Do I Need A Permit?

If your property is near or contains a watercourse, including municipal drains, steep slopes, ravines or valley walls, wetland or the shoreline of Lake Erie you are probably in a regulated area.

You must obtain a Kettle Creek Conservation Authority (KCCA) permit if you want to perform any of the following activities within a regulated area:

• • Any construction, reconstruction, erection or placing of a building or structure of any kind;
• • Any change to a building or structure that would have the effect of altering the use or the potential use of the building or structure or increasing the number of dwelling units in the building or structure;
• • Site grading;
• • The temporary or permanent placing, dumping or removal of any material, originating on the site or elsewhere, or;
• • Straightening, changing, diverting or interfering in any way with the existing channel of a river, creek, stream, lake or watercourse or interfere in any way with a wetland.

If your property is located in a regulated area, or you think it is, please contact KCCA’s supervisor of planning and conservation areas for information on the permit and the approval process prior to any development or site alteration. 

When submitting a permit application, please fill out and sign KCCA’s permit application package required by KCCA.

Authority staff work diligently to provide prompt services for member municipalities and residents of the watershed. Permits are issued within 21-days of receipt of a complete application.

Development, interference with a wetland or alteration to a shoreline or waterway within the regulation limit without a conservation authority permit may result in prosecution under the Conservation Authorities Act.

It should be noted that a permit from KCCA does not replace building permits, or any other permits or approvals issued through municipal offices or other government agencies. Equally important, other agency approvals do not replace permits required from KCCA.

The cost of a permit will depend upon the type of work being applied. For further details, please see the fee schedule included in the Permit Application Package.