The International River
Improvement Act – administered by Environment
Canada – is one of two main Acts that the federal government uses to
regulate the use of rivers flowing over Canada-U.S. borders. The other is the International
Boundary Waters Treaty Act (administered by the Department
of Foreign Affairs and International Trade).
An international river is a
river flowing from inside Canada to outside Canada (which, by definition, will
be into the U.S.). Under the
International Boundary Waters Treaty it would be a trans-boundary river. Because of the impact that misuse of such
rivers can have on Canada-U.S. relations, the federal government has taken an
active role in regulating the use of such waters.
Under the Act no person can
construct a “river improvement” on an international river without a licence
from Environment Canada. An
international river improvement is defined as:
a dam, obstruction, canal, reservoir or other work the purpose or
effect of which is
(a) to increase, decrease or alter the natural flow of an
international river, and
(b) to interfere with, alter or affect the actual or potential
use of the international river outside Canada.
Notice that the dam or
obstruction must both increase/decrease the natural flow of the river (or
intend to do so) and actually or potentially interfere with the use of that
river outside of Canada.
To add to the difficulty of
using this Act, the Act’s regulations state that a licence is not necessary if
the impact of the improvement on the flow is small (an effect of 3 cm or 0.3
cubic metres per second of water at the border) or temporary (less than 2
years). However, in this case the
person building the work must notify the Minister.
The Act does not apply to
projects constructed under the authority of an Act of Parliament, situated on
boundary waters or constructed or operated solely for domestic, sanitary or
irrigation purposes or other similar consumptive uses. It does, however, apply to trans-boundary
waters.
Using the Act
The Act will only apply to
certain rivers and in unusual circumstances.
Moreover, there are no particular requirements for public participation
or that environmental issues be considered.
However, the request for a licence under the Act could be a decision
giving rise to an environmental assessment under the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Act.
It seems that there will
sometimes be overlap between the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act
and the International River Improvements Act in developments on
trans-boundary rivers. While boundary
waters are exempted from this Act, sections of both Acts apply to
trans-boundary rivers.
Related Guide Pages:
·
International Boundary Waters
Treaty Act
For more information about the International
River Improvements Act:
·
Electronic version of the International
River Improvement Act.
·
Environment
Canada homepage.
