Province wants feedback on new back-road legislation

The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations has released a discussion paper on proposed legislation governing resource roads on crown lands. The Natural Resource Roads Act (NRRA) will impact any water supplier with works on crown lands.

Particularly significant under the new Act will be the appointment of a “Designated Maintainer” for a particular resource road. The Designated Maintainer will be responsible for keeping the road in a safe condition commensurate with the intended use of the road. Roads that do not have a designated maintainer will be subject to deactivation.

The discussion paper on the NRRA is available online: NRRA. Note the deadline for comments is December 15, 2011. The Water Supply Association encourages our members to review this issue carefully – it will have an impact on any of our members who use back-roads on crown lands. The association will be calling for the Province to release the legislation in draft for review and before it is introduced to the Legislature for enactment.