Wetland Alteration
Freshwater wetlands and salt marshes are critical ecosystems that provide a suite of environmental and societal services including:
- maintaining and improving water quality and quantity (surface and ground);
- reducing impacts and damage due to flooding and storm surges;
- providing habitat for wildlife and other wetland dependent species;
- providing opportunities for recreation and education; and
- producing products that create opportunities for economic development.
Nova Scotia Environment and Labour (NSEL) recognizes that wetlands are a particularly sensitive habitat and that alteration of wetlands can cause a significant adverse environmental effect.
The Policy Respecting Alteration of Wetlands (March 1, 2006) requires that an approval be obtained from the department for any activity which would result in alteration of an existing wetland. This requirement is not new, it was previously reflected in the Wetlands Directive (1995). The authority for this policy is described by Section 29(1)(b) (sensitivity of the site where the proposed activity is to be located) of the Activities Designation Regulations.
This policy does not apply to man-made wetlands created specifically for the purposes of wastewater or storm-water treatment.
The policy applies to alteration of salt marshes. However, other types of tidal wetlands such as: lagoons, mud flats and tidal ponds are not subject to this policy and their alteration does not require an approval from Nova Scotia Environment and Labour.
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