BC Hydro Draft Integrated Resource Plan
On May 28^th, BC Hydro released the much anticipated draft Integrated Resource Plan - 2012 (IRP) (Executive Summary and draft IRP Discussion Guide), which is a long-term forecast on supply and demand for electricity in British Columbia. Essentially, the IRP is expected to be used as a key document for long-term electricity planning in the Province.

The draft report contains 14 recommended actions and is released to the public May 28, 2012 for consultation until July 6, 2012. Then, sometime before December 2012, BC Hydro will submit the final IRP for approval by the BC Cabinet. People are invited to have a say at an IRP consultation event hosted by BC Hydro.

As expected, the draft IRP is long on measures to encourage energy conservation and efficiency but also includes a few recommendations for much needed infrastructure capital investment for both capacity (Revelstoke Dam upgrade) and transmission (Prince George to Terrace upgrade) purposes. The $7.9 Billion Site C Dam is proposed to move ahead with an expected online date of 2020. In the meantime, the spot electricity market, the Canadian Entitlement and Burrard Thermal are recommended to be used as energy supply gap fillers.

For the BC renewable energy sector, the most noteworthy draft recommendation is:

RECOMMENDED ACTION #8: Develop energy procurement options to acquire up to 2,000 gigawatt hours per year from clean energy producers for projects that would come into service in the 2016-2018 time period.

View the full article posted by Warren Brazier with Clark Wilson LLP.

BC Miners Wary of PST Revival
British Columbia's booming mining industry is bracing for rising costs, including higher electricity prices, when the province's tax regime reverts next year to PST, PricewaterhouseCoopers said May 15, 2012.

According to PwC's annual mining survey, the industry collected record gross revenues of $9.9 billion in 2011 – a $2-billion jump from 2010 – thanks to higher commodity prices, particularly for coal, silver and lead.

But the revival of a series of provincial sales tax charges – eliminated two years ago with a shift to Ottawa's harmonized sales tax (HST) – reintroduces a series of tax rules that are considered complex, confusing and unfair.

PST exemptions for the mining industry take effect in April 2013, when the province abandons the HST. That will likely include exemptions for equipment involved in mineral exploration and mining.

But PwC says "various" other expenses will take a PST hit. Read more.

Coal Company Sues BC over Flathead Conservation Act
A coal mining company is suing the BC government for half a billion dollars following its decision to ban mining in the Flathead Valley in the southeastern corner of the province.

In 2010, the B.C. government bowed to international pressure and banned all mining and oil and gas development in the pristine valley, which borders national parks in Alberta and the U.S.

It has since been negotiating settlements with several mining companies that had claims in the valley. Click here to read more.

Air-Monitoring Program to Address Northeast Concerns about Oil, Gas
The B.C. government and oil and gas industry representatives are launching a joint three-year air monitoring and community engagement program in the northeast as the region gears up for more growth in the energy sector.

"It's a good time to do this," said Hudson's Hope Councillor Gwen Johansson, who is also a member of Peace Environment Safety Trustees (PEST), chairman of the landowners' group Custodians of the Peace Country Society, and former co-chair of the Northeast Energy and Mines Advisory committee. "We expect huge ramped-up activity [and] if this is done well it would be valuable," added Johansson. Read more.

BC's Legislative Committee to Review Midterm Timber Supply
BC lawmakers formed a special committee last month to examine the issue of midterm timber supply.

"The issue of midterm timber supply is of vital importance to not only the communities in the mountain pine beetle infested area, but to the province as a whole, given the importance of forestry as a key economic driver," Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations said in a news release. "I'm pleased that it is a special legislative committee that will meet government's commitment to public engagement on this issue." View the full article.

Contaminated Sites Across Canada Require Clean Up
The federal government identified 142 contaminated sites as of last September where pollutants need to be contained or eliminated because of a long-term or immediate threat to human health or the environment.

That's according to a CBC News analysis of the most recently available data compiled by the Treasury Board, one of the departments responsible for maintaining an inventory of sites. Much of the data is available online, but CBC News obtained more complete data under an access-to-information request. Click here to view the CBC article.

Canadian Foresters Get a Break from Export Tax – June 1^st
Canadian forestry companies will pay no export taxes in June on wood sent to the United States for the first time since the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement, the latest jolt of good news for an industry rebounding after a severe depression. While recovery is widely expected to be choppy, a new era in forestry is emerging, with the export tax at zero another marker of the change. Supply and demand dynamics are quickly shifting: There are far greater exports to China and supply faces a crunch, from forests in British Columbia killed by the pine beetle to regulatory reductions in the amount of trees that can be cut down in Ontario. View the full article in the Globe and Mail.

Fisheries Act Changes: Seeking the Right Mix between Protection and Development
A seasonal stream flowed through Larri Woodrow's one-hectare hobby farm in the north Langley neighbourhood of Walnut Grove.

Although the property, purchased in 1970, was outside the agricultural land reserve, Woodrow personally favoured the area remaining rural. But that's not what happened.

Over time he found himself surrounded by townhouses and compact single-family homes. Woodrow accepted his fate and decided to sell his property for development, too. At least that was the idea. Read more.