Heather Wright/The Independent

Some St. Clair councillors are wondering if a new, larger regional conservation authority will be able to help in an emergency.

The Minister of the Environment announced a plan to merge the existing 36 conservation authorities, which are based on watersheds, to seven regional bodies in October. The province believes it will streamline services and provide better customer service while standardizing practices across the province.

The new Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency is to coordinate the new rules for the regional authorities, Minister Todd McCarthy said. The province plans to have the new bodies in place by October 2026, just after the municipal election.

Right now, conservation authorities are managed by boards of municipal councillors. The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, which St. Clair Township is a part of, provides flood management services, manages conservation areas and provides planning advice for Lambton and some of Middlesex Counties.

Feb. 2, Councillor Cathy Langis voiced she was “disappointed” the merger was approved by the Ontario Legislature even before the province was done accepting public input on the plan.

“We have a hard time getting anything from this conservation area in a timely manner, and now that we have expanded to seven (authorities) all joined into one in our area, I’m curious as to how long it’s going to take to get a response back from the conservation authority when we need some answers in an emergency,” she said. 

Langis says the township has been working with SCRCA on changes to Guthrie Park and has not been getting timely answers now.

“What’s going to happen now that they’ve passed this bill and they’ve grossly expanded each area and to cover 23,000 kilometres? It is just insane.”

Mayor Jeff Agar also expressed frustration saying while the concept has been passed by the province, he expects there will be “500 changes” before the new boards start their work.

“It was put out there and there wasn’t a thought about it,” he said.