Appendix

Appendix

Schedule of Applicable Policies

Policies listed are applicable to a decision if an “x” is marked in the row associated with the policy in the column associated with a type of decision. Decisions must conform with “DP” policies and have regard to “HR” policies³.

Glossary

Adverse effect

means any impairment, disruption, destruction or harmful alteration. (ORMCP)

Agricultural uses

means the growing of crops, including nursery and horticultural crops; raising livestock; raising of other animals for food, fur or fibre, including poultry and fish; aquaculture; apiaries; agro-forestry; maple syrup production; and associated on-farm buildings and structures, including accommodation for full-time farm labour when the size and nature of the operation requires additional employment. (Provincial Policy Statement, 2005)

Agricultural-related use

means those farm-related commercial and industrial uses that are small-scale and directly related to a farm operation, and are required in close proximity to the farm operation. (Provincial Policy Statement, 2005)

Average Concentration Limit

means the effluent concentration of a contaminant set out in a sewage treatment plant approval that shall not be exceeded by the owner for any specified period in time.

Benthic

means bottom dwelling organisms that are used as indicators of environmental conditions.

Biodiversity

means the variability among living organisms from all sources, including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems

Bioengineering

means a natural engineering technique for bank stabilization that incorporates the use of native plants together with natural materials (logs, live stakes, live brush bundles, etc.) to increase slope stability.

Connectivity

means the degree to which key natural heritage features or key hydrologic features are connected to one another by links such as plant and animal movement corridors, hydrologic and nutrient cycling, genetic transfer, and energy flow through food webs. (Greenbelt Plan)

Development

means the creation of a new lot, a change in land use, or the construction of buildings and structures, any of which require approval under the Planning Act, the Public Lands Act, the Conservation Authorities Act, or that are subject to the Environmental Assessment Act, but does not include,

1. the construction of facilities for transportation, infrastructure and utilities used by a public body;
2. activities or works under the Drainage Act; or
3. the carrying out of agricultural practices on land that was being used for agricultural uses on the date the Plan came into effect.

Director

means a Director appointed under section 5 of the Ontario Water Resources Act.

Dissolved oxygen

as it relates to the target of 7 mg/L, means the late summer, volume weighted, hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen concentration of 7 mg/L in Lake Simcoe.

Ecological Integrity

which includes hydrological integrity, means the condition of ecosystems in which,

1. the structure, composition and function of the ecosystems are unimpaired by stresses from human activity,
2. natural ecological processes are intact and self-sustaining, and
3. the ecosystems evolve naturally. (ORMCP)

Ecological functions

means the natural processes, products or services that living and non-living environments provide or perform within or between species, ecosystems and landscapes, including hydrological functions and biological, physical, chemical and socio-economic interactions. (ORMCP)

Enhanced protection level

means the level of protection for stormwater management works specified in Chapter 3 of the MOE's Stormwater Management Planning and Design Manual, 2003 that corresponds to the end-of-pipe storage volumes required for the long-term average removal of 80% of suspended solids.

Environmentally sustainable recreation

means an environmentally and socially responsible form of recreation which focuses on the intrinsic attractions of the natural and cultural environment and minimizes the impacts on ecosystems and the human community, while providing economic benefits for all on a sustained rather than short-term basis.

Existing settlement areas

are settlement areas that are designated in an official plan on the date the Plan comes into effect.

Existing uses

means uses legally established prior to the date that the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan came into force. Existing agricultural accessory buildings and structures including farm dwellings can expand on the same lot subject to the provisions of the municipal zoning by-law. (Greenbelt Plan)

Fish habitat

As defined in the Fisheries Act, c. F-14, means spawning grounds and nursery, rearing, food supply, and migration areas on which fish depend directly or indirectly in order to carry out their life processes. (PPS, 2005)

General regulation

means Ontario Regulation 219/09 that is made under the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008

High quality

with respect to natural cover means that the cover demonstrates a number of characteristics that influence the functional ability of a feature such as shape, age, structure and area of cover.

