Neighbourhood Mail (National)	June 15
Publications Mail & Personalized Mail (non-machineable)	June 17
Personalized Mail (machineable), Lettermail &  Neighbourhood Mail (Local)	June 23
Parcels and Packets
Regular Parcel (National)	June 16
Regular Parcel (Regional)	June 22
Regular Parcel (Local)	June 27
Expedited Parcel (National)	June 21
Expedited Parcel (Regional)	June 27
Expedited Parcel (Local)	June 29
Xpresspost (National & Regional)	June 28
Xpresspost (Local)	June 29
Priority(National, Regional & Local)	June 29

 

Enquiries may be directed to:

Tasha Blumenthal Policy Analyst 780.955.4094

Kim Heyman Director, Advocacy & Communications 780.955.4079

 

With district meetings approaching, the AAMDC are reminding members of the important role resolutions play in guiding the association’s advocacy efforts. To maximize these efforts, having well-written resolutions that are clear, concise and include pertinent information is essential.

What makes a good AAMDC resolution?

• Resolutions should address issues that are provincial in scope and not focus on local issues.


• Resolutions should influence legislative changes that will impact rural municipalities.


• The issue identified in a resolution should clearly demonstrate that the AAMDC is the best organization to advocate on moving it forward.


• The structure of resolutions is important. They must have a title, preamble, operative clause and member background.

What tools are available to help members draft good resolutions?

When drafting a resolution, members are encouraged to review the AAMDC’s Resolution Writing Tips. In addition, AAMDC staff are available to provide resolution templates and feedback on draft resolutions and the resolution writing process. Any members wishing to take advantage of this service are encouraged to contact Tasha Blumenthal, Policy Analyst, at 780.955.4094 or via email at tasha@aamdc.com.

The deadline to submit resolutions for the fall 2016 convention is October 17, 2016. Complete, district-approved resolutions meeting the above requirements MUST be emailed in a Microsoft Word format to tasha@aamdc.com by the aforementioned deadline.

 

Enquiries may be directed to:

Tasha Blumenthal Policy Analyst 780.955.4094

Kim Heyman Director of Advocacy and Communications 780.955.4079

Since the Government of Alberta tabled Bill 21: Modernized Municipal Government Act in the Legislature, staff from the AAMDC have travelled the province to meet with members on the proposed changes with one more consultation being being held on June 20^th in Peace River (St. Isidore Cultural Centre, St. Isidore). Members who have not been able to attend the AAMDC sessions in their own district are invited to attend this session. Click here to register.

In addition to the AAMDC member consultations, the AAMDC has also prepared a guide to the new MGA as well as a workbook for members to complete.

The AAMDC Guide to the Modernized MGA can be accessed here.

The AAMDC Workbook on the Modernized MGA can be accessed here.

The workbook is intended to allow members to provide feedback on specific issues raised in the MGA but do not feel obligated to complete the entire workbook. The deadline for workbook submission will be June 30^th, 2016. To submit the workbook to the AAMDC, they can be emailed to Policy Analyst, Matt Dow at matt.dow@aamdc.com or mailed to the AAMDC at:

c/o Matt Dow
2510 Sparrow Drive
Nisku, AB
T9E 8N5

The AAMDC will be using the feedback received from the member consultations, the workbooks and a forthcoming survey to identify advocacy priorities for the AAMDC, which will be submitted to Alberta Municipal Affairs for consideration as the legislation is brought back in the fall for a final vote. The AAMDC will also be assembling a ‘What We Heard’ document which will be available in the near future.

The Government of Alberta is also holding their ownconsultations across the province. To register for these events, click here. AAMDC members are reminded that this legislation is a draft and members are encouraged to participate in MGA related events to ensure the rural voice is heard in these conversations.

Please stay tuned through Contact to learn how members can provide additional input to the AAMDC.

Enquiries may be directed to:

Matt Dow Policy Analyst 780.955.4085

Kim Heyman Director of Advocacy and Communications 780.955.4079

Access to reliable broadband is critical to the development of any community. This is particularly true in rural municipalities which are often located far from services such as banks and educational institutions.

Both the Government of Canada and Government of Alberta have recently recognized the importance of broadband access. In the 2016 federal budget, the Government of Canada committed up to $500 million towards enhancing rural broadband access, although the details of how the funding will be allocated are not yet available. The government of Alberta is expected to review the purpose and effectiveness of the Alberta SuperNet in connecting Alberta’s communities prior to signing a new contract for a SuperNet provider in 2018.

In advance of these federal and provincial initiatives, the AAMDC would like to gather member input on broadband – specifically the role that rural municipalities play in investing in broadband infrastructure and other strategies to attract ISPs to rural areas, and how rural municipalities perceive the role, effectiveness, and future purpose of the Alberta SuperNet.

To gather this information, the AAMDC has developed a surveyfor members to complete. The survey is divided into two main sections: “Municipalities and Broadband Development” and “Municipalities and the Alberta SuperNet.”

Completion of this survey will be very important to helping the AAMDC understand member priorities related broadband development and the Alberta SuperNet, and will strengthen the AAMDC’s advocacy efforts on both fronts.

To complete the survey, click here. The deadline for completion is July 8, 2016.

Enquiries may be directed to:

Wyatt Skovron Policy Analyst 780.955.4096

Kim Heyman Director, Advocacy and Communications 780.955.4079

The federal Wastewater System Effluent Regulations(WSER) came into effect in 2012 and includes mandatory minimum effluent quality standards for wastewater treatment systems that handle more than 100 cubic metres (m³) of wastewater per day, which serves roughly 200 or more people.

Under the WSER, municipalities who have systems that meet this volume threshold are required to undertake reporting to ensure compliance. A complete list of reporting municipalities is available here.  If your municipality has a wastewater treatment plant handling 100m³ or more and is not on this list, it is at risk of being penalized for not reporting and failing to meet effluent standards. Environment Canada’s anticipated enforcement will start with outreach and progress to penalties under the Fisheries Act similar to the $70,000 fine charged to an Alberta municipality in 2011 for discharging a deleterious substance into a waterbody containing fish.

Harmonizing standards

Until WSER came into effect, municipalities only needed to comply with and report on provincial regulations. Alberta’s municipal associations have been calling for the provincial and federal governments to complete an equivalency agreement needed to harmonize wastewater standards and reduce the administrative burden on municipalities. However, it was recently determined that Alberta’s standards cannot be deemed as equivalent because they are set out in provincial policies and guidelines as opposed to being codified in regulations.  In response to this issue, the Government of Alberta now has three options:

• Continue to pursue an equivalency agreement by updating provincial regulations


• Pursue an administrative agreement where both regulations apply, but the province is delegated authority to administer certain aspects of the federal regulation


• Maintain the status quo

Of these options, pursuing an equivalency agreement would likely provide the most benefit to municipalities as it would harmonize reporting requirements and provide a clear regulatory framework for wastewater effluent. Regardless of the option pursued, municipal systems that handle more than 100 m³ of wastewater per day need to meet the effluent quality standards set out in the WSER. Additional developments will be shared as they become available.

Enquiries may be directed to:

Tasha Blumenthal Policy Analyst 780.955.4094

Kim Heyman Director of Advocacy & Communications 780.955.4079