Province Axes Coastal Protection Act
The provincial government announced today it will not proclaim into law the “Coastal Protection Act” (CPA) passed by the government of Liberal Premier Stephen McNeil in 2019 — which was never enacted.
In its place, the province is instead offering risk assessment tools for Nova Scotian homeowners, developers, and municipal governments to assist them in making “informed decisions” on how to protect their properties as the world braces for the expected rising sea levels resulting from climate change.
To that end, the government is providing an online mapping tool — the Coastal Hazard Map — which shows the worst-case scenario of rising sea levels by the year 2100, three-quarters of a century in the future.
In an announcement made jointly by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Timothy Halman, and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, John Lohr, the province made available to the public a new “Coastal Protection Action Plan” to accompany the Coastal Hazard Map.
Minister Halman called the government’s approach “holistic”, and one that focuses on “empowering coastal property owners to make informed decisions.”
Also announced was $1.6-million dollars in additional funding to move forward on flood mapping for municipalities, to assist them in improving land zoning aimed at reducing the impact of coastal and inland flood hazards. Another $1.6-million is being made available to the Community Climate Capacity Program that provides communities with specialists who can guide them through local level climate and sustainability initiatives.
Today’s announcement does not directly prevent homeowners or developers from building on areas that are at risk of flooding, nor does it address concerns such as “coastal armouring”, where a property owner uses large rock or concrete barriers to protect property on the coast, which can adversely affect neighbouring properties and in some cases increase erosion instead of mitigating the problem.
Challenged on that point by reporters, Halman reiterated the government’s position that providing the information and risk assessment tools to make informed decisions is the focus of this plan. “We respect Nova Scotians’ ability to make their own decisions.”
Much of the Coastal Action Plan’s implementation appears to fall on municipalities. Ministers Halman and Lohr said the municipalities would be provided with template bylaws that could be adapted for local governments to use when reforming land use zoning regulations. Those example documents were not released at today’s briefing.
Municipalities appear to bear the brunt of the responsibility for coastal protection under this plan. Lohr says the complexity of the issue due to the diverse coastline means it’s very complicated at the provincial level to establish regulations that deal with all of the possible circumstances. He says the province will work with municipalities to put the plan into action. This will include adaptation workshops for municipal leaders in communities across the province.
Halman says municipalities “have strong processes and systems to ensure community development and building is done in a way that is sustainable and safe.”
A concern with this approach is the downloading of responsibilities to municipal governments, many of which have expressed concern in recent years of the added requirements by the provincial departments they work with in preparing reports, studies and fulfilling regulatory paperwork.
Part of the funding announced today will support the finalisation of flood maps for municipalities. Halman noted that 1/3 of the municipal flood line maps are complete, with the rest expected to be done by the end of 2027.
A provincial survey that aimed to secure feedback from some 40-thousand coastal property owners resulted in only 1070 responses. Halman did not break down the results of that survey to say whether or not there was support for proclaiming the 2019 Coastal Protection Act.
Other Resources:
Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/environmental%20goals%20and%20climate%20change%20reduction.pdf.
Our Climate, Our Future: Nova Scotia’s Climate Change Plan for Clean Growth:https://climatechange.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/ns-climate-change-plan.pdf.
Weathering What’s Ahead: Climate Change Risk and Nova Scotia’s Well-being: https://climatechange.novascotia.ca/climate-impacts.
The Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund is available at: https://nschallengefund.ca/.
From the “Coastal Hazard Map” tool, the photo shows the worst-case scenario for the Pugwash area if estimates of coastal flooding prove correct. By 2100, the area shaded in purple could be under-water during high tides and/or storm surges.
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