Mackenzie Valley Land Use Regulations (SOR/98-429)

23.1 If the Board conducts a hearing or requires that further studies or investigations be made under paragraph 22(2)(b) or if the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board is to conduct an environmental assessment in relation to the land use for which a permit application has been received, the period provided for in subsection 22(2) or paragraph 23(b) for the Board to issue or to refuse to issue a permit does not begin

• (a) in respect of a hearing or of further studies or investigations, until the completion of the hearing or the further studies or investigations; or

• (b) in respect of an environmental assessment, until the completion of the environmental assessment and impact review process under Part 5 of the Act.

24 If the Minister, after considering the report of an environmental assessment or a review panel in respect of an application for a permit, has adopted a recommendation to reject the proposed land-use operation under subparagraph 130(1)(b)(i) or paragraph 135(1)(a) of the Act, or has rejected a recommendation to approve the proposal under paragraph 135(1)(b) of the Act, the Board shall refuse to issue the permit and notify the applicant in writing of its refusal and of the reasons for the refusal.

25 Where an application for a permit is returned under paragraph 22(1)(a) or 23(a) or refused pursuant to paragraph 22(2)(d), subparagraph 23(b)(ii) or section 24, the land-use fee submitted with the application shall be refunded to the applicant.

Conditions of Permits

• 26 (1) The Board may include in a permit conditions respecting

  • (a) the location and area of lands that may be used in the land-use operation;

  • (b) the times at which any portion of a land-use operation may be carried on;

  • (c) the type and size of equipment that may be used in the land-use operation;

  • (d) methods and techniques to be employed by the permittee in carrying out the land-use operation;

  • (e) the type, location, capacity and operation of all facilities to be used by the permittee in the land-use operation;

  • (f) methods to be used to control or prevent ponding of water, flooding, erosion, slides and the subsidence of land;

  • (g) the use, storage, handling and ultimate disposal of any chemical or toxic material to be used in the land-use operation;

  • (h) protection of wildlife habitat and fish habitat;

  • (i) the storage, handling and disposal of refuse or sewage;

  • (j) protection of historic or archaeological sites and burial sites;

  • (k) protection of objects and places of recreational, scenic or ecological value;

  • (l) the posting of security in accordance with section 32;

  • (m) the establishment of petroleum fuel storage facilities;

  • (n) methods and techniques for debris and brush disposal;

  • (o) restoration of the lands;

  • (p) the display of permits and permit numbers; and

  • (q) any other matter in respect of the protection of the biological or physical characteristics of the lands.

• (2) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), the Board may amend any of the conditions of a permit on receipt of a written request from the permittee setting out

  • (a) the conditions that the permittee wishes to have amended;

  • (b) the nature of the proposed amendment; and

  • (c) the reasons for the proposed amendment.

• (3) Where the Board receives a request from a permittee pursuant to subsection (2), it shall notify the permittee of its decision, and of the reasons therefor, within 10 days after receipt of the request.

• (4) Where a land use requested in a proposed amendment is not within the scope of the land use for which the permit was issued, the Board shall treat the request as an application for a new permit in accordance with sections 22 or 23.

• (5) Subject to subsection (6), every permit shall set out the term for which it is valid, which term shall be based on the estimated dates of commencement and completion set out by the permittee in the permit application, but the term of a permit shall not exceed five years.

• (6) On receipt of a written request from a permittee, prior to the expiration of the permit, for an extension of the term of the permit, the Board may extend the term of the permit for an additional period not exceeding two years, subject to any conditions referred to in subsection (1).

• (7) Where a permit requires that the permittee hold a valid interest in land, the landowner shall notify the Board prior to the cancellation or expiration of that interest.

• (8) Where an interest referred to in subsection (7) is cancelled or expires, the Board may cancel the permit.

Delegations to Board Employees

27 For the purposes of section 70 of the Act, a Type B or Type C permit may be issued, amended or renewed, or its assignment approved, by an employee of the Board named in an instrument of delegation issued under that section.

Reports

28 A permittee shall submit to the inspector or the Board, in a form and on a date satisfactory to the inspector or the Board, such reports as are requested by the inspector or the Board for the purpose of ascertaining the progress of the land-use operation.

Final Plan

• 29 (1) Subject to subsection (3), every permittee shall, within 60 days after the completion of a land-use operation or the expiration of the permit, whichever occurs first, submit a final plan in duplicate to the Board and, where the land-use operation was carried out on private lands, to the landowner thereof, showing

  • (a) the lands on which the land-use operation was conducted;

  • (b) the location of

    • (i) lines, trails, rights-of-way and cleared areas that were used by the permittee during the land-use operation, specifying those that were cleared by the permittee and those that existed before the operation began,

    • (ii) buildings, structures, campsites, air landing strips, air navigation aids, fuel and supply storage sites, waste disposal sites, excavations and other works and places that were constructed or used by the permittee in the land-use operation, and

    • (iii) bridges, dams, ditches, railroads, roads, transmission lines, pipelines, survey lines, monuments, air landing strips, watercourses, traplines and cabins and all other features or works that were affected by the land-use operation; and

  • (c) calculations of the area of the lands used in the land-use operation.

