Environmental Assessment in British Columbia

1. Environmental Assessment in British Columbia Forum of Federations Conference September 14, 2009

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Certificate Issued -- Project Authorized to Proceed to Permitting Stage Information Requirements for Application (draft Terms of Reference) Application Prepared and Submitted Application Evaluated for Completeness Application Review Assessment Report Project Decision by Ministers Public Comment Period Public Comment Period No Certificate Issued – Project Cannot Proceed BC Environmental Assessment Process Project Description Determination that Project is Reviewable Scope and Process for Review Determined Approved Not Approved Pre-Application Stage (no timeline) (30 days) Application Review Stage (180 days) Decision (45 days) Working Group Review FIRST NATION CONSULTATION

6. 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

7. 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

8. (42) (42) (50) (50) (63) (63) (71) (71) (86) (88) (# of Projects)

9. Anticipated capital investment of projects for which EA certificate has been issued (# of Projects) (9) (3) (11) (5) (13)

11. Projects in EA process

12. Differences between BC and federal EA

13. 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

14. 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 Committee

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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 appropriate

18. Robin Junger Associate Deputy Minister (250) 356-7475 Robin.Junger@gov.bc.ca www.eao.gov.bc.ca