Working on structures in fish and mussel habitats
What you need to know if you plan to repair, maintain, improve, expand, remove, replace or build new infrastructure in or along waterways that could affect certain fish or mussels and their habitat.
Effective July 1, 2013.
The law
Ontario’s Endangered Species Act protects endangered or threatened species — including fish and mussels that are in decline and disappearing from the province.
You need to follow certain rules if you are working in or around waterways (e.g. rivers, creeks, streams) that are habitat for these species.
The rules apply if you are maintaining, repairing, expanding, removing or replacing a:
- bridge
- culvert
- pier
- pipeline
- conduit
- some other structures
In some cases, the rules also apply to constructing new pipelines and conduits.
Source law
This is a summary of the provincial laws. You can find a complete set of provincial rules related to this activity in:
This page is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on it to determine your legal obligations. To determine your legal obligations, consult the Endangered Species Act, 2007 and its regulations.
If you need legal advice, consult a legal professional. In the event of an error on this page or a conflict between this page and any applicable law, the law prevails.
The rules
You must:
- register the activity and the affected species with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (before work begins)
- take steps to minimize effects to the species and habitat
- provide a benefit to the species (e.g. plant native vegetation to improve water quality)
- create and implement a mitigation plan
- monitor the effectiveness of the steps you take to minimize effects on — and provide benefit to — the species
- create and maintain a monitoring record
- report sightings of rare species (and update registration documents, if needed)
Report a species
If you see or encounter a species, you must inform the Natural Heritage Information Centre — within 3 months of a sighting or encounter.
To report a sighting:
- fill out a Rare Species Reporting form online
- complete each section in the report
- hit the submit button to send in the report
Contact the Natural Heritage Information Centre
Types of species
The rules apply to these species:
Mussels
- Eastern Pondmussel
- Fawnsfoot
- Hickorynut
- Kidneyshell
- Lilliput
- Mapleleaf Mussel
- Rayed Bean
- Round Pigtoe
- Salamander Mussel
- Snuffbox
- Threehorn Wartyback
- Wavy-rayed Lampmussel
Fish
- Eastern Sand Darter
- Pugnose Shiner
- Redside Dace
- Black Redhorse
- Channel Darter
- Cutlip Minnow
- Silver Shiner
- Spotted Gar
- Warmouth
How to register
Minimize effects on a species
You must:
- avoid work during reproduction and rearing seasons
- prevent a species from entering the work area (e.g. install a coffer dam)
- relocate mussels following federal government standards
- keep machinery and vehicles out of the water
- maintain the flow and quality of water
- minimize sediment and erosion
- keep the bottom of culverts open
- use equipment in a way that minimizes the impact on habitat
- restore damage to shorelines (e.g. plant native vegetation)
- follow special rules for pipelines and culverts (e.g. no damage to waterbeds or banks)
- adjust steps you're taking, if they're not working
Benefits to the species
You must enhance the habitat beyond the immediate work area.
To do this, you need to do at least 1 of these activities:
- restore an area of shoreline habitat (called the "riparian" habitat) that is:
- already degraded and
- at least twice the size of the area affected by your work
- plant native vegetation around stormwater-management ponds to improve water quality and reduce water temperature:
- in areas where there’s not enough vegetation around the pond and
- in an area at least twice the size of the one affected by your work
- install certain mechanisms (e.g. a cooling trench) to improve stormwater management and reduce the water temperature
- remove barriers so that fish can move through waterways (e.g. a perched culvert)
You need to finish these activities within 1 year of completing work to structures.
Culverts
Some work to culverts (e.g. replacing a closed-bottom culvert with either an open-bottomed one or a clear-span bridge) can help fish and mussel habitats.
Doing this replacement work means that you do not need to complete an action listed above.
Mitigation plans
Mitigation plans must include the best available information on a species.
You can get this information from:
- The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
- Aboriginal traditional knowledge
- community knowledge (e.g. local nature clubs)
A plan must:
- be prepared by an expert on the species (before work begins)
- describe the work, including:
- how it will affect species and its habitat
- a timeline for all stages of the work (with start and end dates)
- include a map with:
- the location of the work and
- all waterways in the area
- describe how you determined the species was affected (e.g. surveys, records)
- say how you will minimize effects on species
- describe what actions you will take to benefit the species
- describe the state of the area before you provided a benefit to the species (e.g. how degraded it was before you improved it)
- outline how you plan to monitor
You must keep the plan for 5 years after work ends — and give a copy to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks within 14 days, if asked.
Monitoring
You must monitor how effective you are when it comes to:
- minimizing affects to species
- providing benefits to species
This includes collecting information and data about:
- the work site while work is happening (daily)
- the area where you are providing a benefit to the species (daily until actions end)
- both areas for 5 years after work ends
Reporting process
You must prepare and maintain a record that:
- describes the steps you took to minimize effects on the species
- describes the steps you took to benefit the species
- evaluates how effective these steps and actions were
- provides data and information collected during monitoring
- details any encounters with the species
You must keep your record for 5 years after work ends — and give a copy to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, if asked.
Identify a species at risk
If you are unsure about a certain species — and would like help identifying or confirming what it is — you can see photos and get more information on the Endangered Species website.