Regulation on charges payable for the use of water in force

(BY HUGO)

As announced by the Québec Ministry for Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, the Regulation respecting the charges payable for the use of water published in the Gazette Officielle on 15 December 2010 has come into force 15 days after its publication.

Some of the significant features of Regulation were mentioned in a previous post. Some amendments to previous draft versions of the Regulation are as follows:

- Contrary to earlier versions, the manufacturing of canned, dried or marinated fruits and vegetables will finally not be subjected to the higher tariff (see section 5);

- Contrary to earlier versions, the higher tariff will only be applied to activities that incorporate water in the final product (section 5). This measure can be linked to the virtual water and water trade discussion. In a fall 2010 report on Freshwater Supply and Demand in Canada, Statistics Canada concluded that:

«More water is embedded in forest products than food. When precipitation was included, the production of exported lumber, wood pulp, paper, and other forest products required seven times more water than the production of exported agricultural commodities.» (p.6)

Wood and paper products are subjected to the Regulation (see section 3 and Schedule) but not to the higher tariff.

- The fines for contraventions to the Regulation are increased.

The first charges are due on 31 March 2012.

Water resources pricing in Québec

(BY HUGO)

On 27 April, the Québec Ministry for Sustainable development, Environment and Parks presented a regulation project on pricing of water resources use.

The projected regulation aims at imposing a fee on water usage to preserve water resources.

Two different pricing brackets are used. The first imposes a fee of 0,07 CAN$/m³ for the following users:

- Bottled water production;
- Drinks fabrication;
- Canned food production;
- Non-metallic mineral production;
- Pesticide and chemical fertilizer production;
- Inorganic chemical production;
- Oil and gaz extraction.

The second fee bracket is set at 0,0025 CAN$/m³ for the rest of subjected water users. Official justification for the differentiated tariff is based on the fact that the sectors subjected to the higher fee do not return used water to its watershed of origine. However, the agricultural sector is notably excluded from the application of the projected regulation. This is apparently justified by the fact that 95% of farmers use water quantities bellow 75 m³/day, a volume generally deemed insignificant from a resource conservation perspective.

An article from Jean-François Cliche in Le Soleil indicates that the Ministry does not consider the fee as a financial incentive impacting water users behaviour but as an environmental measure.

Comments on the projected regulation can be presented to the Ministry for a consultation period of 60 days.