This consolidation is unofficial and is for reference only.  For the official version of the regulations, consult the original documents on file with the Office of the Registrar of Regulations, or refer to the Royal Gazette Part II.
Regulations are amended frequently.  Please check the list of Regulations by Act to see if there are any recent amendments to these regulations filed with our office that are not yet included in this consolidation.
Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this electronic version, the Office of the Registrar of Regulations assumes no responsibility for any discrepancies that may have resulted from reformatting.
This electronic version is copyright © , Province of Nova Scotia, all rights reserved.  It is for your personal use and may not be copied for the purposes of resale in this or any other form.


French River Watershed Protected Water Area Regulations

made under subsections 106(1) and (6) of the

Environment Act

S.N.S. 1994-95, c. 1

N.S. Reg. 8/2022 (effective January 24, 2022)



Table of Contents


Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
Click here to go to the text of the regulations.

 

 

Citation

Definitions

Public notice requirements

Prohibition of landfills

Agriculture

Erosion and sediment control

Pits and quarries

Mining activities



 


Citation

1        These regulations may be cited as the French River Watershed Protected Water Area Regulations.


Definitions

2        In these regulations,

 

“Act” means the Environment Act;

 

“agricultural operation” means a farming unit within the Protected Water Area which

 

                              (i)      houses livestock or where livestock graze or are pastured, or

 

                              (ii)     has greater than 5 ha of land in forage production, crop production or pasture;

 

“Committee” means the French River Watershed Protection Advisory Committee that is a committee of the Municipality of Colchester established to advise the County on all matters related to water quality and quantity in the Protected Water Area;

 

“County” means the municipal corporation known as the Municipality of Colchester or its successors;

 

“Department” means the Department of Environment and Climate Change;

 

“detailed ground exploration” means exploration with ground disturbance, and includes drilling, blasting, test pitting, trenching, underground excavation, bulk sampling, stripping, road construction and watercourse alteration;

 

“development” means any general disturbance of earth or landscape for purposes of construction, and includes construction [of] all of the following:

 

                              (i)      roadways,

 

                              (ii)     residential dwellings,

 

                              (iii)    commercial establishments,

 

                              (iv)    industrial activity, including aggregate extraction,

 

                              (v)     campgrounds,

 

                              (vi)    trailer parks,

 

                              (vii)   parkland;

 

“French River” means the French River and its tributaries as identified on the National Topographical System (NTS) 1:50,000 scale mapping and located within the defined protected water supply area as shown on the map in Schedule “A” to the designation;

 

“mining activities” means the activities of extracting materials from the earth, such as minerals, metals, coal and hydrocarbons, including detailed ground exploration and processing;

 

“Minister” means the Minister of Environment and Climate Change;

 

“person” means a person as defined in the Act;

 

“processing” means those methods employed in the mining industry to clean, separate and prepare coal, metals and non-metallic minerals from mined material;

 

“Protected Water Area” means the land and water designated by the Minister pursuant to subsection 106(1) of the Act as the French River Watershed Protected Water Area, as described in Schedule “A” to the designation;

 

“Water Works Operator” means the Municipality of Colchester, operator of the Tatamagouche Water Utility.


Public notice requirements

3        (1)    The Water Works Operator must do all of the following:

 

                   (a)      post signs at appropriate locations to provide notice to the public of the designation of the Protected Water Area;

 

                   (b)     replace any signs posted under clause (a) that have been damaged or removed;

 

                   (c)      take appropriate measures to advertise and provide notice to the public of these regulations.

 

          (2)    A person must not remove or alter any sign, notice or advertisement posted by the Water Works Operator under clause 106(2)(c) of the Act.


Prohibition of landfills

4        (1)    A person must not dispose of waste or establish a dump, landfill, construction and demolition debris or waste disposal site within the Protected Water Area.

 

          (2)    A person who contravenes subsection (1) must immediately cease the activity and rehabilitate the site in the manner directed by the Water Works Operator.


Agriculture

5        (1)    Agricultural operations must maintain the following vegetated buffer strip from the French River or its tributaries:

 

                   (a)      5 m to pastureland;

 

                   (b)     10 m to a field that is row cropped.

 

          (2)    A person must not stockpile or accumulate manure in a non-contained manner within 100 m of the French River or its tributaries.


Erosion and sediment control

6        (1)    A person must not undertake any activity that causes or might cause soil erosion resulting in sediment being deposited in the French River or its tributaries located within the Protected Water Area.

 

          (2)    A person who contravenes subsection (1) must immediately cease the activity and take measures to control erosion and sediment in the manner directed by the Water Works Operator.

 

          (3)    A person must not undertake any activity within the Protected Water Area requiring grubbing or earth moving that would expose an area of ground 0.40 ha or greater in area without first doing all of the following:

 

                   (a)      developing an erosion and sedimentation control plan as described in the “Erosion and Sedimentation Control Handbook for Construction Sites” published by the Department, or its successor document or code of practice;

 

                   (b)     notifying the Water Works Operator in writing 15 days before the date the work begins.

 

          (4)    Any new development or land clearing in the Protected Water Area must maintain an undisturbed buffer of 10 m along the French River and its tributaries.

 

          (5)    Subsection (3) does not apply to an agricultural operation in the Protected Water Area.


Pits and quarries

7        A person must not commence, operate or use a pit or quarry for gravel, stone or other types of aggregate extraction within the Protected Water Area without first doing all of the following:

 

                   (a)      notifying the Water Works Operator;

 

                   (b)     obtaining approval from the Department if an approval is required under the Act or regulations.


Mining activities

8        A person must not conduct mining activities within the Protected Water Area, including detailed ground exploration and processing.

 

 


 

Legislative History
Reference Tables

French River Watershed Protected Water Area Regulations

N.S. Reg. 8/2022

Environment Act

Note:  The information in these tables does not form part of the regulations and is compiled by the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference only.

Source Law

The current consolidation of the French River Watershed Protected Water Area Regulations made under the Environment Act includes all of the following regulations:

N.S.
Regulation

In force
date*

How in force

Royal Gazette
Part II Issue

8/2022

Jan 24, 2022

date specified

Feb 11, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following regulations are not yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation:

N.S.
Regulation

In force
date*

How in force

Royal Gazette
Part II Issue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations Act for rules about in force dates of regulations.

Amendments by Provision

ad. = added
am. = amended

fc. = fee change
ra. = reassigned

rep. = repealed
rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

..........................................................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note that changes to headings are not included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections

 

Note

Effective
date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repealed and Superseded

N.S.
Regulation

Title

In force
date

Repealed
date

 

 

 

 

Note:  Only regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in this table.  It may not reflect the entire history of regulations on this subject matter.