Objects

Management of waters

36. The objects of the Board are to provide for the conservation and management of waters in Nunavut, except in national parks, through the regulation of the development and utilization of those waters, in a manner that will provide the optimum benefit therefrom for all Canadians and the residents of Nunavut in particular.

Land use plans

37. (1) The Board shall contribute fully to the development of land use plans so far as they concern water in Nunavut, by providing recommendations to the Nunavut Planning Commission.

Review of projects

(2) In order to avoid unnecessary duplication and to ensure that projects are dealt with in a timely manner, the Board shall cooperate and coordinate its consideration of applications under this Act with the Nunavut Planning Commission's review of projects for conformity with land use plans that have been approved under the Agreement.

Screening and review of projects

38. (1) In order to avoid unnecessary duplication and to ensure that projects are dealt with in a timely manner, the Board shall cooperate and coordinate its consideration of applications under this Act with the Nunavut Impact Review Board, in relation to the screening and review of projects by that Board.

Joint hearings

(2) The Board may, in lieu of conducting a separate public hearing in respect of a licence in connection with a project for which a public hearing is to be held by the Nunavut Impact Review Board, conduct, in relation to the project, a joint hearing with that Board or participate in the hearing of that Board.

Other water authorities

39. Where the use of waters or the deposit of waste that is the subject of an application to the Board would have a significant impact on a use of waters or a deposit of waste in a national park or any place outside Nunavut, the Board may collaborate with any body exercising powers of water management in that park or place.

Marine areas

40. (1) The Board may, either jointly with the Nunavut Planning Commission and the Nunavut Impact Review Board, acting as the Nunavut Marine Council referred to in section 15.4.1 of the Agreement, or on its own, advise and make recommendations respecting any marine area to any department or agency of the Government of Canada or the Government of the Northwest Territories, and those governments shall consider that advice and those recommendations when making any decision that may affect that marine area.

Definition of ``marine area''

(2) In this section, ``marine area'' means any waters of the Nunavut Settlement Area, other than inland waters, and the seabed and subsoil below those waters.

LICENCES

General Rules

Issuance

41. (1) Subject to this Act and on application, the Board may issue the appropriate licence.

Exception

(2) The Board may not issue a licence in respect of a use of waters described in subsection 10(2).

Refusal to issue licence

(3) The Board may not refuse to issue a licence merely because the regulations authorize the use of waters or the deposit of waste without a licence.

Renewal, amendment and cancellation

42. (1) Subject to this Act, the Board may

    (a) on application by the licensee, renew a licence, with or without changes to the conditions of the licence;

    (b) amend, for a specified term or other wise, any condition of a licence

      (i) on application by the licensee,

      (ii) to deal with a water shortage, or

      (iii) where the Board considers the amendment to be in the public interest; and

    (c) cancel a licence

      (i) on application by the licensee,

      (ii) where the licensee, for three successive years, fails to exercise the licensee's rights under the licence, or

      (iii) where the Board considers the cancellation to be in the public interest.

Renewal and amendment

(2) Sections 56 to 74 apply in relation to the renewal or amendment of a licence.

Assignment of licences

43. (1) A sale or other disposition by a licensee of any right, title or interest in an appurtenant undertaking constitutes, subject to the authorization of the Board, an assignment of the licence to the person to whom the sale or other disposition is made.

Authoriza-
tion of assignment

(2) The Board shall, on application, authorize the assignment of a licence if it is satisfied that the assignment and the operation of the appurtenant undertaking would not be likely to result in a contravention of any condition of the licence or any provision of this Act or the regulations.

Licence not otherwise assignable

(3) Except as provided in this section, a licence is not assignable.

Term

44. The term of a licence or any renewal shall not exceed twenty-five years.

Expiration or cancellation

45. The expiration or cancellation of a licence does not relieve the holder from any obligations imposed by the licence.

Precedence of licensees

46. Where two persons have applied for the right to use waters under a licence pursuant to this Act or the Northwest Territories Waters Act, the person who first applied for that right is entitled to the use of the waters in accordance with that person's licence in precedence to the licenced use of the waters by the other person.

