Conservation Authority Approvals in Ontario: A Simple Guide (That Won’t Make You Hate Paper)

conservation approvals
Section 28 approvals Floodplain & wetlands Homeowner-friendly

Conservation Authority Approvals in Ontario: A Simple Guide (That Won’t Make You Hate Paper)

If you’re building near a river, creek, wetland, shoreline, valley slope, or any place where water likes to misbehave, there’s a good chance someone will say: “you need Conservation Authority approval.” This guide explains what that actually means in Ontario, why people get stuck, and how to get through it without turning your inbox into a horror movie.

TL;DR: Conservation Authorities don’t exist to stop your project for sport. Their job is to manage natural hazards (flooding, erosion, unstable slopes, dynamic beaches) and protect wetlands and watercourses in regulated areas. If your property falls in a regulated area and you’re doing certain activities, you may need a permission – often called a “Section 28 permit” – before your municipality can issue a building permit.

First: what a Conservation Authority is (and isn’t)

A Conservation Authority (CA) is a watershed-based public agency in Ontario. “Watershed-based” is a fancy way of saying: they follow the water, not the municipal boundary. That’s why two lots on the same road can have totally different rules – because one drains to a creek and the other drains to your neighbour’s sump pump (kidding, mostly).

Here’s the important part: a CA usually isn’t your building department and it isn’t your planning department. Your municipality handles zoning, building permits, and inspections. The CA handles specific regulated activities in regulated areas related to hazards and certain features like wetlands and watercourses.

The “two approvals” reality: many projects need both municipal approvals (zoning and building) and CA permission. Homeowners get frustrated when they treat them as one. Think of it as a two-key system: the municipality has one key and the CA has the other. If you’re in a regulated area, you need both keys.

What triggers “CA approvals” in Ontario

Most homeowner CA approvals fall under the Conservation Authorities Act “Section 28” framework, now administered through a province-wide regulation, Ontario Regulation 41/24, which took effect April 1, 2024 and replaced the old O. Reg. 168/06. The short version: certain activities are prohibited in regulated areas unless you get permission. The activities that commonly trigger CA involvement are:

  • Development in a regulated area – building, additions, structures, and sometimes pools and decks, depending on location
  • Interference with a wetland – even “small” changes can be big in wetland world
  • Alteration to a watercourse or shoreline – straightening, diverting, culverts, bank work, shoreline stabilization

And the regulated area commonly includes floodplains, erosion-hazard areas, river and stream valleys, unstable slopes, certain shorelines (the Great Lakes and many inland lakes), wetlands, and a buffer around them. In other words: if water can move there, has moved there, or wants to move there, it’s probably on someone’s map.

Why your lot “looks safe” but still needs approval

Homeowners often say, “but the lot is high and dry!” Great – it might still be inside a regulated area, because regulated areas are based on mapped hazards and features, not just today’s weather. Floodplains are about the big events. Erosion hazards are about long-term slope stability. Wetlands don’t care if it’s a sunny day when you take the listing photos. Most CAs publish regulated-area mapping tools, and many municipalities flag CA involvement at permit intake – but buyers often discover this after they close, because real estate listings don’t come with a free hydrologist.

The classic surprise: you buy a beautiful lot near a creek and call the municipality about a building permit. They say, “you’ll need Conservation Authority clearance first.” You say, “but the creek is way over there.” They say, “yes.” You say, “but I have a tape measure.” They say, “that’s nice.” Confirm regulated status before you buy – see buying a regulated or floodplain lot.

What the CA is actually trying to confirm

When a CA reviews a permission application, it’s confirming your proposal won’t create negative impacts related to hazards and regulated features. The builder-friendly version of what they care about:

Hazards

  • Flooding: will the work be safe in a flood and not make flooding worse elsewhere?
  • Erosion and slope stability: are you building too close to an eroding bank or unstable slope?
  • Dynamic beaches and shorelines: will shoreline work disturb natural processes or create hazards?

Features

  • Wetlands and watercourses: are you interfering with a wetland or altering a watercourse or shoreline, and if so, can it be done safely and appropriately?
  • If your proposal demonstrates these things, permissions are often straightforward.
  • If it can’t, the CA may require changes, conditions, or in some cases refuse.

