Annotated Bibliography of Western Canadian Water Law
Watershed Management Approach
Alberta Environment Website: http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env/water/index.cfm
The Alberta Environment website has a few main topical sites, including this one, which focuses on water. The site contains useful information on different topics relating to water, such as legislation, publications, forms, and water conservation. Also part of this site is Water for Life, the web page for Alberta’s water strategy. Publications available include the Preliminary Report from the Water Use Practice and Policy Advisory Committee, which identifies potential public concerns with oil and gas practices and how these practices could affect the water cycle and the environment. The report begins to address these concerns, providing recommendations on potential conservation strategies. The information on the web site itself is considerable, although basic. The site provides good background knowledge relating to water issues in Alberta.
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Environment
Canada. Federal Water Policy (1987) online: http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/info/pubs/fedpol/e_fedpol.pdf
This federal policy document identifies five strategies that will help the federal government achieve its overall objective of encouraging efficient and economical freshwater use: realistic water pricing, science leadership, integrated planning, legislation and public awareness. The policy also includes twenty-five specific policy statements, including Water Quality Management, Flooding, Climate Change, Interbasin Transfers and Management of Toxic Chemicals. The policy also includes a brief summary of the constitutional aspects of water policy in Appendix A.
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Kwasniak, Arlene, Alberta’s Wetlands: A Law and Policy Guide. (Edmonton: Environmental Law Centre and North American Waterfowl Management Plan, 2001).
Written for a layperson, this guide provides advice for wetland managers. The guide is divided into three sections. In the first section Kwasniak provides an overview of legal issues (common law, statutes, jurisdiction) that can affect wetlands. The second section describes how these principles can impact on wetlands. Finally, in the third section Kwasniak provides a list of recommendations to clarify uncertainties she encountered in her research. The guide also includes an appendix, which considers the costs and benefits of the various legal tools available to protect wetlands.
The first section (“the primer”) contains seven sections that provide an overview for laypersons. The divisions consist of: Constitutional Matters; Sources of Law; Property Rights and Wetlands; Resource Acquisition, Exploration, and Development; Statutory Authorizations; Environmental Assessment; and Municipalities and Wetlands.
The second section (“the chapters”) contains thirteen chapters applying the law identified in the primer to wetlands. The chapters deal with both Federal and Provincial legislation, and common law rights (such as riparian rights). Each chapter describes the application of the right or issue, and then provides advice to wetland managers how this could apply to wetland conservation.
The recommendations section is a compilation of the recommendations found throughout the first two sections. It is a fairly short section, dealing with specific recommendations for specific changes.