Environmental Assessment in British Columbia

Forum of Federations Conference

September 14, 2009

BC Environmental Assessment Office

• Stand alone office created by provincial statute• Executive Director appointed by Lieutenant Governor in

Council• Approximately 55 staff and budget of nearly $10 million• Assess the environmental, economic, social, heritage &

health effects of reviewable projects

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What is subject to provincial EA in BC?

• Generally only the largest types of major projects

• BC Reviewable Project Regulations specify thresholds for projects by sector.

― But reviewable projects can be waived out, and non-reviewable projects can be ordered in

• Significant differences between provincial and federal EA triggers

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EA is a discrete decision in BC

• If a proposed project requires a provincial EA, the project cannot be undertaken and no related permits can be issued unless an EA certificate is granted

• Decision to grant EA certificate is made by two ministers based on recommendations of the Executive Director

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Approved

Not Approved

Public

Comment

Period

Application

Prepared

and

Submitted

Application

Evaluated

for

Completeness

Application

Review

Assessment

Report

Project

Decision by

Ministers

Certificate Issued -- Project

Authorized to Proceed to Permitting

Stage

No Certificate Issued –

Project Cannot Proceed

Public

Comment

Period

Information Requirements for Application

(draft Terms of Reference)

BC Environmental Assessment ProcessBC Environmental Assessment Process

Pre-Application Stage (no timeline) (30 days)

Application Review Stage(180 days)

Decision

(45 days)

Working Group Review

Scope and Process for

Review Determined

ProjectDescription

Determination that Project is Reviewable

FIRST NATION CONSULTATION

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How does EAO do its analysis?

• Through consultation processes and the working group, most issues are resolved by consensus

• Where concerns are not resolved to satisfaction of interested parties, EAO assesses whether residual effects are considered significant based on a test similar to that used under CEAA

• If significant residual adverse effects are found, the Executive Director considers whether they should be considered justified

• In practice, projects that would likely be found to have significant adverse effects despite mitigation measures and commitments often do not proceed to the end of the EA process

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Cumulative impacts

• Cumulative impacts are addressed through:― Consideration of approved land use plans that designate the most appropriate activities on the land base;

― Comprehensive baseline studies which set out the current conditions and thereby factor in effects of prior development;

― Consideration of potential overlapping impacts that may be occurring due to other developments, even if not directly related to the proposed project; and,

― Consideration of future developments that are reasonable foreseeable and sufficiently certain to proceed

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8

(50) (63) (71)(42)(42) (50) (63) (71) (86) (88) (# of Projects)

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Anticipated capital investment of projects for which EA certificate has been issued

(9) (3) (11) (5) (13)(# of Projects)

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Pro

ject

s in

EA

pro

cess

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Differences between BC and federal EABC EA Federal EA

Single, specialized agency (EAO) conducts all EAs

Federal EA responsibility allocated among numerous agencies (self-assessment model); CEAA coordinates

All EAs typically follow the same process

Three types of EAs – screening level, comprehensive study and review panel

EAO can recommend a project be certified if significant adverse effects exist but are considered justified

Projects with significant adverse effects must be referred to a mediator or review panel

Review panels rarely used Review panels used in some cases

Legislated timelines No legislated timelines 12

Strong relationship and cooperation between EAO and CEAA

• Canada-BC EA Harmonization Agreement– Commits to working cooperatively and using provincial

timelines• Various administrative and operational agreements

– Commitments regarding integrated service delivery

– A commitment to explore use of equivalency agreements with BC and CEA Act delegation to EAO (pilot)

– Commitments on coordinating First Nation consultation

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Strong relationship and cooperation between EAO and CEAA (cont.)

• Joint work plan for each project– Integrates federal and provincial steps, tracks progress

and flags missed deadlines

• Joint EAO-CEAA training program– Teaches new staff about the functions of each agency and

specifically about harmonization activities

• EAO-CEAA staff exchange program• Joint chairs of stakeholder Advisory

Committee14

New approaches being explored

• Delegation― Implementation agreement commits to identifying a pilot

project for CEAA delegation; would be the first time this federal power is used

• Equivalency agreements― BC has the authority to enter into agreements to accept

federal government’s EA as “equivalent” (case by case and class by class)

― BC has used this power for a terminal expansion and for the reviews of interprovincial pipelines

― BC is advocating for federal legislative change to give the federal government a reciprocal power 15

First Nations Consultation

• Opportunities for First Nations include one or more of the following

― Participation on Working Group― Consultation by proponent― Government-to-government consultation by EAO― Opportunity to include First Nations’ submission in the package

of materials provided to Ministers― Capacity funding

• EAO has not been the subject of a successful judicial review to date

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Other EAO initiatives• Fairness and Service Code

― Developed to give proponents, First Nations, and the public an understanding of what can be expected during a provincial environmental assessment and EAO commitments to all interested parties

• E-Guide― Comprehensive desktop tool linking all relevant legislation,

policy, templates and sample documentation to aid in the delivery of an EA

• Common Issues and Commitments Project― Looking at ways to eliminate duplication and use common

analysis/commitments where appropriate17

Robin JungerAssociate Deputy Minister(250) 356-7475Robin.Junger@gov.bc.cawww.eao.gov.bc.ca