The proposed changes to the…

The proposed changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System are a significant step in the wrong direction for the people of Ontario. Wetlands are going to be an integral part of Ontario’s strategy to mitigate the effects and stress on Ontario’s communities caused by climate change. I am concerned that the proposed changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System will accelerate wetland losses and degrade other significant wetlands in southern Ontario. It is estimated that southern Ontario has already lost greater than 70 percent of its original wetlands.

The storm sewer infrastructure of many urban areas of southern Ontario is already struggling to manage the flooding associated with urbanization and wetland loss. Protecting and restoring wetland cover in these urban areas of southern Ontario is critical to avoid the problems experienced in our older communities and to mitigate and adapt to the expected negative effects of climate change. The damage to property and the risk to human life resulting from additional wetland losses will cost Ontario’s taxpayers and businesses. It is more cost-effective to protect Ontario’s existing natural wetlands.

The following is a list of concerns and recommendations in response to the proposed changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System. Where applicable page references in the Proposed Updates to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System document have been provided.

1. Approval for the Wetland Evaluations

The proposed changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System seem to indicate that the Province intends to abandon its responsibility for overseeing the administration of the OWES and the protection of Ontario’s significant wetlands. There are several proposed edits that strike-out references to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry “administering (p. 3), advising (p. 4) and approving (p. 7)” wetland evaluations. The proposed changes also strive to “Make changes to better recognize the professional opinion of wetland evaluators and the role of local decision makers (e.g. municipalities)”.
The proposed changes suggest that the Province may be considering downloading responsibility for approving wetland evaluations to local municipalities. The vast majority of municipalities currently lack the staff or expertise needed to assess the correctness and completeness of the evaluation to properly support the approval process.

In addition, downloading this responsibility to the municipalities is an inefficient use of tax dollars. Downloading to the municipalities would require each municipality to hire or train staff or rely on external consultants, which is more costly, to provide the knowledge and expertise necessary to properly assess and approve wetland evaluations. There has been recent pressure from the development industry to have municipalities accept the developer's consultant’s opinion on the significance of natural heritage features associated with the development to make land use planning decisions. This is a conflict of interest. The consultants working on these environmental studies are retained by the developer and are working for the interests of their clients, not the municipality. This puts significant natural heritage features and the interests of the people of the municipality and Ontario at risk. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry provides a more cost-effective service by providing the needed knowledge and expertise to all of the municipalities in its District.
Oversight by the Province will also ensure the quality of wetland evaluations and that the application of wetlands policies is fair and consistent and protects the interests of the people of Ontario.

The hydrologic and ecologic functions of wetlands are strongly influenced by the characteristics of the surrounding landscape (e.g. proximity to other natural areas, the amount of impermeable surfaces, and the quality of water within the wetland’s catchment). These functions cross property and municipal boundaries. Wetlands must be managed at a landscape and watershed scale to protect their hydrologic and ecologic functions. Provincial oversight of the wetland evaluation has a better chance of ensuring that the hydrologic function of the wetland is properly assessed and considered in the evaluation. This cannot happen at the property or in some cases the municipal scale.

The Province also maintains a centralized repository of information and mapping of wetlands in Ontario. Municipalities, conservation authorities, consultants and academics rely on this important information to guide Ontario’s land use, resources and water management decisions. Reassigning responsibility for the administration and approval of wetland evaluation to municipalities or other external parties will result in the loss or corruption of some or all of this valuable and critical data set.

I recommend that the Province through the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry retain responsibility for administering and approving wetland evaluations.

2. Wetland Complexing

The proposed updates to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System strikes-out the wetland complex section and many references to the term.

The concept of wetland complexes in the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System addresses the hydrological and ecological functional relationship between wetlands in proximity to one another. Losing the concept of wetland complexes from OWES would result in the loss of smaller wetlands that support the hydrologic and ecologic functions and values of larger wetlands. This can cause an unintentional cascading effect that would degrade the function of the larger wetlands and produce further wetland losses.

