All Shook Up: New Amendments to BC's Drilling and Production
Regulation Requiring Seismic Event Reporting
On August 6, 2015, the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission (the "OGC") announced that it had approved amendments to the Drilling and Production Regulation that would, among other things, regulate the reporting requirements of permit holders relating to seismic events.

Previously, the regulations did not require permit holders to report seismic events. However, some permit holders were required to report seismic activity as a term of their permit, particularly those involved in fracturing and disposal activities in the Horn River Basin.

In December 2014, the OGC released its Investigation of Observed Seismicity in the Montney Trend report (the "Seismicity Report"), which concluded that fluid injection during fracturing operations in the Montney Trend had caused low-level seismic activity. The Seismicity Report also linked waste water disposal in the area to seismic activity. These findings caused the OGC to conclude that induced seismic activity was not limited to the Horn River Basin, and that therefore "a more uniform application of regulations is appropriate". Read the full article by Rick Williams and Tim Pritchard with Borden Ladner Gervais. 

BC Forest Stewardship Plans Fail to
Offer Enforceable Results: Report
Forest Practices Board said plans are important because they are the main avenue for public comment
Forest stewardship plans intended to guide logging in British Columbia and offer transparency about forestry activities are failing to deliver results that are enforceable and do not provide information to the public that is meaningful, the province's forestry watchdog said [August 19^th].

Forest licensees are supposed to spell out in the plans how they will meet provincial objectives to protect environmental values such as biodiversity and water quality [or] declare what measurable, verifiable results they will achieve. The requirement to produce the five-year plans was introduced in 2004 as part of the Forest and Range [Practices] Act.

However, after a decade of experience, the Forest Practices Board studied a sample of 43 of the plans and issued a report saying they "do not meet the public's needs, are not enforceable by government and provide little in the way of innovative forest management." Read The Vancouver Sun article. 

Proposed Policies for Implementing BC's New
Water Sustainability Act Available for Comment
On July 30, 2015, the British Columbia government released four discussion papers for public comment outlining proposed new policies for regulations under the Water Sustainability Act. These papers are important as much of the detail on how the new water regime will work will be contained in the regulations. Moreover, these papers signal the government's current direction on groundwater licensing, dam safety, groundwater protection, and compliance and enforcement. Comments on all four papers will be accepted until September 8, 2015.

Background
BC's Water Sustainability Act (Act) was passed in May 2014 and is anticipated to come into force in 2016. The Act will replace the existing Water Act, implement a new groundwater licensing scheme and update the water regulatory regime generally. The delay in implementation is due to the need to revise and align the existing regulations with the new Act, as well as to establish processes for the new requirements. Currently, the government estimates the regulations will be completed in early 2016. The four papers released on July 30 discuss key policies the government is considering for incorporation into the existing or new regulations.

Read the full article by Tony Crossman, Janice Walton and Nardia Chernawsky with Blakes LLP. 

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
There were three Environmental Appeal Board decisions released in the month of August:

Wildlife Act

• Ross Goodwin v. Regional Manager Fish and Wildlife [Final Decision – Appeal Allowed]
• Brent D. Smith v. Deputy Regional Manager [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed]

Water Act

• Michael and Joaney Lindelauf; Jill Fitzpatrick; William Switzer v. Assistant Regional Water Manager [Final Decision – Appeals Dismissed]

Visit the Environmental Appeal Board website for more information.