Q-2, r. 9.1 - Regulation respecting compensation for adverse effects on wetlands and bodies of water

Updated to 1 December 2019

This document has official status.

chapter Q-2, r. 9.1

Regulation respecting compensation for adverse effects on wetlands and bodies of water

Environment Quality Act

(chapter Q-2, ss. 46.0.3, 46.0.5, 46.0.12 and 95.1).

CHAPTER I GENERAL

O.C. 1242-2018, c. I.

1. This Regulation provides the rules applicable to the compensation regime for adverse effects on wetlands and bodies of water provided for in Division V.1 of Chapter IV of Title I of the Environment Quality Act (chapter Q-2), herein called the “Act”. It determines in particular the activities that are exempt from the requirement to compensate, the calculation method of the amount of the financial contribution payable as compensation and the cases in which the financial contribution may be replaced by work carried out to restore or create wetlands and bodies of water.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 1; I.N. 2019-12-01.

2. This Regulation applies to the entire territory of Québec situated south of the 49th parallel, except the part of the territory covered by section 133 of the Act.

North of the 49th parallel, it applies

(1)  to the part of the territory covered by the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, including île d’Anticosti;

(2)  to part of the territory situated south of the St. Lawrence Estuary and of the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and

(3)  to the territories listed in Schedule I.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 2.

3. Where this Regulation applies, it covers every immovable, including immovables in a reserved area or an agricultural zone established under the Act respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural activities (chapter P-41.1).

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 3.

4. For the purposes of this Regulation, the words “littoral zone”, “lakeshore” and “riverbank” and “floodplain” have the same meaning assigned to them by the Protection Policy for Lakeshores, Riverbanks, Littoral Zones and Floodplains (chapter Q-2, r. 35).

In addition, unless provided otherwise, the St. Lawrence Estuary, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the seas surrounding Québec are, in accordance with the third paragraph of section 46.0.2 of the Act, included in the term watercourse.

Lastly, every body to which the Government or a minister appoints the majority of the members, to which, by law, the personnel is appointed in accordance with the Public Service Act (chapter F-3.1.1), or at least half of whose capital stock is derived from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, is a public body.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 4.

CHAPTER II ACTIVITIES EXEMPT FROM THE REQUIREMENT TO COMPENSATE

O.C. 1242-2018, c. II.

5. The following projects and work are exempt from the payment of a financial contribution payable under the first paragraph of section 46.0.5 of the Act to compensate for adverse effects on wetlands and bodies of water:

(1)  projects that result in a loss of the surface area of a wetland or body of water equal to or less than 30 m2;

(2)  work to improve the ecological functions of a wetland or body of water;

Not in force

(3)  except where work is also carried out in a wetland or in the littoral zone or the shore or bank of a lake or watercourse:

(a)  work carried out in the 0-20 year floodplain of a lake or watercourse, if it is demonstrated that the work will not result in a decrease of the flood routing capacity;

(b)  work carried out in the 20-100 year floodplain of a lake or watercourse;

(c)  work in the floodplain of a lake or watercourse whose 0-20 and 20-100 year floodplain are not distinguished from one another, if it is demonstrated that the work will not result in a decrease of the flood routing capacity;

(4)  work carried out after an activity referred to in section 31.0.12 of the Act;

(5)  activities exempted from the environmental impact assessment and review procedure under section 31.7.1 of the Act and work carried out following such activities;

(6)  work subject to a general authorization within the meaning of section 31.0.5.1 of the Act and work referred to in section 105 of the Municipal Powers Act (chapter C-47.1);

(7)  work related to the construction or alteration of a building used by a municipal fire safety service, a police force, a 9-1-1 emergency centre or a secondary emergency call centre governed by the Civil Protection Act (chapter S-2.3);

(8)  work for the maintenance dredging of a channel developed for navigation purposes, a port or municipal, commercial or industrial wharf, and the release of sediment in open water related to the work, where it is carried out on a site where such releases have already been authorized;

