Oil & Gas Activities Act – Proposed Amendment
The new Bill 23, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, introduced on March 24^th, proposes a number of changes to the Act including an amendment to the definition of "oil and gas activity" by adding the following paragraphs to section 1 (2) of the Act:

(e.1) the construction or operation of a manufacturing plant designed to convert natural gas into other organic compounds,
(e.2) the construction or operation of a petroleum refinery,

The intent of the amendments is to streamline the existing multi-agency regulatory process for facilities that use non-renewable resources to produce value-added products such as gas-to-liquids and methanol by making the Oil and Gas Commission solely responsible for the construction, operation and permitting of these facilities. This streamlined process is designed to attract new investment for value-added production and facilitate economic growth.

New Requirements for Proposed Mines with
Tailings Ponds – Response to Mount Polley
On March 19, 2015, British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office ("EAO") announced the EAO's response to the recommendations of the independent review panel appointed to investigate the breach of the tailings storage facility at the Mount Polley Mine on August 4, 2014. The review panel's recommendations were delivered on January 30, 2015.

In response to the panel's recommendations, the EAO has established additional information requirements for proposed mines in British Columbia with tailings ponds. The EAO issued the new information requirements in separate letters to proponents who are currently undergoing environmental assessment in British Columbia and whose proposed projects include tailings ponds. The new information requirements set out in the EAO letters are identical, suggesting that the EAO will make these information requirements standard for all environmental assessment applications for mines with tailings ponds in British Columbia.

Under the new information requirements, proponents will be required to provide a description and an assessment of alternative means for the proposed project with options for tailings management that consider technology, siting and water-balance management. The assessment must present and compare best practices and best available options for managing tailings. Read the full article published by the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. 

Oil and Gas Health Risk Low says
BC Ministry of Health Study
A boom in oil and gas development in BC's northwest has some residents concerned about the health impacts on the air they breathe and the water they drink, but a new report commissioned by the BC Ministry of Health found the impact minimal – assuming everything goes according to plan.

"We looked at a lot of different chemicals. We looked at all potential exposure pathways and then we found that the health risks were low to the residents of northeastern BC," said Bart Koppe, a senior environmental health scientist with Intrinsik Environmental and Health Science Consulting – the company hired to do the research.

The research was only focused on regular, ongoing emissions, and didn't look at potential risks of emergencies, such as a gas leak. Read the CBC article. 

Petroleum and Natural Gas Act –
Proposed Amendments
The new Bill 23, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, introduced on March 24^th, proposes changes to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act. A new section in the act will allow the Province to enter into long-term royalty agreements with natural gas producers. These agreements will specify the royalty rates owed to the Province by a producer. With this certainty, industry can plan their operations over a longer period of time and commit capital to jobs and production needs. The Province will have guaranteed royalty revenue each year.

Comments Wanted for Proposed
GHG Reporting Regulation
The BC government is seeking comments from stakeholders, First Nations and the general public on a reporting regulation intentions paper for the new Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act.

The act, which received royal assent on Nov. 27, 2014, will enable performance standards to be set for industrial facilities or sectors. The act also streamlines several aspects of existing greenhouse gas (GHG) legislation and regulation into a single legislative and regulatory system. To uphold the Province's commitment to having the cleanest liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations in the world, the new act includes a GHG emissions intensity benchmark for LNG facilities.

Industrial operations have already been reporting GHG emissions since 2010 and that will continue. The proposed new reporting regulation adds requirements for LNG operations and improvements based on stakeholder input to date. Read the full government news release. 

Forest And Range Practices Act Amendments
Bill 18, Administrative Tribunals Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, proposes a number of amendments to the Forest And Range Practices Act, including the addition of Part 8.1 – Forest Appeals Commission which continues the Forest Appeals Commission and establishes general provisions regarding jurisdiction, appointment and procedure. The Bill was introduced March 9^th.

It's "Buyer Beware" for Resource Developers when
It Comes to Crown Consultation
The duty to consult is a Crown responsibility. But what happens when the Crown's consultation is inadequate? Can a company that suffers losses as a result claim compensation from the Crown? A recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Moulton Contracting Ltd. v British Columbia, 2015 BCCA 89, indicates that it will be very difficult for companies to seek compensation from governments even where the Crown is found to have mishandled its consultation obligations.

