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Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans Involvment not required.

John Price kindly supplied the following note in regards to our questions about federal government involvement.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is not and never has been involved in the review of planning applications such as subdivisions and the number of fish species in a watercourse does not have any bearing on their involvement.  The Fisheries Act addresses potential impacts of projects on fish habitat (Sections 35(1) and 35(2)).  A project can not result in a harmful alteration, disruption or destruction (HADD) of fish habitat (Section 35(1)) unless the Minister has authorized this to occur (Section 35(2)).  Under our agreement with DFO we are the first point of contact to assess the potential impact of proposed work on fish habitat.  If a project is likely to result in a HADD under the Fisheries Act then MVC passes the review on to DFO and they would have to decide if an authorization could be considered and what fish habitat compensation would be required.  The specific "project" with respect to this proposed subdivision is the proposed road crossings.  We have determined that, at the two specific crossing sites, the proposed work would not constitute a HADD, therefore we did not get DFO involved in the review of the proposed road crossings.  If the road alignment changes then we would have to review any subsequent proposals.  There may be specific aspects of a development proposal, such as a new road crossing or watercourse relocation, that may include the involvement of DFO but not the overall review of the development.

John Price, P.Eng.
Watershed Management Coordinator
Mississippi Valley Conservation
P.O. Box 268
Lanark, ON   K0G 1K0
Phone (613)259-2421
Fax (613)259-3468
jprice@mvc.on.ca
www.mvc.on.ca < http://www.mvc.on.ca >