According to New Brunswick law, any infringement on a wetland, or its buffer, that is greater than one hectare in area is required to have a permit as per the Watercourse and Wetlands Alteration Regulation. If a wetland is greater than two hectares in area, developers must also register their proposed development under the Clean Environment Act’s Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation so it can be reviewed by environment department staff.
However, in March, Environment Minister, Margaret-Ann Blaney suspended permitting processes and environmental reviews for all wetlands which do not to appear on the “Regulated Wetlands” map posted on the GeoNB website (http://geonb.snb.ca/geonb/). The Regulated Wetlands map was created through aerial photography by the Department of Natural Resources and is in no way complete. There are significantly sized wetlands that exist on the ground that are not included in the GeoNB map.
CCNB Action has acquired evidence of 16 wetlands that are not included on the Regulated Wetlands map that the Minister is now using to regulate developments in wetlands or their buffers that Department of Environment staff had previously confirmed as wetlands according to the legal definition set out in the Clean Water Act. As they do not appear on the map, Minister Blaney has informed the developers that they need not comply with the laws governing wetland protection in the Clean Environment Act and the Clean Water act – cancelling Environmental Impact Assessments that had already been in initiated in many cases.
“The Minister says these wetlands do not exist even though they are clearly there for all to see”, said Stephanie Merrill, CCNB Action’s Freshwater Protection Program Coordinator. "Roughly 50% of our wetlands are not on her map, so we have one big problem”, said Merrill.
“The Minister of Environment has a duty to uphold the laws enacted by the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly to protect our wetlands," said David Coon, Executive Director for CCNB Action. "To wish them away for half our wetlands because they have been expunged from a map on the internet is magical thinking. The Minister is bound to uphold the regulations she is in charge of administering and enforcing - to not do so is wrong”, said Coon.
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Media Contacts:
David Coon, Executive Director: 458.8747
Stephanie Merrill, Freshwater Protection Program: 458.8747
Raphael Shay, French media contact: 458.8747
Stephanie Merrill, Freshwater Protection Program: 458.8747
Raphael Shay, French media contact: 458.8747