Hypolimnion or Hypolimnetic

means the cold lower layer of water below the thermocline in a stratified lake. Lake stratification generally sets up in the spring and lasts until early fall when the lake becomes fully mixed. The temperature of this lower layer of cold water is generally uniform and does not mix with the shallower warmer surface water during the summer and early fall.

Indicators

are scientific variables (things that scientist measure) that help to simplify large amounts of complex information. They are a guide used to determine if environmental quality or health is good or bad, e.g. dissolved oxygen and phosphorous concentrations are often used to characterize and communicate the condition or health of a lake to the public (adapted from Lake Simcoe Science Advisory Committee report).

Infrastructure

means physical structures (facilities or corridors) that form the foundation for development or resource use. Infrastructure includes: sewage and water systems, sewage treatment systems, waste management systems, electric power generation and transmission including renewable energy systems, communications/telecommunications, transit and transportation corridors and facilities, oil and gas pipelines and associated facilities, but does not include "community infrastructure" as defined by the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2006. (Greenbelt Plan)

Integrated treatment train approach

refers to a planned sequence of methods of controlling stormwater and keeping its impact to a minimum by techniques including, but not limited to:

• source controls, such as green roofs;
• lot-level controls such as rain gardens;
• conveyance controls such as grassed swales; and
• end-of-pipe controls such as wet ponds at the final discharge stage.

Intermittent streams

means stream-related watercourses that contain water or are dry at times of the year that are more or less predictable, generally flowing during wet seasons of the year but not the entire year, and where the water table is above the stream bottom during parts of the year. (Greenbelt Plan)

Invasive species

means species of plants, animals, and micro-organisms introduced by human action outside their natural past or present distribution whose introduction or spread threatens the environment, the economy, or society.

Invasive species watch list

means a list of invasive species that have high potential to be introduced to the watershed so should be "watched" for through general observation and more organized monitoring initiatives.

Lakes

means any inland body of standing water, usually fresh water, larger than a pool or pond or a body of water filling a depression in the earth’s surface. (Greenbelt Plan)

Lake Simcoe Coordinating Committee

means the committee established in Section 19 of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008 .

Lake Simcoe Science Committee

means the committee established in Section 18 of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008 .

Lake Simcoe Science Advisory Committee and Lake Simcoe Stakeholder Advisory Committee

mean the temporary committees established to assist in developing the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008 and the initial Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.

Lake Simcoe Shoreline

means the mark made by the action of water under natural conditions on the shore or bank of Lake Simcoe which action is so common and usual and so long continued that it has created a difference between the character of the vegetation or soil on one side of the mark and the character of the vegetation or soil on the other side of the mark.

Lake Simcoe Watershed

means,

1. Lake Simcoe and the part of Ontario, the water of which drains into Lake Simcoe, or
2. If the boundaries of the area described by clause (a) are described more specifically in regulations, the area within those boundaries (Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008).

Littoral Zone

means the area of shallow water in a lake that extends from the shoreline lakeward to the limit occupancy of rooted aquatic plants.

Major Development

means development consisting of:

1. the creation of four or more lots;
2. the construction of a building or buildings within a ground floor area of 500 m² or more,; or
3. the establishment of a major recreational use. (ORMCP)

Major recreational use

means recreational uses that require large-scale modification of terrain, vegetation, or both and usually also require large-scale buildings or structures, including but not limited to the following:

1. golf courses;
2. serviced playing fields;
3. serviced campgrounds; and
4. ski hills. (Greenbelt Plan)

Mineral aggregate operation

means:

1. An operation, other than wayside pits and quarries, conducted under a licence or permit under the Aggregate Resources Act, or successors thereto; and
2. Associated facilities used in extraction, transport, beneficiation, processing or recycling of mineral aggregate resources and derived products such as asphalt and concrete, or the production of secondary related products. (Greenbelt Plan)

Municipal sewage treatment plant

means a sewage treatment plant owned by a municipality or part of a municipal responsibility agreement.