That’s where projects stall – and where homeowners feel the CA is “being difficult,” even though the file is actually missing proof. CAs can’t approve “vibes.” They approve evidence.

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The approval process – and the timelines that actually matter

Every CA has its own checklists, but the skeleton is similar:

  1. Figure out if you’re regulated

    Confirm your property is inside (or near) a regulated area and what activity you’re proposing.

  2. Pre-consultation / screening

    Many CAs do a pre-screen and tell you what studies are needed before you apply.

  3. Prepare drawings + studies

    Site plan, grading, erosion controls, and any required technical reports.

  4. Submit the application + fee

    Submit the full package. An incomplete package is the number-one cause of delay.

  5. Completeness check

    The CA confirms whether the application is “complete” – this is what starts the clock.

  6. Review, decision, conditions

    The CA issues a permission with conditions, requests revisions, or refuses.

The timelines you can hold them to (O. Reg. 41/24): once your application is complete, a CA must decide within 42 calendar days for a minor application and 63 calendar days for a major one (excluding statutory holidays). The crucial detail: the clock starts when the application is complete, not when you send “some drawings.” If your file is missing required information, it goes on hold – that’s not the CA being mean, it’s the CA saying it can’t responsibly approve without the technical proof. Want speed? Submit complete the first time.

What you may be asked to provide (and why)

Homeowners are often shocked by the document list, but each item proves your project won’t worsen hazards or harm regulated features. Depending on the site and proposal, a CA may ask for:

  • Topographic survey or detailed site plan – existing grades, features, setbacks to hazards, and where the work goes
  • Grading and drainage plan – especially important near floodplains and slopes
  • Erosion and sediment control plan for construction – silt fencing, stabilized entrance, and so on
  • Geotechnical report – slope stability, unstable soils, or foundations near hazards
  • Hydrology / hydraulic analysis – if flooding impacts need to be assessed
  • Wetland or environmental studies – if wetlands or shoreline features are involved

Yes, it can feel like a lot. Compare it to the alternative: building in a hazard area without understanding the risk. That’s how people end up with a gorgeous new home and a seasonal indoor swimming pool – not the fun kind.

Why people struggle with CA approvals

When homeowners tell me “the Conservation Authority is impossible,” it’s usually one of these:

1) They found the CA too late

Learn about CA permission only after paying for final drawings and you may be forced into redesign – a larger setback, different grading, a moved driveway. It feels like moving the goalposts. Really, you started playing before reading the rules.

2) They assumed “small work” is fine

Fill, re-grading, retaining walls, shoreline “tidying,” and culverts all change how water moves – exactly why CAs exist. “It’s just a little fill” is not a magic phrase that makes regulation disappear.

3) They didn’t budget for studies

Technical studies cost money. Skip the planning and it feels like the CA “added costs.” The fix is budgeting for due diligence when you buy near water or slopes.

4) They submitted incomplete

The big one. Missing elevations, missing grades, unclear or outdated drawings drag files out. Complete beats fast.

5) They expected the CA to design it

CA staff tell you what they need to see; they generally won’t design your grading, slope stabilization, or stormwater. That’s your designer or engineer’s job. Show up with a proposal and why it’s safe, and you move faster.

6) They argued with the water

Water doesn’t stop at your lot line – the whole watershed is connected. Change how water moves on your property and it can change your neighbour’s too. That’s the point of the whole system.

Lot near water, a slope, or a wetland? Send it – we’ll tell you if it’s regulated and what the CA will want.
Give us the address and we’ll check whether it falls in a regulated area, which hazard or feature is driving it, what studies a CA will likely require, and roughly what that means for cost and timeline – before you remove conditions or pay for final drawings. Quick paid consult: we scope it on a call and send a secure payment link, so you only pay once you know what you’re getting.

A homeowner playbook (make it simpler)

Step-by-step checklist:

Follow this and your odds of a smooth file go way up. Not perfect – just “civilized.”