Background
This decision arose from an appeal of a trial decision that ordered the Province of British Columbia (the "Province") to pay damages of $1,750,000 to the respondent, Moulton Contracting Ltd., ("Moulton") for breach of an implied term of a contract as well as liability in negligent misrepresentation.

A contract was granted by the Province to Moulton on June 27, 2006, for the sale of two timber licences (the "TSLs") in the Fort Nelson Timber Supply Area. This part of British Columbia is covered by Treaty No. 8, to which the Fort Nelson First Nation ("FNFN") is a signatory. The TSLs granted Moulton the right to harvest timber in defined areas as well as the right to enter the timber harvest areas. The damages awarded at trial were a result of losses suffered by Moulton when it was prevented from logging under the TSLs due to a blockade erected by the respondents, George Behn and his family, most of whom were members of FNFN. About a month after the granting of the TSLs and unbeknownst to Moulton, George Behn informed an employee of the Province that he intended to "stop the logging". The Province did not inform Moulton of this threat until two months later, after Moulton had started logging. Almost immediately afterward, the blockade was erected and Moulton was unable to complete logging under the TSLs. Notably, Moulton was not involved in Crown consultation on the TSLs, as consultation was completed by the Province before it issued the TSLs.

Read the full article by John Olynyk, JoAnn Jamieson, Shailaz Dhalla and Mark Graham with the firm Lawson Lundell LLP.

Fish and Seafood Act to Replace Fisheries Act
On March 25^th, the government introduced Bill 21, Fish and Seafood Act. The new act will repeal and consolidate the current Fisheries Act and Fish Inspection Act into a single act when and if it comes into force by regulation. The intent of the new act is to regulate the possession, rearing, growth, harvesting, processing, storage, transportation and distribution of fish and aquatic plants, and their products and byproducts, that are intended to be consumed by humans or that may enter the human food distribution system.

Occupational Health and Safety in the Forest Industry:
A Matter of Superordinate Importance
Those who work "on the ground" in the BC forest industry are required to manage occupational health and safety issues that are, for the most part, completely foreign to the rest of us. And the unique dangers of working in the woods have, unfortunately, resulted in tragedy from time to time over the years and subjected the forest industry's health and safety performance to intense media scrutiny. As someone who practises law in the forest industry (tucked safely behind a desk and computer monitor in my office), [Jeff Waatainen] would suggest that, in recent years, no single field of legal liability has come to concern those who work in the forest industry more than occupational health and safety.

Much of the focus in the BC forest industry with respect to occupational health and safety is placed upon 'prime contractors.' Under the Workers Compensation Act and Regulations (the "Act"), prime contractors must ensure that the health and safety activities of employers and workers at any 'multiple-employer workplace' are coordinated, and must do everything reasonably practicable to establish and maintain systems or processes to ensure compliance with the occupational health and safety requirements of the Act. Read the full article by Jeff Waatainen with Davis LLP and published in "Legal Perspective" column in BC Forest Professional magazine. 

Land Act Amendments
Bill 25, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, was introduced on March 25^th. The intent of the bill is to make it easier to regulate and manage low-impact community, recreational, industrial and commercial activity on Crown lands, streamline fees for transactions under the Land Title Act and allow non-Canadians to register as land surveyors. Proposed Land Act changes will streamline application processes and give government authority to identify low-impact activities – like camping, organized events and aggregate testing – that are exempt from the application process. This will result in approximately 125 fewer permits issued each year. As well, government will be able to close areas as required and create special application requirements for sensitive or high-use areas. Other changes include:

• Updates to the public notification guidelines to bring the legislation in line with current practice and better accommodate online technologies.
• New regulations that consolidate the amount for payment of fees, rents and royalties, making it easier for users to pay and government to collect.

Read the full government news release. 

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
There were a number of Environmental Appeal Board decisions released in the month of March:

Environmental Management Act

• Seaspan ULC (formerly Seaspan International Ltd.) v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Application for Board Costs – Declined]
• Christina Harder and Karl Den Boer v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Preliminary Issue of Standing to Appeal – Appeal Dismissed]
• Shawnigan Residents Association; Cowichan Valley Regional District; John and Lois Hayes; Richard O. Sanders v. Director's Delegate, Environmental Management Act [Final Decision – Appeals Dismissed with Directions]

Visit the Environmental Appeal website for more information.