Natural self sustaining vegetation

means self sustaining vegetation dominated by native plant species. (ORMCP)

Non-municipal sewage treatment plant

means a sewage treatment plant that is not owned by a municipality or part of a municipal responsibility agreement.

On-site sewage system

means a sewage system to which the Building Code Act, 1992 applies.

Partial services

means:

1. municipal sewage services or private communal sewage services and individual on-site water services; or
2. municipal water services or private communal water services and individual on-site sewage services. (Provincial Policy Statement, 2005)

Permanent stream

means a stream that continually flows in an average year. (Greenbelt Plan)

Priority stormwater management works

means stormwater management works that satisfy criteria established by the Ministry of Environment as may be amended from time to time. Such criteria may identify works based on a range of matters including, the size and type of development serviced by the works, the location of the works, any relevant subwatershed evaluations or stormwater management master plans, if available and the results of the phosphorous reduction strategy.

Primary production dynamics

means the production of organic compounds from atmospheric or aquatic carbon dioxide, principally through the process of photosynthesis.

Rated Capacity

means the average daily flow for which a sewage treatment plant is approved to handle.

Recreational activities

means the types of land and water based activities that residents and tourists partake in at one’s own leisure for personal growth and development.

Redevelopment

means the creation of new units, uses or lots on previously developed land in existing communities, including brownfield sites. (PPS, 2005)

Renewable energy systems

means the production of electrical power from an energy source that is renewed by natural processes including but not limited to wind, water, biomass resource or product or solar and geothermal energy. (PPS, 2005)

Riparian area

means the area of land adjacent to a stream, river, lake or wetland.

Settlement areas

means urban areas and rural settlement areas within municipalities (such as cities, towns, villages and hamlets) where:

1. development is concentrated and which have a mix of land uses; and
2. lands have been designated in an official plan for development over the long term planning horizon provided for in the Provincial Policy Statement, 2005. Where there are no lands that have been designated over the long-term, the settlement area may be no larger than the area where development is concentrated. (Growth Plan)

Sewage

includes drainage, stormwater, commercial wastes and industrial wastes and such other matter or substance as is specified by the regulations under the Ontario Water Resources Act. (OWRA)

Sewage treatment plant

means a sewage works for which an approval is required under section 53 of the Ontario Water Resources Act and that,

1. treats sewage from one or more buildings within the meaning of the Building Code Act, 1992,;
2. disposes of the treated sewage in a surface water body in the Lake Simcoe watershed,; and
3. phosphorus is present in the treated sewage.

Sewage Works

means any works for the collection, transmission, treatment and disposal of sewage or any part of such works, but does not include plumbing to which the Building Code Act, 1992 applies. (OWRA)

Shoreline built-up areas

means shoreline areas outside of settlement areas that are:

1. built-up areas where development is concentrated; or
2. lands which have been designated in municipal official plans and zoned in municipal zoning by-laws for concentrated development, as of the date this Plan came into effect.

Significant

means:

1. In regard to wetlands, an area identified as provincially significant by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources using evaluation procedures established by the Province, as amended from time to time;
2. In regard to the habitat of endangered species and, threatened species, means the habitat, as approved by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, that is necessary for the maintenance, survival, and/or the recovery of naturally occurring or reintroduced populations of endangered species or, threatened species, and where those areas of occurrence are occupied or habitually occupied by the species during all or any part(s) of its life cycle;
3. In regard to woodlands, an area which is ecologically important in terms of features such as species composition, age of trees and stand history; functionally important due to its contribution to the broader landscape because of its location, size or due to the amount of forest cover in the planning area; or economically important due to site quality, species composition, or past management history. The Province (Ministry of Natural Resources) identifies criteria relating to the forgoing (Greenbelt Plan); and
4. In regard to valleylands, ecological important in terms of features, functions, representation or amount, and contributing to the quality and diversity of an identifiable geographic area or natural heritage system. The Province (Ministry of Natural Resources) identifies criteria relating to the forgoing (Greenbelt Plan).