Questions to ask at your first CA conversation

  • Is the work in a regulated area, and which hazard or feature is driving it (flooding, erosion, wetland, shoreline, watercourse)?
  • What’s the minimum safe or required setback from the feature or hazard?
  • Do you need a topo survey, grading plan, geotech, or hydrology study for this proposal?
  • Is this likely minor or major, and what are your service standards once the application is complete?
  • Are there common conditions you apply (erosion controls, construction timing, vegetation protection)?

Refusals, appeals, and “escalation”

Most files never get dramatic – they get approved with conditions once the technical pieces are in place. But you do have real timelines on your side. If you’ve made a complete application and don’t get a decision within 90 days, you can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT). You also have the right to appeal a decision to the OLT within 90 days of receiving the reasons for it.

That said, if your proposal genuinely increases flood risk, destabilizes a slope, or interferes with a wetland in a way that can’t be supported, a refusal is possible – and the “solution” is usually redesign (setback, elevation, grading, a different location), not louder emails. Stay professional, document everything, and ask what the next step is under the CA’s process.

Costs to budget for: two buckets. CA application fees (these vary by CA and by application type and complexity), and technical work (survey, engineering, geotech, hydrology, and design time to produce the drawings and reports that prove safety). The pain usually comes from surprise – if you buy near water or a valley, budget for extra due diligence from day one and you’ll feel far less ambushed.

Final reality check: treat CA requirements as a design input

Homeowners who succeed with Conservation Authority approvals do one thing differently: they treat CA requirements like a design factor, not a nuisance. Once you accept that your lot has a water story – flood, slope, wetland, or shoreline – you design the home and site to fit that story. That’s not red tape. That’s long-term safety and durability. And when your municipality says it won’t issue the building permit until CA requirements are satisfied, that’s not the CA taking over your build – it’s the right order of operations: hazard-related permission first, then the building permit.

Regulated lot, green light to build? We design to the authority’s rules and handle the file.
We draw a permit-ready set that respects the floodplain, setbacks, and any floodproofing the CA wants, prepare a complete Section 28 submission, coordinate it alongside the municipal permit, and build the energy-efficient ICF home – with our own site-work crew getting the lot ready.

Conservation Authority approvals in Ontario: frequently asked questions

Does my “high and dry” lot really need Conservation Authority approval?

It can, even if it looks perfectly dry today. Regulated areas are based on mapped hazards and features, not on the weather the day you visit. A floodplain is defined by large, infrequent flood events, an erosion hazard is about long-term slope stability, and a wetland is a feature regardless of whether the surface looks wet on a sunny afternoon. So a lot that sits high above a creek can still fall inside a regulated area, including the buffer that extends around the hazard or feature. The only reliable way to know is to look the property up on your Conservation Authority’s regulated-area mapping or call them, ideally before you buy and certainly before you pay for final drawings. Many municipalities also flag CA involvement when you apply for a building permit. If any part of your lot is regulated and you are doing a regulated activity, you will need the CA’s permission in addition to your municipal approvals, no matter how dry the building spot appears.

What is a Section 28 permit?

Section 28 refers to the part of Ontario’s Conservation Authorities Act that lets Conservation Authorities regulate certain activities in and around natural hazards and features such as floodplains, wetlands, watercourses, shorelines, and unstable slopes. A Section 28 permit, now administered through Ontario Regulation 41/24 which took effect on April 1, 2024 and replaced the older O. Reg. 168/06, is the permission you need from the authority before you build, place a structure, grade or fill land, or alter a watercourse or shoreline within a regulated area. It is separate from your municipal building permit, and you generally need both, with the CA permission typically coming first. The regulation sets out the information you must provide and imposes timelines on the authority once your application is complete. If your lot is in a regulated area, factor the Section 28 process, its studies, and its timeline into your plans from the start rather than discovering it at the building-permit stage.

How long does Conservation Authority approval take?

