New Emergency Management Regulation –
Oil & Gas Activities Act
The Oil and Gas Commission is updating the requirements of the Emergency Management Regulation by repealing and replacing the existing regulation with a new one, effective March 1, 2018. The new regulation generally reflects current industry practice, specifically by adopting the recently published CSA Z246.2. In addition, the new regulation promotes the use of an incident command system, puts more emphasis on training, and advocates a two-tier system for preparation and submission of emergency response plans. For your convenience, Quickscribe plans to publish an early consolidation of the new regulation in the next few business days. Anita Mathur from the Oil & Gas Commission will be publishing annotations and links between the current and new regulation shortly.

Pembina Pipeline Approves Construction of $260M
Propane Export Facility on BC Island
Pembina Pipeline Corp. says its board of directors has approved construction of an export terminal at Prince Rupert, B.C., to be used to send liquefied Western Canadian propane to markets in Asia and Central America.

The Calgary-based company says the project on Watson Island is expected to cost about $260 million, up from an estimate of $150 million made last spring, due to minor scope changes, dock maintenance and additional site preparation.

Pembina's facility, which still requires regulatory and environmental approvals, is expected to be in service by mid-2020 and will have a permitted capacity of about 25,000 barrels per day of propane. Read The Vancouver Sun article. 

Overview of BC's New Spill Reporting Regulation
On October 30, 2017 the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy repealed the Spill Reporting Regulation, B.C. Reg. 376/2008 (the "Old Regulation") and replaced it with the Spill Reporting Regulation (Ministerial Order No. M329) (the "New Regulation"). The New Regulation, which is currently in effect, expands the circumstances in which spill reports must be provided to the Province and increases the information which must be contained within such spill reports. Any person who has possession, charge or control of a substance listed in the Schedule to the New Regulation (including any substance that can cause pollution) should ensure they are familiar with their obligations under the New Regulation.

The Old Regulation
Under the Old Regulation, a person who had possession, charge or control of a listed substance when it was spilled in an amount equal to or greater than the amount specified in the Schedule to the Old Regulation, was obligated to provide a spill report to the Provincial Emergency Program immediately after the spill occurred. The spill report was required to include, among other things, the contact information of the person who caused the spill, the location and time of the spill, the type and quantity of the substance spilled, the cause and effect of the spill, and the details of spill response actions. In addition, where a spilled occurred, the person who had possession, charge or control of the listed substance when it was spilled was required to take all reasonable and practical steps to stop, contain and minimize the effects of the spill.

The New Regulation
Under the New Regulation, the triggers for reporting a spill, and the information which must be provided to the Province in connection with a spill, have been substantially altered. We first define the key terms below, then summarize the main features.

Read the full article by Dionysios Rossi, Erika Lambert-Shirzad and Scott Duncan (Articling Student) of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. 

Private Sector Contracts: When A New Government
Changes the Playing Field
Effective July 18, 2017, BC had its first change of governing parties in over 16 years and the NDP now has the opportunity to direct government policy for so long as it retains the support of the Green Party. This potential for policy change as a result of a new governing party raises concerns for those in the private sector who have ongoing contractual relationships created on the basis of expectations formed under pre-existing government policies. Changes in government policy could produce hardships or windfalls for those in pre-existing contractual relationships depending upon how the change shifts the playing field. In the forest industry, for example, previous changes in governing parties have brought about new timber harvesting regulations with cost implications for providers of logging services subject to pre-existing contracts and rates. Read the full article by Jeff Waatainen, published in Truck Logger BC. 

Wildlife Group Challenges B.C.'s Interpretation of
Law On Destroying Bears – Wildlife Act
A woman who found a black bear cub that was later killed by a conservation officer is accusing the British Columbia government of breaking its own law on the destruction of wild animals.

Tiana Jackson and the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals have filed a court petition challenging the officer's decision to kill the cub near Dawson Creek in May 2016.

They argue the Wildlife Act prohibits officers from killing animals unless they pose a threat to people, property or wildlife. The province counters in court documents that the law gives wide discretion to officers to destroy animals.

"The province says there are no legal limits on the ability of conservation officers to kill animals," Arden Beddoes, a lawyer representing Jackson and the advocacy group, said outside court Wednesday [November 22nd]. Read the CBC article. 

BC Ministry of the Environment: Cobalt Interim
Background Groundwater Estimate
The ministry is hereby extending the cobalt interim background groundwater concentration estimate of 20 µg/L. The value of 20 µg/L was originally established on October 4, 2002. This measure is in response to a change in the drinking water standard for cobalt, approved under the Stage 11 amendment to the Contaminated Sites Regulation. The interim background groundwater concentration estimate for cobalt is expected to remain in effect while the ministry concludes the development of background groundwater estimates for selected metals on a region by region basis for the Province. If this work is successful, regional Background Groundwater Estimates will subsequently be incorporated into a revised Protocol 9 "Determining Groundwater Background Quality". Read the full news update on the BCEIA website

Environmental Appeal Board Decisions
There were two Environmental Appeal Board decisions in the month of November.

Water Act

• Rodney Gerald Retzlaff v. Assistant Water Manager [Final Decision – Appeal Dismissed]

Environmental Management Act

• Thomas H. Coape-Arnold v. Director, Environmental Management Act [Preliminary Application – Granted in Part]

Visit the Environmental Appeal Board website for more information.