Q-2, r. 0.1 - Regulation respecting activities in wetlands, bodies of water and sensitive areas

Section 33.1 Disposition versions

2022-03-01

33.1. The cultivation of non-aquatic plants and mushrooms is prohibited in the littoral zone and in a 3-metre-wide strip alongside the littoral zone, except if, for the part in the littoral zone, it is eligible for a declaration of compliance under section 335.1 of the Regulation respecting the regulatory scheme applying to activities on the basis of their environmental impact (chapter Q-2, r. 17.1), and declared in accordance with that Regulation, in which case the cultivation in the littoral zone and in the 3-metre-wide strip alongside the littoral zone must meet the following conditions:

(1)  on 1 December each year, the soil of the areas cultivated in the littoral zone by an operator must be entirely covered by rooted vegetation;

(2)  at least 10% of the area cultivated in the littoral zone by an operator must be planted with perennial plants;

(3)  in the vegetation strip that must be preserved in accordance with paragraph 1 of section 335.1 of the Regulation respecting the regulatory scheme applying to activities on the basis of their environmental impact, only the following activities are permitted:

(a)  seeding and planting plants to ensure the presence of the vegetation strip;

(b)  picking and pruning;

(c)  mowing, which may be performed only after 15 August each year and on condition that, by 1 November each year, the plants are at least 30 cm tall.

For the purposes of this section, if there is a bank, the distance must include a width of at least 1 m from the top of the bank.

For the purposes of subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph, wide-row crops such as corn and soy are not deemed to be a form of vegetation that covers the soil entirely unless they are combined with intercropping.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph, the vegetation strip may be included as a cultivated area in the calculation of the area cultivated with perennial plants.

Starting on 1 January 2023, subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph must be applied to 20% of the areas cultivated by an operator. The percentage must increase by 10% each year until all cultivated areas are covered.

O.C. 1596-2021, s. 40.