Can I build a new house close to a brook in Sussex?

Building Near a Brook in Sussex

The short answer is: possibly, but the brook triggers a hard provincial rule before any machine touches the ground. Under New Brunswick's Watercourse and Wetland Alteration (WAWA) rules, no construction, clearing, grading, landscaping or operation of heavy machinery is permitted within 30 metres of a watercourse without a Watercourse and Wetland Alteration permit from the province. That 30 metres is measured horizontally from the top of the bank, on the ground, not from a map.

The province's development guidelines add a second layer. On an undeveloped lot beside an ordinary watercourse, a new dwelling may be permitted no closer than 15 metres to the watercourse. Infill to raise the grade is not permitted within 15 metres of a lake or within 30 metres of a flood-prone or tidal watercourse. Whether your brook is considered ordinary, flood-prone or tidal is a question for the province, not something to assume from the look of it. A WAWA permit does not exempt you from any other rule; local by-laws may add their own setbacks on top of the provincial ones.

For permits in Sussex, we found no excavation-specific rule in the information available for the Town of Sussex. Check directly with the Town of Sussex about what development and building permits apply to a new house on your lot, and ask whether the town has any additional setback or grading requirements near a watercourse. At the provincial level, Regulation 2021-2 under the Building Code Administration Act requires at least one inspection after footings and foundations are complete and before any backfilling begins. Ask the Town of Sussex how to book that inspection.

Before any digging starts, the contractor must determine the location of underground utilities. Info-Excavation, reached through Click Before You Dig, requires three working days' notice; that locate is valid until the end date written on the request. NB Power runs a separate underground locate service and asks for at least five business days' notice; it is valid for 60 days from the date on the locate form and covers only NB Power-owned lines. Any private lines, drains or buried cables that a past owner installed are yours to find and mark before the machine arrives.

A few things to sort out before work begins:

• Apply for the WAWA permit first. The fee is $25 for a single alteration. Work cannot legally start within the 30-metre zone without it.
• Confirm with the Town of Sussex what building and development permits are needed and what the setback from the brook must be on your specific lot.
• Ask whether your lot is near a flood-prone or tidal reach of the brook, since that changes the infill rule.
• Ask the contractor for a WorkSafeNB clearance certificate before signing anything.
• Under the Construction Remedies Act, you must retain a holdback of 10% of the contract price for 60 days after the certificate of substantial performance is signed.

When you get a quote for the foundation dig, ask the contractor exactly how rock removal is priced, where the spoil is going, and whether backfill material is included or billed separately, because those three items are where the number on the page and the number on the final invoice tend to part ways.