Digital Regulatory Assurance System

Important notice

Applications for all Water Act licences, including renewals, and amendments must be submitted through the Digital Regulatory Assurance System (DRAS). For information on how to apply, amend and renew various Water Act licences in DRAS, refer to the knowledge articles in DRAS for Water Act application for licences.

For all Water Act licences issued, amended, or renewed in DRAS that require reporting, the licence holder must report water use data in DRAS. For information on how to report water use data in DRAS, refer to knowledge article KB0023429.

WATERS will still be active for Alberta Energy Regulator applicants.

Overview

On June 21, 2021, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas took a significant step towards streamlining its regulatory system with the new Digital Regulatory Assurance System (DRAS).

DRAS will make reviewing applications more transparent and efficient while maintaining high environmental standards.

The new system is designed to clarify environmental regulatory expectations to applicants and to support all authorization types managed by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas under the Water Act, Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, and the Public Lands Act. DRAS will be used to manage the entire lifecycle of a project from application to authorization, monitoring and compliance reporting, to remediation and closure.

Currently, the following are accepted through DRAS:

Water Act approval and approval amendment applications
Water Act licence applications (surface water or groundwater), and applications for licence amendments, renewals, transfers and amalgamations
new Water Act temporary diversion licence (TDL) applications (surface water or groundwater), and TDL amendment applications
Water Act code of practice notifications

DRAS implementation

DRAS will roll out in stages throughout 2021 to 2024 and will eventually house all applications online.

Future rollouts will include:

Public Lands Act dispositions for commercial and industrial activities
drinking water management and the remaining host of activities Alberta Environment and Protected Areas regulates

For applicants, DRAS will provide:

the ability to apply for one project with multiple activities via an integrated application
clear, upfront application standards and requirements
a clear decision-making process
the ability to track the status of applications in real-time
increased province wide-consistency in application processes

Training

Training in DRAS is being offered based on the level of demand. If you would like to be added to the DRAS Training waitlist, email [email protected] using the subject line: "DRAS Training Request". You will receive an email when upcoming DRAS training sessions become available.

Instructional videos for DRAS are also available on YouTube:

How to access DRAS

Step 1: Create an account

To access DRAS, all users will require a valid Alberta.ca Account or MyAlberta Digital ID for Business (MADI-B) account.

Individuals submitting an application require an Alberta.ca Account.
If you are applying on behalf of a business, organization, municipality, or government a MADI-B account is required.
- The administrator(s) for a MADI-B account will send invitations to other employees of the organization in order to add them under the MADI-B account.
- Do not invite anyone outside of your organization to join your entity's MADI-B account.

For help, email [email protected] or call 1-844-643-2789.

Step 2: Log in to DRAS

Once your Alberta.ca Account or MADI-B account has been obtained, you must log in to DRAS with your Alberta.ca Account or MADI-B credentials to have a DRAS profile. This is required before an application or notice can be submitted or before a representative can be assigned to submit on your behalf.

Supported browsers:

Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox

Mobile browsers are currently not supported.

Go to DRAS

DRAS delegation updates

Applicants can add representative(s) to their DRAS profiles to give them permission to read, write and/or submit applications and further delegated permissions on their behalf. Find out more about this process :

Process improvements

Improvements to public notice and statement of concern processes

A public notice viewer has been created in DRAS that enables Alberta Environment and Protected Areas to immediately post applications when public notice is required and to receive statements of concern directly in the system.

For applicants, this simplifies the public notice process, and provides clear timelines.
For the public, the public notice viewer on DRAS has an interactive map that enables members of the public to search areas of interest and includes a built-in form to instantly submit a statement of concern. Submitting a statement of concern through the public notice viewer on DRAS allows the filer to track the status of their submission in real time.

Public notices may be posted in other media, such as in newspapers and on bulletin boards, while users become familiar with DRAS. Statements of concern will also continue to be accepted in other ways such as through mail or email.

Indigenous consultation process updates

To align with Alberta’s proponent-led Indigenous consultation method, applicants for Water Act approvals and, as of November 15, 2021, Water Act licences, will now use the Aboriginal Consultation Office Digital Service to seek consultation requirements.

Information for Water Act approval and licence applicants on the proponent-led Indigenous consultation method can be found on DRAS:

Contact

Connect with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-427-6311
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]

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