Trish lived in a small rural community and she contacted our office with concerns about what she believed to be an improperly installed culvert on private property. Trish had noticed pooling in the culvert and was worried about potential flooding and the risk of stream water infiltrating the ground and well water in the area.

In reviewing relevant documentation, we determined that most changes related to streams require approval by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development (FLNRORD) before projects begin, including culverts installed by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI). However, in Trish’s rural community, the two ministries had a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) allowing MOTI to begin certain projects without FLNRORD’s pre-approval.

Our investigation revealed flaws with the culvert project. It didn’t appear that the project met all the terms of the MOU. For example, an adequate environmental mitigation and monitoring plan had not been developed by the ministry prior to starting the project; changes to the width of the stream at the culvert appeared to increase the risk of sedimentation deposit and groundwater infiltration; and, it appeared MOTI delayed sharing details of the project with FLNRORD, which meant it was not audited according to the agreement.

For flawed projects such as the culvert in Trish’s community, the MOU requires MOTI to propose a remediation plan to FLNRORD. In response to our investigation, MOTI proposed a plan to make  changes to the stream channel at the culvert that would reduce the risk of sedimentation and groundwater infiltration thereby reducing the risk of stream water infiltrating the wells in the community. After consultation, the remediation plan was supported by FLNRORD and the work was completed.