Applications in Relation to Licences

Requirements

47. (1) An application in relation to a licence shall contain the information and be in the form required by the rules of the Board, and be accompanied by the fees required by the regulations.

Information and studies to be provided to Board

(2) An application, except in relation to a cancellation, shall be accompanied by the information and studies concerning the use of waters or the deposit of waste that are required for the Board to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative effects of the use or the deposit on waters.

Guidelines for applicant

(3) On the filing of an application, the Board may provide guidelines to the applicant respecting the information to be provided by the applicant in respect of any matter that the Board considers relevant, including the following:

    (a) the description of the use of waters, deposit of waste or appurtenant undertak ing, as the case may be;

    (b) the qualitative and quantitative effects of the use of waters or the deposit of waste on the drainage basin where the use is to be undertaken or the deposit is to be made, and the anticipated impact of the use or deposit on other users;

    (c) the measures the applicant proposes to take to avoid or mitigate any adverse impact of the use of waters or the deposit of waste;

    (d) the measures the applicant proposes to take to compensate persons, including the designated Inuit organization, who are adversely affected by the use of waters or the deposit of waste;

    (e) the program the applicant proposes to undertake to monitor the impact of the use of waters or the deposit of waste;

    (f) the interests in and rights to lands and waters that the applicant has obtained or seeks to obtain; and

    (g) the options available for the use of waters or the deposit of waste.

Delegation

48. The Board may delegate to its chief administrative officer the power

    (a) to issue, amend, renew or cancel a licence in relation to which no public hearing is required; and

    (b) to authorize, in accordance with subsec tion 43(2), the assignment of a licence.

Procedure

Standing

49. In the exercise of its functions in relation to applications, the Board shall accord full standing to the following:

    (a) Tunngavik, or any other Organization, within the meaning of section 1.1.1 of the Agreement, designated by Tunngavik to make representations on behalf of the Inuit of Nunavut;

    (b) Makivik to make representations re specting the interests of the Inuit of northern Quebec in relation to islands and marine areas of the Nunavut Settlement Area traditionally used and occupied by those Inuit;

    (c) the councils of the Fort Churchill Indian Band and Northlands Indian Band to make representations respecting their interests in relation to the areas that those bands have traditionally used and continue to use; and

    (d) the councils of the Black Lake Indian Band, Hatchet Lake Indian Band and Fond du Lac Indian Band to make representations respecting their interests in relation to the areas that those bands have traditionally used and continue to use.

The Board shall take into account the representations.

Applications determined summarily

50. (1) Applications in relation to licences for which no public hearing is required shall be dealt with summarily by the Board.

Exception

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Board may, where satisfied that it would be in the public interest to do so, hold a public hearing in connection with any matter relating to its objects.

Public hearing required

51. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and 38(2), a public hearing shall be held by the Board in relation to

    (a) any application in relation to a licence that is not of a prescribed class; and

    (b) an application for permission to ex propriate pursuant to section 75.

Exception

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the applicant or licensee consents in writing to the disposition of a matter without a public hearing, provided that no other person informs the Board by the tenth day before the day of the proposed hearing of the person's intention to make representations.

Place of hearing

52. A public hearing shall be held at the community or communities within Nunavut most affected by the application before the Board.

Powers at hearings

53. The Board has, in respect of public hearings, the powers of a commissioner appointed under Part I of the Inquiries Act.

Notice of applications

54. (1) The Board shall give notice of every application in relation to a licence to the council of each municipality in the area affected by the application and shall publish the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected or, if there is no such newspaper, in such other manner as the Board considers appropriate. The notice shall invite interested persons to make representations within a specified period and shall advise those persons of the provisions of subsections 57(2) and 59(2).