Site alteration

means activities such as filling, grading and excavation that would change the landform and natural vegetative characteristics of land, but does not include:

1. The construction of facilities for transportation, infrastructure and utilities uses by a public body;
2. Activities or works under the Drainage Act; or
3. The carrying out of agricultural practices on land that was being used for agricultural uses on the date the Plan came into effect. (Greenbelt Plan)

Stormwater management works

means sewage works for which an approval is required under section 53 of the Ontario Water Resources Act and which is designed to manage stormwater.

Subsurface sewage works

means a sewage works that disposes of sewage from one or more buildings within the meaning of the Building Code Act, 1992, does not dispose of sewage to a surface water body and for which an approval is required under section 53 of the Ontario Water Resources Act by virtue of subsection 53 (6.1) of the Act.

Tier 2 water budget

means a water budget developed using computer based three dimensional groundwater flow models and computer based continuous surface water flow models to assess groundwater flows and levels, surface water flows and levels, and the interactions between them. (Director’s technical rules made under the Clean Water Act, 2006)

Valleyland

means a natural area that occurs in a valley or other landform depression that has water flowing through or standing for some period of the year (ORMCP).

Water quality trading

means an approach to achieving water quality targets or objectives in which a point source may offset with or purchase pollutant reduction credits from another point source or non-point source in a defined geographic area (e.g. the same watershed) which can then be used to meet the point source’s discharge requirements for the same pollutant. Water quality trading will be further defined by regulation (rules, requirements, conditions, etc.) if enabled through regulation.

Wetland

means land such as a swamp, marsh, bog or fen (not including land that is being used for agricultural purposes and no longer exhibits wetland characteristics) that,

1. is seasonally or permanently covered by shallow water or has the water table close to or at the surface;
2. has hydric soils and vegetation dominated by hydrophytic or water-tolerant plants; and
3. has been further identified, by the Ministry of Natural Resources or by any other person, according to evaluation procedures established by the Ministry of Natural Resources, as amended from time to time (ORMCP).

Wildlife habitat

means land that,

1. is an area where plants, animals and other organisms live or have the potential to live and find adequate amounts of food, water, shelter and space to sustain their population, including an area where a species concentrates at a vulnerable point in its annual or life cycle and an area that is important to a migratory or non-migratory species; and
2. has been further identified, by the Ministry of Natural Resources or by any other person, according to evaluation procedures established by the Ministry of Natural Resources, as amended from time to time (ORMCP)

Woodland

means a treed area, woodlot or forested area, other than a cultivated fruit or nut orchard or a plantation established for the purpose of producing Christmas trees (ORMCP).

List of acronyms

DFO

Department of Fisheries and Oceans

DP

Designated Policies

EFP

Environmental Farm Plans

LSEMS

Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy

LSCRA

Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority

M

Monitoring (policies)

MEI

Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (formerly MPIR – Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal)

MMAH

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

MHP

Ministry of Health Promotion

MNR

Ministry of Natural Resources

MOE

Ministry of the Environment

MTR

Ministry of Tourism

NGO

Non-government organizations

OFAH

Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters

MAFRA

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

ORMCP

Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan

OWRA

Ontario Water Resources Act

PPS

Provincial Policy Statement

SA

Strategic Actions (policies)

Get Involved

Protecting Lake Simcoe is a partnership among all of us.

You can contact:

Lake Simcoe Project Team
Ministry of the Environment
55 St. Clair Ave. West, 7^th floor Toronto, ON M4V 2Y7

• Tel: 416-325-4000
• Toll-free: 1-800-565-4923
• Fax: 416-327-9823

Email: protectlakesimcoe@ontario.ca
Website: Lake Simcoe Protection Plan

Lake Simcoe Protection Plan Approved Amendments
List updated Sept 30, 2010

This Table sets out amendments to the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. Under the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may approve an amendment or in circumstances described in the Plan, the Minister may approve an amendment. Policy 8.13 of the Plan sets out the types of amendments the Minister may approve.