Before applying for an Agricultural Operation Practices Act (AOPA) permit, operators should contact the nearest NRCB field office and ask to speak to an approval officer to confirm the type of permit they need to apply for and the technical information they will be required to provide.

Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Agricultural Operation, Part 2 Matters Regulation set out the three types of permits:

• approval—for a large confined feeding operation
• registration—for a smaller confined feeding operation
• authorization—for construction that does not affect livestock numbers

Schedule 2 of the regulation (see table below) sets out the threshold levels by type of livestock for approvals and registrations. For assistance interpreting Schedule 2, please contact an NRCB approval officer.

Schedule 2 – Threshold Levels (Agricultural Operation, Part 2 Matters Regulation)

AOPA allows permits and permit conditions to be amended. Notification is required in some circumstances. The local municipality is considered a directly affected party and is advised of all amendments.

Approval Officer Amendments

Approval officers can initiate an amendment to a permit on their own motion. This mainly occurs if an administrative error is identified. It can also be initiated if a condition is found to be insufficient or inappropriate for the facility. In all cases, the municipality is advised of the change.

An approval officer amendment does not require notification before the change is made, but all directly affected parties are notified of the change and have the right to request a Board review of the amendment. 

Owner-Initiated Amendments

Operators of confined feeding operations may apply to amend their AOPA permit. Amendments to approvals and registrations require notice. All directly affected parties have the right to request the Board of the NRCB to review the approval officer’s decision on the proposed amendment.

Part 1 received

The Part 1 application is the applicant’s notice to the NRCB that they will be submitting an application to expand an existing CFO or construct a new one. When the Part 1 application is received, the approval officer establishes the minimum distance separation (MDS) and provides the municipality with a copy of the application.

Part 1 application 

Part 2 received

The applicant must submit their completed Part 2 application within six months of submitting the Part 1. They may ask for an extension of up to six months to submit their Part 2. If the application is not submitted within six months, and the applicant did not request and was not granted an extension, the applicant must re-submit their Part 1 application. The MDS is reset as of the date the NRCB receives the new Part 1.

Deemed complete

The application is deemed complete when all technical requirements are met. If the applicant needs to provide more information before the application can be deemed complete, they may request an extension of up to six months. When the application is deemed complete, the approval officer begins to process the application, and to track the number of working days to decision release. The approval officer:

• sends a copy of the deemed complete application to the municipality and other referral agencies, as relevant to the application.
• issues notice and sends notification letters to parties within the directly affected party notification distance for approval and registration-sized applications (if the municipality is able to provide their contact information). The parties are given 20 working days to respond to the application by submitting a response. (Notice is not required for authorizations.)
• may meet with the applicant to discuss the responses. The applicant may need to provide more information to respond to the issues raised. Some applicants choose to revise their application in response to these issues.
• reviews the technical details of the application to ensure it meets the requirements of AOPA. The approval officer also conducts environmental risk screenings of the existing and proposed facilities to determine if they could pose a risk to groundwater and surface water, and confirms the application’s consistency with the land use provisions in the municipality’s municipal development plan. The approval officer then determines what conditions may apply.

Decision documents

The approval officer finalizes the technical review document and writes the decision summary and permit.

• The decision summary explains how the application meets or doesn’t meet the requirements of the act; examines and responds to issues raised by referral agencies or in responses received; explains how the application does or doesn’t comply with the land use provisions in the municipal development plan; addresses technical issues and explains what conditions will be attached to the permit, if any, and why.
• The permit states the permitted facilities and livestock species and numbers, the conditions that are attached to the permit, the construction deadline, and the requirement for a post construction inspection. The permit also consolidates any previously-issued permits.
• The technical review document provides the detailed record of the environmental risk assessments and other technical aspects of the review.

Decision issued

The approval officer contacts the applicant to review the permit and any conditions attached to the permit, including the need for a post-construction inspection and timeline for the inspection.

Copies of the decision, permit and technical document are provided to the applicant and the municipality. All of the decision documents are posted on the NRCB website.

The deadline to submit a request for review to the Board of the NRCB to appeal the decision is set out in the approval officer's decision cover letter. The number of working days to issue a decision are calculated and recorded.

The NRCB calculates the minimum distance separation (MDS) for the application as of the date the Part 1 application is received. When the MDS is measured, the distance between the closest wall of the proposed facility to the wall of the nearest residence must be no less than the required MDS. MDS is set out by the Standards and Administration Regulation of AOPA, and is based on the type of facility and the type of residential development.

Operators are responsible for obtaining all licences and permits required for their operation.

Water Licences

Water licence applications may be submitted at the same time as the application for a permit under AOPA. If both applications are applied for at the same time, the approval officer will forward the water licence application on the operator’s behalf to Environment and Protected Areas. If both applications are applied for through the NRCB, both permits will be issued at the same time. This may delay the timeframe for receiving the AOPA permit.

Operators may choose to submit their application separately. Operators are required to indicate their choice on the Part 2 application form.

Operators are responsible for obtaining any licences required under the Water Act, whether they apply through the NRCB or separately.

