Flood of concern

When a conservation authority approved a permit to fill regulated flood plains, we received several complaints from local residents concerned about the negative effects on the environment. Officials at the conservation authority told us the permit was unprecedented, but found no grounds to deny the application. Our review confirmed that the authority had followed its own processes for approving the permit, including taking steps to answer questions from the community. We referred the residents to Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights for other avenues of recourse on the possible impacts to the environment, and shared best practices with the conservation authority to help improve public notice and transparency for future public meetings and decision-making.