Delegation of management responsibility for sand and gravel extraction to regional county municipalities
Claude Langevin, MRN
In the fall of 2008, the Cabinet authorized the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Regions and the Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife to sign an agreement with the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM) and the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ). One of the goals of the agreement was to delegate to regional county municipalities (municipalités régionales de comté - MRC) the management of sand and gravel mining on lands in the domain of the State. In June 2009, the Cabinet adopted an order-in-council to decentralize sand and gravel management.
The objectives of this agreement are to:
Between April 1, 2010 and June 1, 2011, about thirty MRCs in the regions of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Laurentides, Lanaudière, Bas-Saint-Laurent,
The powers and responsibilities vested to MRC personnel with regard to sand and gravel management are:
Half (50%) of the royalties and rental fees collected in relation to sand and gravel management are retained by the delegate MRCs. The responsibility of training MRC personnel is entirely assumed by the Direction des titres miniers et des systèmes in collaboration with regional management.
A number of other MRCs have expressed an interest in this management delegation project, notably the administrative regions of Outaouais, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Abitibi-Témiscamingue. They are expected to sign agreements next year. To facilitate the transfer of information to the Public Registry of Real and Immovable Mining Rights, the Mines Sector is setting up computer-based tools for use by MRC personnel.