Notice of hearings

(2) Where the Board decides or is required under this Act to hold a public hearing, it shall give notice, in the manner described in subsection (1), at least sixty days before the commencement of the hearing, of the place, date and time of the hearing. The place, date and time of the hearing must be chosen and the notice published by the Board in a manner that promotes public awareness and participation in that hearing.

Communica-
tion of information

(3) Where a public hearing is held in relation to an application, the information provided to the Board in relation to the application shall be made available to the public within a reasonable period of time before the commencement of the hearing.

Where public hearing not held

(4) Where a public hearing is not held in relation to an application, the Board shall not act on the application until at least thirty days after notice of the application has been published pursuant to subsection (1) unless, in the opinion of the Board, there are urgent circumstances that justify the Board acting on that application in a shorter period, but that shorter period shall not be less than ten days.

Exception

(5) Subsections (1) and (4) do not apply in respect of an application for the amendment of a licence where the Board, with the consent of the federal Minister, declares the amendment to be required on an emergency basis.

Conditions of Issuance

Approval of issuance

55. The issuance, amendment, renewal and cancellation of a type A licence and, where a public hearing is held, a type B licence are subject to the approval of the federal Minister.

Conditions for issuance of licence

56. The Board may not issue a licence unless the applicant satisfies the Board that

    (a) any waste produced by the appurtenant undertaking will be treated and disposed of in a manner that is appropriate for the maintenance of the water quality standards and effluent standards that are prescribed by the regulations or, in the absence of such regulations, that the Board considers ac ceptable; and

    (b) the financial responsibility of the appli cant, taking into account the applicant's past performance, is adequate for

      (i) the completion of the appurtenant undertaking,

      (ii) such measures as may be required in mitigation of any adverse impact, and

      (iii) the satisfactory maintenance and restoration of the site in the event of any future closing or abandonment of that undertaking.

Compensation of existing users

57. (1) The Board may not issue a licence unless the applicant satisfies the Board that

    (a) the use of waters or the deposit of waste proposed by the applicant would not have significant adverse effects on the use of waters by any existing licensee who holds a licence issued pursuant to this Act or the Northwest Territories Waters Act or by any other applicant who would be entitled to use waters in precedence to the applicant by virtue of section 46, or the applicant has entered into an agreement to compensate the existing licensee or other applicant for any adverse effects; or

    (b) where the adverse effects on any such existing licensee or other applicant would not be significant, the applicant has paid or undertaken to pay compensation to the licensee or applicant in an amount that the Board considers appropriate.

Failure to respond

(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(b), an applicant need not indemnify an existing licensee or other applicant referred to in that paragraph who fails to respond to the notice of application given pursuant to subsection 54(1) within the time period specified in that notice for making representations to the Board.

Limitation

58. Section 57 does not apply to a person who holds a licence or who has applied for a licence in relation to an instream use.

Compensation of other users

59. (1) The Board may not issue a licence for a use of waters or a deposit of waste unless the applicant satisfies the Board that appropriate compensation has been or will be paid by the applicant to any person who would be adversely affected by the use or the deposit and who, at the time the application was filed,

    (a) used waters for a domestic purpose in the Northwest Territories;

    (b) held a licence under this Act or the Northwest Territories Waters Act to deposit waste in the Northwest Territories;

    (c) was, as authorized by the regulations, using waters or depositing waste in the Northwest Territories without a licence;

    (d) was an owner or an occupier of land, except Inuit-owned land, in the Northwest Territories; or

    (e) was a holder of an outfitting concession, a registered trapline or other rights of a similar nature in the Northwest Territories.

Failure to respond

(2) An applicant need not compensate a person referred to in subsection (1) who fails to respond to the notice of application given pursuant to subsection 54(1), within the time period specified in that notice for making representations to the Board.

Factors in determining compensation

60. In determining whether compensation is appropriate for the purpose of paragraph 57(1)(b) or subsection 59(1), the Board shall consider all relevant factors, including

    (a) provable loss or damage;