On December 9, 2020, ERO…

On December 9, 2020, ERO Number 019-2814 – Drainage Act Regulatory Proposal was posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario for comment. The following are comments for review and considerations:

Process for Minor Improvements to Municipal Drains

The proposed process for minor improvements to municipal drains does not provide a simplified method for completing minor improvements. The proposed process will likely put added pressures on drainage engineers which will cause back log in getting full drainage engineer’s reports completed in a timely fashion. It may also be likely that engineer’s become resistant to take these projects on knowing that they have such a narrow window through which they are to complete these types of reports. Furthermore, there seems to be a lack of comprehensive description of what projects would be considered “minor improvement” under the proposed amendments to the Act. Also, documentation provided thus far have listed “Prescribed Persons” as being made part of the minor improvement process, but goes no further in describing who these persons are. The proposed regulation should include a description of “minor improvement” projects as well as “Prescribed Persons”. Frankly, without knowing these details, it is extremely difficult to endorse this proposed amendment to the Drainage Act.

In addition, Municipalities may elect to forego this new process altogether knowing that the normal public discourse and participation has been stripped away, leaving them open for scrutiny and accusations of operating without transparency. However, should Municipalities elect to continue with the business of drainage using existing Drainage Act methods (ie. Sections 78), landowners feeling that their right to see their needs met as a “minor improvement” project has been ignored, could challenge the Municipality’s decision to the Referee. This could leave Municipalities in a difficult spot; measuring their belief in the proper implementation of the Drainage Act and what is equitable for residents, against moving forward with a process that may not be suitable to the application.

Adoption of Drainage Act and Conservation Authorities Protocol (DART Protocol)

In the past, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Natural Resources under the Conservation Ontario held a meeting to deal with inconsistencies on methods for Drainage Superintendents and Conservation Officers in in utilizing their respective Act for projects under the Drainage. Out of the original meetings, the DART Group created a guideline called the DART Protocol. The DART Protocol is a document that is utilized by the Drainage and Conservation communities since 2012. In its current form, the DART Protocol has completed the objective of ensuring the Drainage Act and Conservation Act are working in harmony for municipal drain projects throughout Ontario.

Since this time, the DART group has not met to review the Protocol or to review other issues that has arisen after the implementation of the DART Protocol. Annually, the Drainage Superintendent Association of Ontario meet to hear the updated and changes in the drainage industry. One of the agenda items is information coming from the DART Group meetings. Year in and year out, the DART Group has not held a meeting to discuss and review the DART Protocol, rendering this agenda item perpetually vacant with nothing to report to the DSAO. There has been no follow-up in the implementation and there is no forum for Drainage Superintendents and Conservation Authority to manage conflicts as they arise.

It is unfortunate that the Ontario Government needs to make regulation for the DART Protocol and the DART Group in order to have Government Ministries to be able to plan meetings and strike a working group. Furthermore, the DART Protocol should remain a guidance tool for both the Conservation Authorities and Drainage Superintendents to utilize for municipal drainage projects under the Drainage Act. It should not be integrated into the fabric of the Drainage Act as proposed

Please take the comments in this submission in consideration of the proposed regulation changes to the Drainage Act.