Wetlands provide an important service to our communities by reducing the severity of damage caused by flooding and erosion during storms. The amount of wetland on the landscape relates to the ability of the land and our river systems to safely store and convey stormwater. Urban streams in areas with low wetland cover produce extreme and dangerous flows within minutes of the storm. In some urban streams, small intense summer storms cause hazardous conditions to develop so quickly that conservation authorities and emergency services cannot provide sufficient advance warning to the community downstream. The loss of additional wetlands resulting from these proposed changes to OWES will produce new hazard lands in our communities and put more people and property at risk.
I am concerned that removing the concept of wetland complexes will produce significant wetland losses resulting in less stormwater storage capacity in watersheds, increased flooding and erosion, increased risk to life and property, and unintended negative effects in the remaining wetlands and other significant natural heritage features and functions.

I recommend that the Province retain the concept and section of the Ontario Wetland Evaluation referring to wetland complexes.

3. Species At Risk

The Province proposes to remove scoring in the OWES for Species At Risk. It is important to recognize that wetlands provide multiple functions including habitat for species at risk. Species at Risk may have been observed in a particular wetland unit but it is very likely that the other wetlands also provide habitat for that species and would support the recovery of the species at risk. Typically, the application of the regulations under the Ontario Endangered Species Act focuses only on the wetland in which the species at risk was observed. The Ontario Wetland Evaluation System provides a landscape scale approach that is more likely to protect other habitats that support that species and contribute to its recovery.

I recommend that the Province keep the consideration of Species At Risk in the Ontario Wetland Evaluation.

4. Appendix 10 – Wetland Plant List

The proposed changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System intend to remove the Wetland Plant List in Appendix 10 as the authoritative list for delineating wetland boundaries.

This wetland plant list is intended to support the delineation of the authoritative and only list to be used to delineate wetland boundaries using the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System. The list is to be used to apply the 50% rule, and is not intended as an exhaustive list of all species that may be scored under the Special Features component.

I am concerned that this will result in a lot of arguments and inconsistencies in the identification and evaluation of wetlands. One botanist or biologist will say that it is a wetland while another says it is not. Likewise, one botanist or biologist will say that the wetland starts here while another says it starts over there. This conflict could result in the miss identification and delineation of wetlands and result in a loss of wetlands or a delay in the approval process.

The plant list was developed to address this issue and avoid this conflict. The species list was developed based on the consensus of botanical experts. I recommend that the province retain the Wetland Plant List in Appendix 10 as the authoritative list for delineating wetland boundaries in the application of the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System.

5. Wetlands and Climate Change Mitigation

I am also concerned that many of the proposed changes will result in significant wetland losses and impair our municipalities' ability to mitigate the negative effects of climate change.

Climate change in Ontario is expected to produce more intense rainfall, ice and windstorms, drought and heat waves. These events can cause damage to property and disruptions to critical infrastructure and businesses. Wetlands store, infiltrate and evaporate stormwater helping to reduce the severity of damage caused by flooding and erosion. Wetlands are a critical part of Ontario’s strategy to adapt to and mitigate the negative effects of climate change. Many wetlands are hydrologically connected to streams and other wetlands. The loss of smaller wetlands can have a cascading effect on the quality, health and functions of our rivers and other significant wetlands. Wetlands support communities that are resilient to threats caused by a changing climate. Unfortunately, wetlands are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Additional wetland losses will exasperate the effects of climate change on our communities and the remaining wetlands and other natural heritage. Losing wetlands will amplify this problem on the remaining wetlands.

6. Contradiction with Ontario’s Wetland Strategy

Finally, I am very concerned that many of the proposed changes will result in significant wetland losses which is inconsistent with Ontario’s Wetland Strategy which states;

By 2025, the net loss of wetland area and function is halted where wetland loss has been the greatest.

By 2030, a net gain in wetland area and function is achieved where wetland loss has been the greatest.

Again, I think that the proposed changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System are a significant step in the wrong direction for the future of Ontario. The notion that these changes are needed to provide more housing is false. There is an abundant supply of developable land on the urban fringe of many urban centers in southern Ontario. The Province and the development community are using the current economic and social challenges to dismantle Ontario’s environmental protections. This will benefit developers at the expense of Ontario’s future and the taxpayers.