This release was issued under a previous government.

The Flood Recovery and Reconstruction Act, Bill 27, introduced October 28 in the Legislature, will enshrine in law new policies announced in July that will stop further development in floodways, lessen future flood damage in flood prone areas and ensure homebuyers are informed of whether a property in a flood hazard area is eligible for future disaster assistance.

“When the floods hit, we acted quickly to respond and rebuild in a way that ensured Albertans are better protected from future floods. We’re now putting these policies into law, creating a strong foundation of protection for the future.”

- Minister Doug Griffiths, Municipal Affairs

Bill 27 involves seven different amendments to the Municipal Government Act and the Emergency Management Act. The amendments include:

Banning Development in Floodways

  • Municipalities will no longer be allowed to approve new developments in floodways.
  • Drumheller and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (Fort McMurray) will be exempt, recognizing that both municipalities are largely built on floodways and have strong mitigation measures in place.

Funding Mitigation Efforts

  • Albertans living in flood fringe areas are eligible for additional funding to mitigate their homes against future flood damage.
  • The funding is available for properties in flood fringe areas that were damaged as a result of the June 2013 floods and applied for disaster assistance.

Land Title Notices

  • Notices will be placed on the land titles of properties in flood hazard areas that received disaster assistance as a result of the June 2013 floods.
  • The notice will indicate that the property is not eligible for future assistance.
  • Property owners in the flood fringe will be able to have the notice removed from their land title by putting minimum flood mitigation measures in place. Properties in a floodway will have a permanent notice.

Other Amendments

  • Provincial states of emergency will be in place for 28 days instead of 14 days before they expire or need to be renewed.
  • Government will be able to temporarily exempt municipalities facing a state of emergency from certain reporting and operational requirements of the Municipal Government Act.

Our government was elected to keep building Alberta, to live within its means and to fight to open new markets for Alberta’s resources. We will continue to deliver the responsible change Albertans voted for.

Related information

Flood Recovery

Flood mitigation measures

Land Titles