Under Ontario Regulation 41/24, once your application is complete a Conservation Authority must make a decision within 42 calendar days for a minor application and 63 calendar days for a major one, excluding statutory holidays. The single most important detail is that the clock starts only when the application is judged complete, not when you first send in some drawings, so an incomplete submission can sit on hold and stretch the real timeline well beyond those numbers. That is why a complete, well-prepared package the first time is the fastest path. If you have made a complete application and still do not receive a decision within 90 days, you have the right to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal. The practical lesson is to invest in getting the submission right, including the required studies and a clean site plan, because completeness, far more than chasing staff, is what actually determines how quickly you get your permission.

What studies or documents will the CA want?

It depends on the site and the proposal, but the common requests all share one goal: proving your work will not worsen a hazard or harm a regulated feature. You may be asked for a topographic survey or detailed site plan showing existing grades, features, and setbacks to the hazard, a grading and drainage plan that matters most near floodplains and slopes, and an erosion and sediment control plan for the construction phase. For sites near unstable soils or slopes, a geotechnical report is common, and where flooding impacts must be assessed, a hydrology or hydraulic analysis may be required. If wetlands or shoreline features are involved, wetland or environmental studies can come into play. The list can feel heavy, but each item exists to demonstrate safety, and skipping or skimping on them is what causes refusals and delays. The smart move is to ask the CA at pre-consultation exactly which studies your specific proposal needs, then budget and scope for them up front.

Can I appeal a Conservation Authority decision?

Yes. You have the right to appeal a Conservation Authority’s permit decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal within 90 days of receiving the reasons for the decision. You also have a route when the authority simply does not decide: if you have submitted a complete application and no decision is made within 90 days, you can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal on that basis. There is also a ministerial review pathway in some circumstances, with its own timing rules, after which an applicant may still take the matter to the Tribunal. In practice, most files never reach an appeal because they are approved with conditions once the technical pieces are in place, and where a refusal does happen it is usually because the proposal genuinely increases flood risk, destabilizes a slope, or harms a wetland in a way that cannot be supported. In those cases the realistic fix is redesign, such as a larger setback, a higher elevation, revised grading, or a different building location, rather than an appeal.

How much does a Conservation Authority permit cost?

There are two cost buckets, and only one of them is the permit fee itself. The Conservation Authority application fee varies by authority and by the type and complexity of the application, so a minor permission and a major one for a complex site near a floodplain will not cost the same, and each CA publishes its own fee schedule. The larger and more variable cost is usually the technical work: the survey, engineering, geotechnical report, hydrology or hydraulic analysis, and the design time needed to produce the drawings and reports that demonstrate your project is safe. On a straightforward site these costs are modest, while a difficult site near water or an unstable slope can require several studies that add up. The cost pain almost always comes from surprise rather than the absolute number, so if you are buying near water, a valley, or a wetland, the right move is to budget for this due diligence from day one rather than treating it as an unexpected add-on later.

Why won’t my municipality issue a building permit without CA clearance?

Because the municipality is managing risk and following the proper order of operations. When a property is in a regulated area, the municipal building department generally will not issue a building permit until it has confirmation that the applicable Conservation Authority requirements are satisfied. That does not mean the CA is taking over your building permit or reviewing your kitchen layout; the municipality still handles zoning, the building permit, and inspections. It means the hazard-related permission has to be resolved first, because there is no point approving a building on a site whose flood, erosion, or wetland issues have not been addressed. So the sequence is CA permission first, then the municipal building permit. The practical takeaway for a homeowner is to start the Conservation Authority conversation early, ideally before you finalize your design, so the two approvals run in the right order and you are not left holding finished drawings while you wait on a regulated-area review you could have started months sooner.

Note: general guidance, not legal advice or an approval. Regulated areas, required studies, fees, timelines, and what an authority will permit vary by lot and watershed and are decided by the relevant Conservation Authority under the Conservation Authorities Act and Ontario Regulation 41/24 – confirm specifics with your CA and a qualified professional before you rely on anything here.

Building near water in Simcoe County or Georgian Bay? Let us handle the CA file.

We have designed and built energy-efficient ICF homes – 300-plus over 45 years – on regulated and waterfront lots across the region, certified and Tarion-backed, with our own site-work crew. We can check whether a lot is regulated, prepare a complete Section 28 submission, work with the authority on what’s buildable, draw the permit set, or build the whole thing. Pick the path that matches where you are right now.

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