Municipal Guide Planning for a Healthy and Sustainable North Saskatchewan River Watershed Cover photos: Billie Hilholland From top to bottom: Abraham Lake An agricultural field alongside Highway 598 North Saskatchewan River flowing through the City of Edmonton Book design and layout by Gwen Edge Municipal Guide: Planning for a Healthy and Sustainable North Saskatchewan River Watershed prepared for the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance by Giselle Beaudry Acknowledgements The North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance would like to thank the following for their generous contributions to this Municipal Guide through grants and inkind support. ii Municipal Guide: Planning for a Healthy and Sustainable North Saskatchewan Watershed Acknowledgements The North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance would like to thank the following individuals who dedicated many hours to the Municipal Guide project. Their voluntary contributions in the development of this guide are greatly appreciated. Municipal Guide Steering Committee Andrew Schoepf, Alberta Environment Bill Symonds, Alberta Municipal Affairs David Curran, Alberta Environment Delaney Anderson, St. Paul & Smoky Lake Counties Doug Thrussell, Alberta Environment Gabrielle Kosmider, Fisheries and Oceans Canada George Turk, Councillor, Lac Ste. Anne County Graham Beck, Leduc County and City of Edmonton Irvin Frank, Councillor, Camrose County Jolee Gillies,Town of Devon Kim Nielsen, Clearwater County Lorraine Sawdon, Fisheries and Oceans Canada Lyndsay Waddingham, Alberta Municipal Affairs Murray Klutz, Ducks Unlimited Canada Rod McDermand, Councillor, Lacombe County Municipal Guide Reviewers Celeste Nicholson, North East Alberta Water Management Coalition Douwe Vanderwel, City of Edmonton Doug Major, Special Areas Board Frank Vagi, Petro-Canada Jaimie Wuite, Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development Jason Unger, Environmental Law Centre Karen Leibovici, Councillor, City of Edmonton, Alberta Urban Municipalities Association Ken Glover,Woodlot Association of Alberta & Model Forest Network PWSI Ken Kalirai, Leduc County Melanie Gray, Epcor Neil Hollands, Alberta Environment Peter Apedaile, Councillor, Smoky Lake County Sarah Depoe, Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development Scott Jones, Alberta Community Development Scott Millar, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Table of Contents 1 Introduction . .1 1.1. Introduction . .1 1.2. Who is the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance? . .5 1.3. How this Guide Was Created . .6 1.4. Purpose of this Guide . .6 1.5. How to use this Guide . .7 1.6. Limitations of this Guide . .9 2 Watershed Overview . .11 2-1 What is a Watershed? . .11 2-2 Watershed Components . .14 2-2.1. Riparian Areas and Floodplains . .14 2-2.2. Water Bodies . .15 2-2.3. Upland Areas . .17 2-2.4. Ground Water Recharge, Discharge and Storage Areas . .18 2-2.5. Biodiversity . .19 2-2.6. Interdependency Between Components . .19 2-3 Benchmarks for Watershed Health . .22 2-4 Value of a Healthy Watershed . .23 Green Infrastructure . .23 Natural Capital . .24 2-4.1. Economic Benefits . .25 2-4.2. Human Health and Social Benefits . .29 2-4.3. Ecological Benefits . .31 2-5 Current Threats to Watershed Health . .32 2-5.1. Land Use . .32 2-5.2. Water Demand . .34 2-5.3. Pollution . .34 iv Municipal Guide: Planning for a Healthy and Sustainable North Saskatchewan Watershed Table of Contents 2-6 Watershed Management . .35 2-6.1. Why Manage at a Watershed Level? . .35 A Watershed Perspective . .35 Cumulative Impacts . .35 2-6.2. Watershed Management . .36 Integrated Watershed Management Planning in the NSRW . .36 2-7 The North Saskatchewan River Watershed (NSRW) . .38 2-7.1. General Overview . .38 2-7.2. State of the Watershed . .42 3 Overview of Legislation and Government Bodies . .45 Relevant to Watershed Health 3-1 Cross Government Issues . .46 Overlapping Jurisdiction . .46 Unclear Jurisdiction . .47 Inter-governmental Cooperation . .48 3-2 A Quick Reference: Watershed Issues and Related Acts . .48 3-3 Federal Jurisdiction . .57 3-3.1. Federal Legislation and Policies . .58 3-3.2. Federal Departments and Agencies . .60 3-4 Provincial Jurisdiction . .62 3-4.1. Provincial Legislation and Policies . .63 3-4.2. Provincial Departments and Agencies . .67 3-5 Municipal Jurisdiction . .70 The Municipal Government Act . .70 Other Statutes and Responsibilities . .71 3-6 Additional Information . .72 4 Municipal Planning and Development . .73 4-1 Planning and Development and Watershed Health . .73 4-2 Making a Commitment to the Environment . .74 Setting Measurable Goals and Objectives . .77 4-3 Gathering Information . .78 4-4 Statutory Plans . .84 4-4.1. The Municipal Development Plan (MDP) . .85 4-4.2. The Area Structure Plan (ASP) . .88 Off-Site Levy Bylaws . .89 Municipal Guide: Planning for a Healthy and Sustainable North Saskatchewan Watershed v Table of Contents 4-4.3. The Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) . .90 4-5 The Land Use Bylaw (LUB) . .91 4-5.1. Zoning . .92 4-5.2. Subdivision and Development Standards . .93 4-5.3. Subdivision Approvals and Development Permits . .96 The Approval Process . .96 Environmental Suitability of Land . .97 Environmental and Municipal Reserves . .98 Conservation Easements . .99 4-6 Non-Statutory Plans, Policies, Strategies and Initiatives . .101 Smart Growth . .101 4-6.1. Environmental Planning . .103 4-6.2. Natural Area Planning . .104 4-6.3. Community Planning . .108 4-6.4. Growth Management Planning . ..