Irrigation pivots -- LNN

By Dori Modney

Both Surface Water And Groundwater

Alberta changes how Water Act licenses are regulated

Nov 22, 2021 | 3:54 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB. — Water Act licenses in Alberta, managed by Alberta Environment and Parks, underwent changes in mid November.

As of November 15, 2021, some provincial Water Act licenses will be managed through the Digital Regulatory Assurance System (DRAS).

This includes new applicants for surface water and groundwater licenses, and all applications for amendments, amalgamations and requests for transfers of existing licenses.

Existing Water Act surface water and groundwater licenses, as well as temporary diversion licenses will continue to be managed in the existing systems until early 2022.

In June of this year, Alberta Environment and Parks took action to streamline its regulatory system with the new Digital Regulatory Assurance System. DRAS is expected to make application reviews more transparent and efficient, while upholding high environmental standards.

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The system will clarify to applicants the environmental regulatory requirements and support the authorization types managed by Alberta Environment and Parks, under the Water Act, Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the Public Lands Act.

DRAS will be used to manage the life-cycle of a project from application to authorization, monitoring and compliance reporting to remediation and closure. The Digital Regulatory Assurance System will roll out in stages through 2023 and will eventually include all applications online.

Future rollouts will include: Water Act temporary diversion licences; Public Lands Act dispositions for commercial and industrial activities; and Drinking water management, as well as all remaining Alberta Environment and Parks activities.

DRAS provisions for applicants will include: The ability to apply for one project with multiple activities within an integrated application; clear application standards and requirements; a clear decision-making process: the ability to track the status of applications in real-time; and improved province-wide consistency in applications.

The DRAS system will also simplify the public notice process and provide clear timelines, while enabling Alberta Environment and Parks to immediately post applications when public notice is required or to receive Statements of Concern.

Additional information on the new Digital Regulatory Assurance System (DRAS) system and the changes can be found on the Alberta Government websitw to Create an Account and Log in to DRAS

How to Create an Account and Log in to DRAS