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30-694: The Grand River Conservation Authority ( GRCA ) is a conservation authority in Ontario , Canada. It operates under the Conservation Authorities Act of Ontario . It is a corporate body, through which municipalities, landowners and other organizations work cooperatively to manage the Grand River watershed and natural resources within it. Created in 1932 as the Grand River Conservation Commission,

60-495: A conservation authority, similar to a building permit, to do work such as constructing buildings or placing fill in these areas. These regulations were put in place after the devastating impacts of Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Conservation authorities also do flood forecasting and warning, flood and erosion control, ice management and drought programs, and contribute to municipal land use planning. Conservation authorities may have programs to protect local ecosystems and contribute to

90-635: A date of implementation. At the same time that the amendments were introduced into the Legislative Assembly, the Government cut its funding to conservation authorities for flood control from CA$ 7.4 million per year by half, wanting the authorities to focus on "core" activities. The Ontario Government now funds only 1-5% of most conservation authority's operations. Authorities are largely funded by municipalities, self-generated revenue and fundraising. This article about Canadian law

120-459: A program or service described in paragraph 1, that has been prescribed by the regulations on or before the first anniversary of the day prescribed under clause 40 (3) (h). 2019, c. 9, Sched. 2, s. 4. Source: Subsection 21.1, Amended Conservation Authorities Act. The Government also amended section 23, which provides for the Government to name an investigator: These amendments have not yet been proclaimed into law. The Lieutenant-Governor will name

150-463: A provincial template regulation. Under these regulations, conservation authorities regulate development and other activities in and near natural hazard areas such as shorelines, floodplains, unstable slopes, wetlands, and other hazardous lands, such as karst topography and Leda clay . Development is prohibited in areas designated by the regulation unless permission is granted by the conservation authority. Landowners or developers may need permits from

180-637: A result of public concern over the state of the environment in Ontario , the Province passed the Conservation Authorities Act, 1946. The Act was based on three main principles: The Grand River Conservation Authority is a corporate body established to enable municipalities to jointly undertake water and natural resource management on a watershed basis - for the benefit of all. The broad goal of all conservation authorities in Ontario

210-433: Is a local, community-based natural resource management agency based in Ontario , Canada. Conservation authorities represent groupings of municipalities on a watershed basis and work in partnership with other agencies to carry out natural resource management activities within their respective watersheds, on behalf of their member municipalities and the Province of Ontario. The 1946 Conservation Authorities Act provides

240-455: Is governed by a board of directors made up of representatives from its member municipalities. The number of representatives each municipality can have is determined by the Conservation Authorities Act based on its population within the watershed. Board members act on behalf of the municipalities they represent. Boards collectively determine the direction of authorities including the programs they will carry out and operational decisions throughout

270-483: Is meant to identify threats to and protect drinking water sources. Annual budgets are determined by the board of directors. The portion to be funded by municipal levy (payment by member municipalities) is divided among the participating municipalities according to a formula set out in Ontario Regulation 670/00 which is based on the total value of all lands within each municipality, multiplied by modifiers in

300-748: Is specified in Section 20 of the Conservation Authorities Act: The objects of the Authority are to establish and undertake in the area over which it has jurisdiction, a program designed to further the conservation, restoration, development and management of natural resources other than gas, oil, coal and minerals. (RSO 1990, c. 27) Under the terms of the Act, the Grand Valley Conservation Authority

330-668: The Grand River Conservation Commission . The Commission completed the Shand Dam, the first multi-purpose dam in Canada, in 1942. It was built for flood control and the low flow augmentation to improve water quality during the dry summer months. The Commission also started planting trees to re-vegetate the landscape along the river. Prior to World War II , renewable natural resources were exploited to encourage economic and industrial expansion and growth. As

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360-664: The Ontario Provincial Legislature in 1946 to ensure the conservation , restoration and responsible management of hydrological features through programs that balance human, environmental and economic needs. The Act authorizes the formation of Conservation Authorities on a per watershed basis. In 1941, conservationists from across the province met in Guelph to address the extensive damage to southern Ontario's environment. Great tracts of land had been ruined through clearing watersheds for farming, over-cutting of

390-537: The GRCA is the oldest water management agency in Canada. It is one of 36 conservation authorities in Ontario and is a member of Conservation Ontario . The GRCA also owns and manages many conservation areas, parks and trails within the watershed. The Grand River provided transportation, water supply, and waterpower attracting settlement to the valley in the 19th century. The combined deforestation and urban settlement aggravated flood and drought conditions. A main part of

420-535: The Grand River's course flows through the Carolinian life zone, which contains a southern type of forest that is found only in this area of Canada. A wide variety of rare plants and animals are found here. The water quality in the river started to deteriorate to the point where it was a major public health concern. To deal with these problems, a group of eight municipalities came together in 1934 to form

450-562: The Progressive Conservative government, conservation authorities' provincial funding was drastically reduced from more than CA$ 50 million annually divided among all the authorities to $ 8 million, and the Province reduced the scope of its support to natural hazard management programs and programs for protecting provincially significant conservation land, although the $ 8 million in funding was exclusively for natural hazard management. Other programs were considered to be only in

