TERRITORIAL MANAGEMENT    Ongoing major issues

Context

As of December 14, 2016, the regional county municipalities (MRC) have been granted a new power, which consists of  delimiting the mining territories in their land use and development plan (SAD).

In availing itself of this power, the MRC established under the provision of Article 6 of the Act Respecting Land Use Planning and Development  (1st paragraph, clause 7), may delimit in its land use and development plan any territory that is incompatible with mining activity pertaining to Article  304.1.1 of the Mining Act.

An incompatible mining activity territory (TIAM), as it pertains to the Mining Act, is a territory in which the viability of activities would be compromised by the impacts of mining, whether such territories are located on private sector land or on the domain of the State.

In this context, the elected officials of Brome-Missisquoi decided to move forward with an  amendment in the land use and development plan to identify the territories where the granting of new mining rights would be prohibited.

Government guidelines to comply with in the structuring of mining activity  

In addition to the legislative component, the Government devised a set of guidelines serving as a structural document for the MRCs in conducting the identification process of incompatible territories for mining activity (TIAM). Here are the government guidelines with which the MRCs must comply:

Objectives	Expectations
1. Protect activities whose viability would be jeopardized by the impact ensuing from mining activity in relation to the uses of the territory and concerns of the community	1.1 Identify and delimit the TIAMs  1.2 Know and consider the concerns of the community 1.3 Know and consider the mining rights
2. Promote the development of mineral resources through the harmonizing of their uses	2.1 Regulating implementation of sensitive uses near mining sites

To learn more about the government guidelines pertaining to development of the territory “Pour assurer une cohabitation harmonieuse de l’activité minière avec les autres utilisations du territoire“, please go to the following link (in French only):  https://www.mamot.gouv.qc.ca/amenagement-du-territoire/orientations-gouvernementales/activite-miniere/

Status of the situation in Brome-Missisquoi

Active mining titles for mineral substances in the State domain in Brome-Missisquoi

Based on the information available at the time of the adoption of the draft regulation in June 2018, here are the active mining titles on Brome-Missisquoi’s territory:

A) Operating permit

There are no active operating permits on the territory of Brome-Missisquoi, and this applies to any type of mining sites whose mineral substances are in the State domain.

B) Claim for mineral substances that are in the State domain in Brome-Missisquoi

There are claims on the territory of the following municipalities: Bromont, Dunham, Frelighsburg and Sutton. The table below provides details regarding these claims:

Quarries and sand pits whose mineral substances are in the private sector:

Currently, on the Brome-Missisquoi territory, the only active mining sites are quarries and sand pits whose mineral substances are in the private sector. These uses are permitted in the land use and development plan in the following major sectors: Agriculture, Agroforestry, Recroforestry and Extraction. This comprises 1 346.88 km², which is 80% of the Brome-Missisquoi territory.

Adoption of regulation 10-0618

Regulation 10-0618, adopted on November 28, 2018, is designed to integrate provisions into the land use and development plan (SAD) to structure mining activity and ensure a harmonious co-existence of such activities with other uses of the territory. More specifically, the regulation is designed for the purpose of:

• Identifying, with the help of a map, the incompatible territories for mining activities and add standard provisions;
• Planning for provisions pertaining to quarries and sand pits whose mineral substances are in the private sector;

• Adding provisions to structure the implementation of sensitive uses (Ex: residential, institutional, recreational uses, etc.).

In the regulation, the territories incompatible with mining activities that have been identified by the MRC comprise near 95% of the territory and are in force since February 14, 2019.
Here are the elements deemed to be incompatible with mining activity in regulation 10-0618:

• The entire urbanization perimeter to which a 1,000-metre protection strip has been added;
• The dynamic Agriculture designation shown in Appendix 2 of the land use and development plan (SAD);
• The grouping of five or more contiguous lots occupied by a residence to which a 600-metre protection strip has been added;
• The grouping of five or more contiguous lots which has urban type use (other than residential);
• A lot that is the site of a historical, cultural or heritage activity;
• A lot that is the site of an agri-tourist activity;
• A lot which has an intensive recreational activity;
• A lot where a conservation activity is taking place;
• Facilities from which underground or surface water is being drawn for the purposes of human consumption identified to the SAD and their protection area.

Links to the documents:

• Link to regulation 10-0618
• Link to the land use and development plan (SAD) (mettre ce lien :  https://mrcbm.qc.ca/fr/docu_reglement.php)

Summary of the regulation

Next steps:

To consult the revised incompatible territories to the mining activity following the notice of non-compliance of the Government, please refer to the following map:

Click here for the map

Other relevant links

• Link to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources (MERN) website

• GESTIM (service de consultation électronique en temps réel des données dès qu'elles sont inscrites au registre public des droits miniers réels et immobiliers du Québec.)

• Interactive map on SIGEOM (Système d'information géominière du Québec)

Additional questions

Should you have any questions, please contact the person in charge of this dossier at the MRC, Mrs. Nathalie Grimard, at ngrimard@mrcbm.qc.ca or at 450 266-4900 extension 242.

Dans le cadre de l’article 59 de la Loi sur la protection du territoire agricole du Québec, la MRC a procédé à une demande à portée collective afin d’identifier les îlots déstructurés sur son territoire.  Ces îlots représentent des secteurs en zone agricole permanente (zone verte) où l’on retrouve une concentration d’usages à des fins autres qu’agricoles, principalement résidentiels.  Cette demande a pour but d’autoriser l’établissement de nouvelles résidences par la CPTAQ à l’intérieur des îlots identifiés en une seule et même décision, tout en respectant les dispositions particulières d’aménagement établies par la MRC.

La décision no 372362 de la CPTAQ reconnait 207 îlots déstructurés sur l’ensemble du territoire de Brome-Missisquoi. La MRC a adopté en janvier 2013 un règlement de remplacement pour faire entrer en vigueur cette décision, remplacement rendu nécessaire suite au refus en juin 2012 du premier RCI de la MRC par le ministre des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire (MAMROT). Ce règlement de remplacement a aussi fait l’objet d’un refus de la part du MAMROT en mars 2013, ce qui a empêché son entrée en vigueur. Le règlement de remplacement visait à faire reconnaitre 189 des 207 îlots (voir annexe C), alors que les 18 îlots restants (annexe D) étaient temporairement exclus du règlement, le temps de négocier avec le gouvernement et les partenaires et d’en réviser les limites. La MRC continue à travailler ce dossier pour trouver un terrain d’entente avec le gouvernement.

Voici l’ensemble des documents nécessaires à la compréhension des îlots déstructurés :

• Décision finale de la CPTAQ (11 avril 2012)
  
  
• Carte interactive des îlots déstructurés

• Règlement RCI numéro 03-0513 (en vigueur)
  

Development Plan of the Agricultural Zone

Brome-Missisquoi: for a green and healthy agriculture

Plan de développement de la zone agricole (PDZA)

Résumé plan de développement de la zone agricole (PDZA)

In partnership with the Ministère de l’Agriculture, Pêcherie et Alimentation du Québec(MAPAQ), the MRC is currently developing a plan to develop its agricultural zone (PDZA) as part of a provincial pilot project.

This plan is intended to be a territorial planning tool aiming at fostering the development of the region's full agricultural potential. More precisely, it is intended to promote the development of agriculture in the region and its related activities within the agricultural zone. This approach relies mainly on the community's cooperation to meet the interests and wishes of those concerned by suitable agriculture for the region.

Participate on the PDZA's BLOG! Express your self !

Consult the "Guide du bon voisinage”
produced by Au Coeur des Familles Agricoles. (in French only)