(9)  work for the maintenance or stabilization of an outlet or a water withdrawal facility;

(10)  work related to slope stabilization work by means of phytotechnologies carried out on the shore, bank or littoral zone of a lake or watercourse;

(11)  work for beach nourishment to counter the effects of erosion;

(12)  the establishment and operation of a cranberry or blueberry farm;

(13)  where the activities are carried out in a forest other than a forest in the domain of the State, except activities referred to in subparagraphs a and b of paragraph 1 of section 1 of the Regulation respecting the application of the Environment Quality Act (chapter Q-2, r. 3),

(a)  forest development activities referred to in subparagraphs a to e of paragraph 2 of section 3 of the Regulation respecting the application of the Environment Quality Act (chapter Q-2, r. 3) carried out in a peatland;

(b)  forest development activities carried out in a treed swamp.

For the purpose of this section, the term “forest development activities” has the same meaning as that assigned by paragraph 1 of section 4 of the Sustainable Forest Development Act (chapter A-18.1).

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 5.

CHAPTER III CALCULATION OF THE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION

O.C. 1242-2018, c. III.

6. The amount of the financial contribution is calculated using the following formula:

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 6.

7. The basic cost for creating or restoring a wetland or body of water “bc” is set at $20/m2.

The cost is adjusted on 1 January of each year according to the rate calculated in the manner provided for in section 83.3 of the Financial Administration Act (chapter A-6.001).

The adjustment is reduced to the nearest dollar if it contains a fraction of a dollar less than $0.50; it is increased to the nearest dollar if it contains a fraction of a dollar equal to or greater than $0.50.

The Minister publishes the results of the adjustment by a notice in the Gazette officielle du Québec or by any other means the Minister considers appropriate.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 7.

8. For the purpose of calculating the financial contribution, the surface area of the portion of the wetland or body of water subject to compensation for the loss of wildlife habitat is exempt from the surface area of the portion of the wetland or body of water in which the activity is carried out.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 8.

9. Where an activity is carried out in a wetland situated in any of the following bodies of water, the financial contribution is calculated as follows:

(1)  in the littoral zone of a lake or watercourse, in accordance with the parameters provided for in Schedule III applicable to the littoral zone and at the value of factor “R” determined in Schedule IV applicable to a body of water;

Not in force

(2)  in the lakeshore or riverbank, in accordance with the parameters provided for in Schedule III applicable to the lakeshore or riverbank and at the value of factor “R” determined in Schedule IV applicable to a body of water;

Not in force

(3)  in a floodplain of a lake or watercourse, in accordance with the parameters provided for in Schedule II applicable to a wetland and at the value of factor “R” determined in Schedule IV applicable to a wetland.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 9.

CHAPTER IV REPLACEMENT OF THE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION

O.C. 1242-2018, c. IV.

10. The Minister may, in accordance with the second paragraph of section 46.0.5 of the Act, allow the replacement of all or part of the payment of the financial contribution by work carried out to restore or create wetlands or bodies of water in the case of the following work:

(1)  work related to a road infrastructure, a bike path, a hiking trail, a water management or treatment facility referred to in section 32 of the Act or an electric power transmission and distribution network, where the work is carried out by a department, a public body or an entity that has jurisdiction on any of the territories listed in Schedule IV;

(2)  exploration work referred to in section 108 of the Regulation respecting mineral substances other than petroleum, natural gas and brine (chapter M-13.1, r. 2);

(3)  work for mining mineral substances within the meaning of section 1 of the Mining Act (chapter M-13.1), other than petroleum, natural gas and brine;

(4)  cultivation of a parcel of land for market crops production and the expansion of such a parcel of land;

(5)  work carried out in an industrial park, within the meaning of section 32 of the Act respecting the exercise of certain municipal powers in certain urban agglomerations (chapter E-20.001), or as part of the development of such park.