• (2) A final plan submitted pursuant to subsection (1) shall be

  • (a) certified by the permittee, or by an agent of the permittee, as to the accuracy of

    • (i) locations, distances and areas, and

    • (ii) the representation of the land-use operation; or

  • (b) drawn from and accompanied by a detailed site survey, an aerial photograph or an image created using satellite or other imaging technology, showing the lands on which the land-use operation was conducted.

• (3) On receipt of a written request from a permittee for an extension of time for the filing of a final plan, the Board may extend the time for filing the final plan by not more than 60 days.

• (4) The Board shall reject any final plan that is not in compliance with this section and section 30.

• (5) Within three weeks after receipt of written notice from the Board rejecting a plan, a permittee shall submit to the Board a new final plan that complies with this section and section 30.

• (6) Notwithstanding the expiration or cancellation of a permit, the submission of a final plan or the giving of a notice of discontinuance under section 37, a permittee remains responsible for all obligations arising under the permit or under these Regulations until such time as the Board issues a letter of clearance pursuant to section 33.

Land Division and Plans

30 A preliminary plan or final plan submitted under these Regulations shall

• (a) be drawn on a scale that clearly shows the lands that the applicant for a permit proposes to use or that the permittee has used;

• (b) show the scale to which the plan is drawn; and

• (c) show locations by giving their geographic coordinates and specifying the reference system used to obtain those coordinates.

Determination of Land-Use Fee

• 31 (1) Within 30 days after the Board has approved the final plan, a permittee shall submit to the Board calculations of any applicable land-use fee for federal public lands payable, based on the actual area of land used in the land-use operation.

• (2) Where the calculated fee submitted under subsection (1) is less than the fee submitted with the application, the Board shall refund the difference to the permittee.

• (3) Where the calculated fee submitted under subsection (1) is greater than the fee submitted with the application, the permittee shall submit payment for the amount of the deficiency with the calculations.

Posting of Security

• 32 (1) The Board may require security to be posted in an amount not exceeding the aggregate of the costs of

  • (a) abandonment of the land-use operation;

  • (b) restoration of the site of the land-use operation; and

  • (c) any measures that may be necessary after the abandonment of the land-use operation.

• (2) In setting the amount of security pursuant to subsection (1), the Board may consider

  • (a) the ability of the applicant or prospective assignee to pay the costs referred to in that subsection;

  • (b) the past performance of the applicant or prospective assignee in respect of any other permit;

  • (c) the prior posting of security by the applicant pursuant to other federal legislation in relation to the land-use operation; and

  • (d) the probability of environmental damage or the significance of any environmental damage.

• (3) Where the Board requires that a security deposit be posted, the permittee shall not begin the land-use operation until the security has been deposited with the federal Minister.

• (4) Posted security may be in the form of

  • (a) a promissory note guaranteed by a bank listed in Schedule I or II to the Bank Act and made payable to the Receiver General;

  • (b) a certified cheque drawn on a bank listed in Schedule I or II to the Bank Act and made payable to the Receiver General;

  • (c) [Repealed, SOR/2016-128, s. 14]

  • (d) an irrevocable letter of credit from a bank listed in Schedule I or II to the Bank Act; or

  • (e) a cash payment.

• (5) Posted security, or any remaining portion thereof, shall be returned to the permittee by the federal Minister after the Board issues a letter of clearance under section 33 in respect of the land-use operation.

Letter of Clearance

33 When a permittee has complied with all conditions of the permit and with these Regulations, the Board shall issue a letter of clearance to the permittee with a copy to the federal Minister.

Cessation of Land-Use Operation

• 34 (1) Prior to taking action in respect of a contravention under subsection 86(2) of the Act, the inspector shall give notice to the permittee that, if the contravention is not corrected within the time specified in the notice, the inspector may order the cessation of the land-use operation or of any part thereof.

• (2) Before taking action in respect of a contravention under subsection 86(2) of the Act in respect of a drilling program between the time of spud-in and the completion of drilling, the inspector shall consult with the National Energy Board.

• (3) A copy of any notice provided under this section or order made under subsection 86(2) of the Act shall be delivered to the landowner and filed with the Board.

• (4) When an inspector is satisfied that a contravention that is the subject of a notice given under subsection (1) has been corrected, the inspector shall notify the permittee in writing, send a copy of the notice to the landowner and file a copy thereof with the Board.