Part 1: Navigating changes to the Environmental Regulations for construction around water: Fisheries Act, BC RAPR, and BC Water Sustainability Act

Recorded on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

Speaker: Heather Taylor, R.P.Bio.

Learn about environmental regulations for projects in or around a watercourse (ephemeral streams, wetlands, and lakes). Regulations evolve, and it can be hard to keep up! Learn about recent regulation changes and updates, and get some tips, tricks, and timelines for navigating permitting requirements in different regions of the province. Topics include:

• 2019 changes to the Federal Fisheries Act
• 2019 changes to the BC Riparian Areas Protection Regulation
• An overview of the BC Water Sustainability Act

Heather will also touch on changes to the Canadian Navigable Waters Act and Impact Assessment Act. Understanding regulations will help plan your project to deliver projects on time.

 

Thanks for your interest. Watch the recording of part 1 below.

Part 2: Bioengineering and wetland creation to improve community resilience to flood and drought

Recorded on Thursday, June 18, 2020.

Speaker: Carrie Nadeau, R.P.Bio.

Learn how constructed wetlands and riparian restoration can help communities prepare, adapt, and mitigate climate change effects.   

Climate change brings fluctuations in water availability and increased flooding, which can cause wide-spread infrastructure and property damage. Natural watercourses and wetlands help provide resiliency to mitigate these effects and protect properties and infrastructure. Bioengineering is a technique used to stabilize slopes using live materials. It is a collaboration between biologists and engineers to address slope stability, restore natural ecological function, and improve watershed health and resiliency. Wetland construction is also a collaboration and requires buy-in from local governments and developers. Bioengineering and wetland creation can be a win-win scenario. 

Learn how to identify project sites, plan, design, obtain BC permits, and restore areas using constructed wetland and bioengineering techniques. This insight will help you get your projects shovel ready.

 

Thanks for your interest. Watch the recording of part 2 below.

Part 3: Unlocking the mystery of environmental flow needs and how they fit in your surface water withdrawal or groundwater dewatering project 

Recorded on Tuesday, June 23, 2020.

Speaker: Drew Lejbak, M.Sc.

Learn about the BC Water Sustainability Act, and how environmental flow needs (EFNs) must be considered when planning current or future surface and/or groundwater withdrawals. Municipal governments and project planners need to understand how environmental flow needs affect their applications for surface and groundwater licences. EFNs are the volume and timing of water flow required for the proper functioning of the aquatic ecosystem of a stream.

Thanks for your interest. Watch the recording of part 3 below.

The facilitator for our “Getting to Shovel-Ready" webinar series is Marta Green, P.Geo. Marta is a Senior Hydrogeologist in our BC/Yukon Division. Marta specialises in water planning, including source water protection plans, groundwater supply development, and groundwater licensing and related technical studies. Marta is a regular speaker at provincial water-related conferences, is a regional director with the BC Ground Water Association and represents BCGWA on the Okanagan Basin Water Board’s Water Stewardship Council. 

Heather Taylor, P.Ag., R.P.Bio., is an aquatic biologist and Associated’s regulatory specialist, hence the widely used term, “ask Heather”. She is an accomplished project manager, leading and delivering multi-disciplinary projects on-time and on-budget for municipal and provincial government clients. In addition to managing projects, her role is to focus on environmental permitting for small and large-scale developments, fish, amphibian, and reptile sampling, salvage and habitat assessments, and bird surveys.  

Heather is on the Bishop Wild Bird Foundation board of directors, and is an avid mountain biker and trail runner - hobbies that fulfill her love of nature and all things furry, feathered, and finned. 

Carrie Nadeau, R.P.Bio., is a biologist with a passion for restoration. Her background in fisheries and vegetation ecology is woven into riparian and wetland restoration projects. She plans and implements municipal and provincial projects, including grant-funded work and policy review. Her efforts help to create a climate-resilient and improved landscape. Carrie is currently president of the Columbia Mountain Institute of Applied Ecology, a volunteer position where she collaborates with fellow ecology enthusiasts.   

Drew Lejbak, M.Sc., is the lead Hydrologist at Associated, providing water resource management guidance for both the private and public sectors. He has led drought and flood planning studies in the Southern Interior, contributing to plans in water scarce areas with a focus on balancing water supplies for communities and the environment, i.e. how to plan for low water and maintain aquatic life. On a collaborative team, Drew helped to set environmental flow needs in the Okanagan Region, a necessary component to support decision making and long-term water planning.