Municipal Regulations
Municipal permits and attestations may also be required before carrying out dredging projects.
For example, regional county municipalities take part in implementing the Protection Policy for Lakeshores, Riverbanks, Littoral Zones and Floodplains by integrating the policy’s objectives and enacting minimum standards in their development plans. As a result, municipalities have had to integrate standards and objectives into their urban planning by-laws. To ensure shared responsibility between the provincial government and municipalities regarding the issuing of authorizations, the Regulation respecting the application of the Environment Quality Act exempts from the application of section 22 work authorized by the municipality under a municipal by-law which complies with the measures set out in the Policy. This provision makes it possible for a citizen who undertakes work on his or her property for personal ends not to have to obtain authorization under the Environment Quality Act.
Work, construction or projects intended for municipal, industrial, commercial or public purposes, or to provide public access are not exempt from the application of section 22 of the Environment Quality Act and cannot be undertaken without first obtaining a certificate of authorization from the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs du Québec.
As part of any application for authorization made directly to the Government of Quebec under section 22 of the Environment Quality Act (work in hydrous environments) or under section 128.7 of An Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife (activity in a wildlife habitat), the applicant must submit a certificate attesting that the project does not contravene any municipal by-law. The certificate shall be issued by the clerk or the secretary-treasurer of a local municipality or, in the case of an unorganized territory, of a regional county municipality.
The powers of municipalities in terms of zoning, construction and land subdivision, under An Act respecting land use planning and development enable them to regulate or prohibit, by zone, certain types of construction, work or activities close to watercourses. Municipal permits may therefore be required prior to undertaking work along the shore or littoral of a watercourse. In addition to the municipalities’ powers in the area of land use planning, municipalities can enact by-laws under the Municipal Code of Quebec, the Cities and Towns Act, or under their specific charters. In particular, municipalities can enact by-laws to protect water supply intakes and control nuisances, such as noise.
Under the Protection Policy for Lakeshores, Riverbanks, Littoral Zones and Floodplains, however, work which usually requires significant technical expertise may be exempted from the application of the municipal by-law if it is authorized by the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs. This is also the case for work which must be authorized under An Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife and the Watercourses Act. However, if the municipality wishes to exercise its legal authority over the work, the municipality can subject the work to a municipal by-law.