By Barb Brouwer
Contributor
Columbia Shuswap Regional District directors are floating another reminder to the provincial and federal governments regarding the removal of non-compliant and illegal buoys from Shuswap and Mara lakes.
At the Feb. 15 board meeting in Salmon Arm, directors voted unanimously to endorse a resolution to the Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA), the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The resolution states many B.C. local governments continue to experience an ongoing significant proliferation of non-compliant and illegal buoys on lakes in the province, which has led to an untenable enforcement and public safety situation, as well as causing environmental and fisheries concerns.
It is also a reminder to the province and federal government that they have a shared jurisdictional authority and responsibility regarding enforcement and removal.
“One of the most common complaints CSRD gets is about the proliferation of buoys around the lake, including from residents who have them,” said CSRD board Chair Kevin Flynn, noting buoys need to meet the new standards established by the federal government to deal with safety and environmental concerns. “We need to keep removing them and the levels of government that have the authority need to do that.”
This is not the first time the regional district has appealed to the province and the federal government through a resolution.
Read more: Sunken boat found during enforcement around buoys on Shuswap Lake
Read more: ‘Oh buoy’: Transport Canada to clean up Shuswap Lake
In 2017, the CSRD submitted a resolution to SILGA regarding dock and buoy regulation, which was presented to and endorsed by the UBCM membership. The 2017 resolution pointed out that local governments in B.C. have limited enforcement options, staff resources or cost-effective legal tools to deal with the significant number of unlawfully placed docks and buoys on lakes and rivers.
The earlier resolution also called on the province and UBCM to ask Ottawa to increase Transport Canada’s resources to more effectively regulate and remove buoys on lakes and rivers in BC that have been illegally placed, are unsafe, are undocumented or of unknown ownership.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development responded by saying the Compliance and Enforcement Branch, in consultation with regional staff, would work to identify areas of the highest concern, conduct marine patrols and pursue enforcement action on identified illegal works.
Buoy compliance efforts took place in the Shuswap and Mara Lakes in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. The collaborative effort with CSRD was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October, 2023, CSRD staff worked with Transport Canada to remove 28 buoys, following the tagging in May and June of 342 that were non-compliant.
Between 2018 and 2023, some 969 buoys were tagged as non compliant with 166 removed from Shuswap and Mara lakes. Buoys are tagged first in order to give owners the opportunity to remove them voluntarily.