Land Use Planning and Protecting Groundwater Resources
From Eco Issues
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Background
In May 2007, an EBR application was submitted that requested a review of the need for a new policy or statute to protect the Paris Galt Moraine Complex and its function as a groundwater recharge area in the Grand River watershed. This EBR application was forwarded to the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH).
The ECO notes that it was unable to forward this application to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal (PIR), as the ministry is not prescribed under the EBR. PIR is responsible for regional growth plans, under the Places to Grow Act, which directly impact upon the protection of groundwater recharge areas.
The applicants were the Mayor of Guelph and the Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Guelph-Wellington. Among the material submitted with the application was a Private Member’s Motion introduced by the MPP for Guelph- Wellington and passed by the Ontario legislature in December 2004:
| In the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should identify and protect moraines, watersheds and headwater areas, beyond the Greenbelt study area initially identified by the Province, in which urban development would have a significant negative impact on groundwater supplies. |
The applicants stated that municipalities within the Grand River watershed, such as Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo, are largely dependent on ground water resources to supply their municipal drinking water. The applicants also noted that these four municipalities are all designated as growth areas in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe under the Places to Grow Act. The applicants stated that it is critical to protect the Paris Galt Moraine Complex as a groundwater recharge area as “growth areas will shortly encroach into the moraine.” The applicants also stated that “provincial policy leadership is required in analyzing the extent to which the cumulative effect of aggregate extraction negatively impacts groundwater recharge in the moraine areas.”
The Geographic Scope of the Paris Galt Moraine Complex
According to MNR, this geological feature extends approximately from the towns of Dehli and Simcoe in the southwest to the village of Erin in the northeast. This belt of moraines is approximately 6.4 to 8 km wide, featuring eskers and drumlins, as well as hummocky topography and outwash gravel. Part of the northeastern section of the moraine complex lies within the Greenbelt Area, as designated under the Greenbelt Act, and the entire moraine system is within the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan Area, under the Places to Grow Act. MNR states that there is a “slight correlation” between the Paris Galt Moraine Complex and aggregate extraction areas.
This moraine complex contains an earth science area of natural and scientific interest (ANSI) that was originally identified by MNR in the late 1970s. The ministry stated at that time that the earth science values of this moraine complex warranted an ANSI designation, as this landform was provincially significant. However, according to MNR, the original delineation was to be interpreted as a preliminary marking of the boundaries pending further detailed study. Only a small portion of the total area that this moraine complex covers was formally identified as an ANSI by MNR in this initial mapping exercise.
In 2005, MNR began a process of dividing the existing Paris Galt Moffat Moraine ANSI into three separate, but smaller, ANSIs. The proposed Paris Moraine ANSI, the proposed Galt Moraine (at Corwhin) ANSI, and the proposed Moffat Moraine ANSI encompass three “core areas” of the moraines and some adjacent lands. MNR states that this new delineation is based on a “strictly scientific assessment” and, further, it notes that the moraine features “may be susceptible to irreversible impacts through aggregate extraction or urban development.”
Municipal Water Supply and the Paris Galt Moraine Complex
The City of Guelph, which is dependent on groundwater for its supply of drinking water, currently is developing a Water Supply Master Plan in order to ensure adequate supplies are available to satisfy population growth projections over the next 50 years. However, there is some disparity in growth forecasts for the municipality. As noted in the ECO’s 2006-2007 Annual Report, “provincial population growth projections for Guelph are greater than the projections in the municipality’s Official Plan; the City is planning for a 1.5 per cent annual increase in population to the year 2027, while the province is projecting a 2.5 per cent annual increase over that same period.” Municipal and provincial forecasts for population growth in Guelph for the year 2031 differed by almost 26,000 people. Since our last Annual Report, the Ontario government has been working with the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington “to ensure realistic forecasts” for population growth.
To meet the increased demand for water supply, the Water Supply Master Plan outlines the possibility of siting new wells outside the boundaries of the City of Guelph. One of the identified alternatives is to take additional water from the Amabel aquifer, which is overlain by the Paris Galt Moraine. Additionally, the County of Wellington completed a detailed Groundwater Protection Study in 2006 that led to proposed amendments to its Official Plan, specifically with regard to wellhead protection areas. The Groundwater Protection Study also recommended that development be prohibited “on the moraine system that would diminish recharge function and/or impair quality.”
Ministry Response
In July 2007, MOE agreed to undertake this EBR review and to provide a report within 18 months. However, the ministry stated that the Clean Water Act itself will not be part of this review. Further, MOE stated that this review will not affect current planning decisions and that all existing ministry policies will continue to apply during the review period.
MNR denied the application, stating that its role is limited to providing technical advice to other ministries with respect to many of the issues raised by the applicants. MMAH also denied the application, stating that the public interest does not warrant a review “in light of the strong policy direction contained in the PPS, 2005 [Provincial Policy Statement, 2005] and Greenbelt Plan to protect both natural heritage features and water resources.”
ECO Comment
The ECO commends MOE for undertaking this review. This application is similar to another EBR application that the ministry is undertaking related to the Waterloo Moraine. These EBR applications highlight several long-standing concerns of the ECO with regard to Ontario’s land use planning system.
The Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal has the responsibility for overseeing a broad array of environmentally significant land use decisions, and planning authorities must conform to the Places to Grow Act. For example, the environmental impact of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe was a central concern of the applicants. However, PIR is not prescribed under the EBR. As such, Ontarians do not have EBR-mandated public consultation rights, nor are PIR’s policy choices subject to scrutiny under the EBR’s applications for review provisions.
The ECO disagrees with the decisions by both MMAH and MNR to not undertake this review. The ECO has long been concerned about the fact that natural heritage features and functions are not adequately protected by Ontario’s land use planning system. These facets of land use planning are a joint responsibility of MMAH and MNR. The current land use planning system often gives priority to other land use interests, at the expense of natural areas and the province’s biological diversity. In our 2006-2007 Annual Report, the ECO commented that the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe “reverses the sustainable planning process; it elevates the province’s goal of accommodating population increases – with economic growth as the central driver – over the need to live within ecosystem limits.”
There is a clear need for planning authorities to be capable of planning based on ecological principles. Indeed, the passage of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, while laudable in of itself, is an implicit acknowledgment that ecological principles do not normally guide the broader land use planning system. Natural features of the landscape – such as large moraines with significant hydrologic functions – should be used as the starting point to guide local land use planning decisions. The current land use planning system gives insufficient weight to environmental concerns, and it does not adequately empower planning authorities to restrict specific forms of development where they are ecologically inappropriate.
| This is an article from the 2007/08 Annual Report to the Legislature from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. |
Citing This Article:
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. 2008. "Land Use Planning and Protecting Groundwater Resources." Getting to K(No)w, ECO Annual Report, 2007-08. Toronto: The Queen's Printer for Ontario. 138-141.