To do so, the applicant must, when informed of the amount of the required financial contribution, submit to the Minister a plan of the work to restore or create wetlands or bodies of water that the applicant proposes to carry out to replace that financial contribution.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 10.

11. The holder of a ministerial authorization is required to pay the financial contribution where the replacement work referred to in section 10 has not been carried out within the time periods set out in the authorization.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 11.

CHAPTER V REIMBURSEMENT OF THE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION

O.C. 1242-2018, c. V.

12. In addition to the case provided for in section 46.0.9 of the Act, the Minister may reimburse, in whole or in part, the financial contribution paid by the holder of a ministerial authorization in the following cases:

(1)  the work resulted in a loss of surface area in a wetland or body of water less than that authorized;

(2)  the work was subject to compensation for a loss of wildlife habitat after the issue of the authorization.

The amount of the reimbursable contribution corresponds, as the case may be, to the surface area of the wetland or body of water that has not been affected by the work or the surface area subject to compensation for the loss of wildlife habitat.

In the case provided for in subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph, the application for reimbursement of the authorization holder must be accompanied by a study signed by any of the persons referred to in paragraph 1 of section 46.0.3 of the Act confirming the boundaries and surface area of the portion of the wetland or body of water affected by the work.

In the case provided for in subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph, the application for reimbursement must be accompanied by proof that the adverse effects on the wetland or body of water was subject to compensation for the loss of wildlife habitat.

Where the application for reimbursement is accepted, the Minister, depending on the applicable situation, amends or revokes the authorization concerned.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 12.

CHAPTER VI FINAL

O.C. 1242-2018, c. VI.

13. Where a cranberry or blueberry farm ceases to operate, the wetlands or bodies of water affected must be returned to the state they were in before the operation began or to a state approaching it, according to the conditions provided for that purpose in the authorization.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 13.

14. This Regulation is assessed 2 years after it comes into force and every 5 years thereafter on the basis of the progress in the applicable scientific and technical knowledge on that matter.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 14.

15. This Regulation comes into force on the fifteenth day following the date of its publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec, except subparagraph 3 of the first paragraph of section 5, paragraphs 2 and 3 of section 9 and subdivisions 2 and 3 of Divisions I and II of Schedule III that take effect on the date on which paragraph 1 of section 5 of the Regulation respecting certain transitional measures to carry out the Act to amend the Environment Quality Act to modernize the environmental authorization scheme and to amend other legislative provisions, in particular to reform the governance of the Green Fund (chapter Q-2, r. 32.1) is revoked.

O.C. 1242-2018, s. 15.

SCHEDULE I

(s. 2)

TERRITORY IN WHICH THE REGULATION APPLIES NORTH OF THE 49TH PARALLEL AND NORTH OF THE St. LAWRENCE ESTUARY AND THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE

  

O.C. 1242-2018, Sch. I.

SCHEDULE II

(ss. 5 and 6)

ADVERSE EFFECTS ON WETLANDS – DETERMINATION OF THE VALUE OF FACTORS “If INI” AND “NI”

  

O.C. 1242-2018, Sch. II.

SCHEDULE III

(ss. 6 and 9)

ADVERSE EFFECTS ON BODIES OF WATER – DETERMINATION OF THE VALUE OF FACTORS “If INI” AND “NI”

Subdivisions 2 and 3 of Divisions I and II of Schedule III will take effect on the date on which paragraph 1 of section 5 of the Regulation respecting certain measures to facilitate the carrying out of the Environment Quality Act and its regulations (chapter Q-2, r. 32.1) will be revoked.

  

O.C. 1242-2018, Sch. III.

SCHEDULE IV

(ss. 6, 9 and 10)

CALCULATION OF THE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION – DETERMINATION OF THE VALUE OF FACTORS “R” AND “vl”

  

O.C. 1242-2018, Sch. IV.

REFERENCES

O.C. 1242-2018, 2018 G.O. 2, 4533