Operators must sign a declaration in the Part 2 application that they understand the possible consequences of constructing or populating a facility without the necessary water licence. 

Other Required Permits

Operators may also require permits from Transportation & Economic Corridors or the local municipality, such as a road use agreement or other municipal permit.

Municipalities are directly affected parties for all applications. The local municipality is sent the Part 1 application when it is received. It is sent the complete Part 2 application to respond to and is asked to provide comments. Its response is considered by the approval officer and is addressed in the decision summary. 

The act binds approval officers to the land use provisions set out in local municipal development plans. If an application is not consistent with the local land use provisions, the approval officer must deny the application. Approval officers consult with the municipality to determine whether the application is consistent with the land use provisions of the municipal development plan. 

When the Board of the NRCB agrees to review an approval officer decision, the Board must have regard for the municipal development plan but is not bound by the land use provisions. If the approval officer denied the application because it is not consistent with a land use provision, the Board may overturn the decision if there is an over-riding reason to approve the application. 

Three kinds of permits are issued under the Agricultural Operation Practices Act: approvals, registrations and authorizations. The kind of permit is based on the number and species of livestock and whether the application is for an increase in livestock. Each permit has different notification requirements:

• An approval permit is required to build a large new confined feeding operation or to increase livestock numbers at an existing large operation. Notice is always issued.
• A registration permit is required to build a small new confined feeding operation or to increase livestock numbers at a small operation. Notice is always issued.
• An authorization permit is required to construct a new facility at an existing operation or to modify an existing facility, but does not involve an increase in livestock numbers. Notice is not issued for an authorization.

The act requires notification for applications that require an approval or a registration. A notice is posted on the NRCB website, and is published in a local newspaper when possible. The approval officer also sends notification letters to neighbouring residents and landowners, provided that the municipality is able to provide the mailing information.

All responses to the application must be received in writing within 20 working days of the notice. The approval officer’s decision summarizes the responses received and addresses issues that are raised.

Part 1 and Part 2 applications may be viewed on the NRCB website under Notice of Approval and Registration Applications or by appointment at the field office handling the application. 

Approval officers forward all Part 2 applications (the technical details of the application) to Environment and Protected Areas and Alberta Health Services for response. They also provide Transportation & Economic Corridors with a copy if the application will involve road use. The local irrigation district is provided with a copy if the confined feeding operation would be located within the irrigation district. All dairy applications are forwarded to Agriculture & Irrigation for review.

Approval officers consider and address in their decisions all responses from the referral agencies.

Under the Agricultural Operation Practices Act (AOPA), the “notification distance” depends on the size of the proposed or existing confined feeding operation. The distance is set out in the Part 2 Matters Regulation of AOPA. Affected parties are persons who “reside on or own land” that is within the notification distance of the proposed confined feeding operation or expansion.

For all approval and registration applications, notice is provided on the NRCB website, and in the local newspaper when possible. The NRCB also sends notification letters to all parties that reside within the notification distance, unless the local municipality is unable to provide contact information.   

For authorization applications, the only affected parties are the applicant and the municipality.

The NRCB automatically considers an affected party to be a directly affected party, if the party meets all of the following criteria:

• they reside within the affected party distance
• they provide a response to the notice
• the response is received within the deadline stated in the notice

The NRCB also automatically gives directly affected party status to neighbours who sign a minimum distance separation waiver, provided that the waiver is required in order for the application to proceed. 

Directly affected party status means that the party has the following rights:

• The approval officer must consider the issues raised in the party’s response that apply to AOPA, and
• The directly affected party may request a Board review of the approval officer’s decision on the application.

The approval officer must determine the status of parties that submit a response, if the parties live outside of the affected party distance. 

In order to qualify for directly affected party status, the party must demonstrate why there is a legitimate and reasonable expectation that the proposed confined feeding operation or expansion will affect them or their property. If the approval officer determines that they do not qualify for directly affected party status, their response will not be considered. 

Parties that are denied directly affected party status have the right to appeal their status to the Board of the NRCB. In a 2011 decision, (Jitsma, page 4), the Board stated that parties have the burden of demonstrating that they are directly affected by an application. To satisfy this burden, the party must reasonably establish that:

• A plausible chain of causality exists between the proposed project and the effect asserted,
• The effect would probably occur,
• The effect could reasonably be expected to affect the party,
• The effect would not be trivial, and
• The effect falls within the NRCB's regulatory mandate under AOPA.

For more information, please contact an approval officer at the NRCB field office nearest you.

Any party may submit a response to a notice issued by the NRCB for the proposed construction or expansion of a confined feeding operation. 

The deadline for responses is stated in the notice. The deadline is 20 working days and is based on the date the notice is published. 

During the response period, the application is made available for the public to review on the NRCB website (Notice of Approval and Registration Applications), and at the local office of the NRCB by appointment.

The response will be considered by the NRCB approval officer if:

• it is submitted by a directly affected party
• the response is received within the deadline stated in the notice

For more information about how responses are reviewed, please contact an approval officer at the NRCB field office nearest you.