Plan Review & Permitting Process
For landowners, solicitors or real estate agents working on behalf of a client in the GRCA Watershed who have questions about GRCA’s plan review and permitting process or want additional information about a piece of land, GRCA staff would be pleased to provide information regarding any questions you may have and provide comment through our inquiry process.
Are you looking for more information about a property or are you a solicitor wanting to acquire written information about a specific property?
GRCA administers Ontario Regulation 41/24 and the Conservation Authorities Act. GRCA regulates development and activities in or adjacent to river or stream valleys, Great Lakes and inland lake shorelines, watercourses, floodplains, wetlands and hazardous lands. A permit from the GRCA may be required in these areas for such activities as new construction (eg: home, addition, accessory structure, pool, deck, septic etc.) or fill placement and/or site grading.
GRCA also regulates alterations to watercourses — the straightening, changing, diverting or interfering in any way with the existing channel of a river, creek, stream or wetland. This may include stream bank erosion protection or the installation of a bridge or culvert.
GRCA’s regulation is intended to ensure that development taking place within these lands is protected from flooding, erosion, dynamic beaches, unstable soils and bedrock.
- Policies & Guidelines for the Administration & Implementation of the Conservation Authorities Act & Ontario Regulation 41/24
- Ontario Regulation 41/24
- GRCA Lake Ontario Shoreline Management Plan Hazard Maps
- Lake Ontario Shoreline Management Plan
- Erosion & Sediment Control Guideline
- Erosion & Sediment Control Inspection Guide
- Technical & Engineering Guidelines for Stormwater Management Submissions
- Hydrogeological Assessment
- Rural & Agricultural Guide to Permits
- Low Impact Development Guide
- Fisheries & Oceans Canada Standards & Codes of Practice
- Provincial Planning Statement, 2024
- PRESENTATION: Legislative Updates to the Conservation Authorities Act & How Your Municipality My Be Impacted (June 20, 2024)
- MNRF (2002 as amended). River and Stream Systems: Flooding Hazard Limit Technical Guide
- MNRF (2002). River and Stream Systems: Erosion Hazard Limit Technical Guide
- MNRF (2001). Understanding Natural Hazards
- MNRF (1996). Hazardous Sites Technical Guide
- MNRF (1997). Wave Uprush and Overtopping: Methodologies and Applications (Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Systems)
- MNRF (2022). Ontario Wetland Evaluation System: Southern Manual
Administration Office
2216 County Road 28
Port Hope, ON L1A 3V8
T: 905.885.8173
F: 905.885.9824
Ganaraska Forest Centre
10585 Cold Springs Camp Road
Campbellcroft, ON L0A 1B0
T: 905.885.8173
F: 905.797.2545