480-879: The conservation, restoration, development and management of Ontario's natural resources. They carry out programs in natural hazard management on behalf of the province and municipalities, and may also carry out other programs that serve municipal interests, such as nature education, land conservation and management, recreation programs, and research. Management programs generally occur in lands known as conservation areas , restoration areas or wilderness areas , though not all lands managed are necessarily designated as such. Conservation authorities' primary responsibilities are in natural hazard management and environmental protection. While all conservation authorities carry out natural hazard management programs, their roles in environmental protection vary significantly because these are determined by local municipalities. Each conservation authority

510-481: The forest and through faulty farming practices. The conference, under the leadership of J.D. Thomas, chose the Ganaraska watershed, one of the most damaged in the province, as its pilot project. Over the next few years, they worked to restore the natural values of the watershed , mostly by planting trees. Its restoration marked the beginning of the conservation authorities of Ontario. The Conservation Authorities Act

540-410: The local interest and the Province stated that those programs could be funded by municipalities if the municipalities wished them to continue. At the same time, the government provided conservation authorities with new powers to charge fees and generate revenue. As a result, most conservation authorities became more entrepreneurial to generate the revenue needed to continue their local programming. Funding

570-412: The means by which municipalities within a common watershed can petition the Province of Ontario to form a conservation authority for that watershed to undertake programs of natural resource management. Conservation authorities are established as corporate bodies under the Act. There are currently 36 conservation authorities in Ontario. Conservation authorities are mandated to develop programs to further

600-453: The municipality's share of the levy (30% x 10 million). If the total value in the jurisdiction, after adding together all such values for all the participating municipalities, is 20 million dollars, the municipality's share of the levy is 15% (3 million divided by 20 million). In 2013, municipal levies accounted for approximately 48% of all conservation authorities' revenue; self-generated revenue accounted for 40%; provincial funding, including

630-408: The natural hazards management funding as well as Clean Water Act funding and various other grants for special projects, accounted for 10%; and federal funding, for special projects and Areas of Concern, 2%. Each conservation authority has a Regulation of Development, Interference with Wetlands and Alterations to Shorelines and Watercourses under the Conservation Authorities Act which conforms to

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660-487: The power to levy their member municipalities. As registered charities, they are eligible for certain government grants. Under Section 39 of the Conservation Authorities Act , the Province may also provide grants to conservation authorities. Historically, conservation authorities' funding was split evenly between the Province and member municipalities. In the mid-1990s, under the Red Tape Reduction Act of

690-410: The quality of life in communities throughout the province. Some of the activities conservation authorities may include: Conservation Ontario is the umbrella organization for all 36 regional Conservation Authorities in the Province of Ontario: Conservation Authorities Act The Conservation Authorities Act ( French : Loi sur les offices de protection de la nature ) was created by

720-420: The regulation and by the proportion of the municipality which falls within the authority's jurisdiction, as a proportion of the total modified value within the authority's jurisdiction. For example, if 30% of a municipality's area falls within an authority's jurisdiction, and the total value of land in that municipality after applying modifiers is 10 million dollars, 3 million dollars is the value used to calculated

750-531: The vote. If a municipality pays more than 50% of the budget, its share of the vote is capped at 50% and the shares of other municipalities are increased proportionately. Conservation authorities are administered by a General Manager or Chief Administrative Officer who reports to the Board. Conservation authorities' funding comes from a variety of sources. Conservation authorities have the power to generate revenue through fees and other self-generated revenue, and also

780-455: The year. For most matters, each member is entitled to one vote, and decisions are made by majority vote. For voting on non-matching levies (levies against municipalities which are not matched by the Province), voting is done using a weighted vote, where each municipality has the same share of the vote as the share of the budget that it pays, except that no municipality can have more than 50% of

810-540: Was established in 1966 through the amalgamation of the Grand River Conservation Commission and the Grand Valley Conservation Authority. Grey Sauble Conservation Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority Upper Thames River Conservation Authority Conservation Halton Hamilton Conservation Authority Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority Conservation authority (Canada) A conservation authority

840-495: Was formed in 1948. This allowed all watershed municipalities to work collaboratively to address a broad range of resource management issues. The practicality of two conservation organizations operating in the same watershed was closely scrutinized in the 1960s. To avoid potential conflict over roles and responsibilities and to eliminate duplication of programs the Grand River Conservation Authority

870-647: Was further cut by 5% to $ 7.6 million in 2000. In 2012, under the Liberal government, funding was cut again by 2% to $ 7.448 million, and in 2019, under the Progressive Conservative government, it was cut again by 48% to $ 3.58 million. The Province also provides funding to conservation authorities for the implementation of the Clean Water Act , brought in as a result of the inquiry into the E. coli outbreak in Walkerton in 2000 which resulted in six deaths, which

900-506: Was passed in 1946. Over the next four decades, the Ganaraska watershed became one of the largest forested areas of southern Ontario with two million trees planted. In 2019, the Government of Ontario passed amendments to the act, defining each conservation authority's required functions: 1. A program or service that meets any of the following descriptions and that has been prescribed by the regulations: 2. A program or service, other than

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