New Regulations Governing LNG Facilities – July 21^st
On July 21, 2014, the provincial government enacted the long-awaited Liquefied Natural Gas Facility Regulation ("LNGFR") after consultations with the First Nations, industry, government organizations and other stakeholders. Other regulations were amended on the same day for clarity: the Pipeline and Liquefied Natural Gas Facility Regulation was amended to exclude its application to LNG facilities and was renamed the Pipeline Regulation, and the Drilling and Production Regulation ("DPR") was amended to include a definition of "facility" that excludes LNG facilities. It is the LNGFR that now governs LNG facilities while the Pipeline Regulation and DPR do not. The BC Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) has simultaneously released an 80 page guidance document specific to the regulation. It provides a plain language overview of the regulation's requirements as well as significant contextual information about how the regulation fits into existing legislation and OGC standards. For example, it describes how the OGC and Transport Canada regulatory regimes will overlap to regulate floating LNG facilities. The LNGFR itself is technical in nature and addresses the regulatory aspects associated with applying for an LNG permit, the construction and operation of an LNG facility, and the risks associated with LNG facilities. As stated by the OGC, "included in the regulation are rules around the permit application process, engineering design requirements, hazard analysis, safety and loss management programs, risk assessment, emergency planning and response, flaring limits and noise and light control". Ancillary to these rules are a series of important document retention requirements. Read the full article published on the Bull Housser website. 

Mount Polley Spill Could Affect Whole Mining Industry
BC's mining association says the Mount Polley spill could lead to changes for the industry, even as First Nations leaders predicted the disaster will affect other resource projects and vowed to push for a public inquiry if they do not get the answers they are seeking.

Millions of cubic metres of waste spewed from a tailings pond into central BC waterways on [August 4^th] at the Mount Polley copper and gold mine, which is owned by Imperial Metals Corp.

Angela Waterman, vice-president of environment and technical affairs for the Mining Association of BC, said much about the spill is unknown, but it could have consequences for other mining outfits when the results of investigations come out. Read The Globe And Mail article. 

BC First Nation Behind Landmark Land Title
Case Releases Mining Policy
A British Columbia First Nation behind a recent Supreme Court of Canada case that significantly expanded aboriginal land title rights laid out ground rules [July 31^st] for mining projects on its traditional territory, requiring resource companies to minimize the negative impacts of projects while sharing revenue.

The Tsilhqot'in National Government's mining policy also follows the group's successful fight against the New Prosperity mine, proposed by Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSX:TKO), which was rejected by the federal government earlier this year due to the potential impact on a lake considered sacred by area First Nations.

The Tsilhqot'in Nation, located near Williams Lake, BC, said it isn't opposed to mining on its territory, but resource companies need to respect the rights of aboriginals if they want their projects to proceed.

"The goal is to have proponents actually come through the door of the Tsilhqot'in Nation," Chief Russell Myers-Ross of Yunesit'in, one of the six bands that make up the Tsilhqot'in, said in an interview. "We had the example of Taseko Mines, who showed us what not to do. We need proponents and industry to begin showing a lot more respect for our people and our nation if they want to build partnerships in our territory." Read The Vancouver Sun article.

Chevron Says No Interest in Boosting Stake
in Kitimat LNG Project after Apache Exit
Chevron Corp. said it has no interest in boosting its ownership share of Kitimat LNG project planned for the BC coast beyond 50% after partner Apache Corp. said it would sell its half of the project.

"We need to get our partnership resolved," George Kirkland, Chevron's vice-chairman and executive vice-president of upstream operations, said Friday as the U.S. oil major announced second-quarter results. Apache needs to move through the issues and we need to get a new partner in. That needs to happen "That means Apache needs to move through the issues and we need to get a new partner in. That needs to happen."

Houston-based Apache said [July 31^st] it would "completely exit" the Kitimat plant, casting doubt on the future of the multi-billion-dollar export proposal as well as BC's goal of seeing three LNG projects operating by 2020. Read Financial Post article. 

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
The following Environmental Appeal Board decisions made under the Wildlife Act were released in the month of July:

• Robert J. Cutts v. Regional Manager (Kootenay Boundary Region) [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed]
• Vince Cocciolo v. Regional Manager (Kootenay Boundary Region) [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed]
• Bradley Bowden v. Regional Manager, Recreational Fisheries and Wildlife Program (Cariboo Region) [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed with Recommendation]
• Christine Franke v. Regional Manager, Recreational Fisheries and Wildlife Program (Cariboo Region) [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed with Recommendation]
• Hans-Albert Jacobs v. Regional Manager, Recreational Fisheries and Wildlife Program (Cariboo Region) [Final Decision – Appeal Allowed in Part with Recommendation]

Province Offers Pulp Mills $100 Million
for Energy Conservation
BC's Energy Minister is throwing a lifeline to the province's pulp mills, with up to $100 million for energy conservation projects to help offset rising industrial electricity rates.

Bill Bennett [made] the announcement in Surrey [July 24^th], flanked by four mill companies that had publicly warned they could be driven to economic hardship by his ministry's 10-year plan to raise BC Hydro rates.

The companies – Canfor, Catalyst Paper, Paper Excellence and West Fraser – operate thermo-mechanical pulp mills and are among B.C.'s biggest industrial power users.

Under the new program, they will be eligible for government money using a formula that involves the horsepower of refiners at their mills. The companies can use the funding toward new machinery or mill upgrades that will reduce power consumption, as long as they also contribute 25 per cent of the capital costs.

"We're estimating that the thermo-mechanical pulp industry in BC should be able to save roughly $17.5 million annually in electricity costs," Bennett said in an interview with The Vancouver Sun. Read The Vancouver Sun article.