BILL 13 – 2004
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AMENDMENT ACT, 2004

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 19 of the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 53, is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "the requirements" and substituting "a requirement", and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) If the minister considers that a person should have temporary relief from a requirement of a code of practice, the minister may issue a variance order relieving the person in relation to the requirement of the code of practice.

2 Section 22 (2) is amended by adding the following paragraphs:

(x) imposing monitoring and reporting requirements, including requirements for publication of information, in relation to

(i) waste,

(ii) handling, treating, transporting, discharging or storing waste, and

(iii) places and things that the minister considers may be affected by the handling, treatment, transportation, discharge or storage of waste;

(y) prescribing sampling, analytical, quality control and reporting procedures that must be followed by a person required to monitor or report under a code of practice.

3 Section 39 (1) is amended

(a) by adding the following definitions:

"approved professional" means a person who is named on a roster established under section 42 (2) [approved professionals];

"summary of site condition" means a document that complies with subsection (3); ,

(b) by repealing the definitions of "contaminated site" and "contamination" and substituting the following:

"contaminated site" means an area of the land in which the soil or any groundwater lying beneath it, or the water or the underlying sediment, contains a prescribed substance in quantities or concentrations exceeding prescribed risk based or numerical

(a) criteria,

(b) standards, or

(c) conditions;

"contamination" means the presence in soil, sediment, water or groundwater of a substance prescribed for the purposes of the definition of "contaminated site" in quantities or concentrations exceeding the risk based or numerical

(a) criteria,

(b) standards, or

(c) conditions

also prescribed for the purposes of the definition of "contaminated site"; , and

(c) by adding the following subsection:

(3) A summary of site condition must be

(a) prepared

(i) by an approved professional,

(ii) in the form established in a protocol, and

(iii) in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the minister, and

(b) signed by the approved professional.

4 Section 40 is repealed and the following substituted:

Site profiles

40 (1) When required by this section or the minister's regulations, a person must provide a site profile that

(a) contains the information prescribed by the minister, and

(b) is in the form established in a protocol.

(2) A municipality, an approving officer or the commission, as applicable, must

(a) assess in accordance with the minister's regulations a site profile received in compliance with this section or the minister's regulations,

(b) if the assessment under paragraph (a) indicates that a director should review the site profile to determine whether a site investigation is required, forward a copy of the site profile to a director, and

(c) forward a copy of the site profile to any other person specified in the minister's regulations.

(3) Subject to the regulations, a municipality, an approving officer and the commission may impose reasonable fees for an assessment under subsection (2) (a).

(4) A director may order a person to prepare a site profile and provide it to the director in the following circumstances:

(a) the person owns or occupies land that the director considers may be a contaminated site because of a past or current use on it or other land;

(b) the person provided a site profile that did not comply with subsection (1) (a) and (b).

(5) If a director makes an order under subsection (4) (a) in respect of land that is subsequently determined not to be a contaminated site, the director is not liable for any costs incurred by the person in preparing the site profile.

5 Section 42 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:

(1) A director may designate classes of persons who are qualified to perform classes of activities, prepare classes of reports and other documents or make classes of recommendations that by or under this Act may be or are required to be performed, prepared or made by an approved professional.

6 Section 44 is repealed and the following substituted:

Determinations of contaminated sites

44 (1) Subject to the minister's regulations, a director may determine whether a site is a contaminated site and, if so, the boundaries of the contaminated site.

(2) For the purpose of making a determination under subsection (1), a director may rely on any information the director considers sufficient for that purpose, including but not limited to, a site profile, a preliminary site investigation, a detailed site investigation and a summary of site condition.

(3) The lack of a determination under subsection (1) does not mean that a site is not a contaminated site.

(4) Despite section 100 [appeals to Environmental Appeal Board], another decision that the director must or may make for the purpose, or in the process, of determining whether a site is a contaminated site may not be appealed to the Environmental Appeal Board until after the determination under subsection (1) has been made.

7 Section 48 (10) is amended by striking out "A person who has submitted a site profile under section 40 (7) [site profiles of trustee, receiver, etc.]" and substituting "A trustee, a receiver, a liquidator or a person commencing foreclosure proceedings, who takes possession or control of real property for the benefit of one or more creditors and who has submitted or is required to submit a site profile,".

8 Section 53 is amended

(a) by renumbering subsection (1) as subsection (1.1) and by adding the following subsection:

(1) For the purposes of exercising powers and performing duties under this section, a director may rely on any information the director considers sufficient for the purpose, including, but not limited to, a preliminary site investigation, a detailed site investigation, a risk assessment, a remediation plan or a summary of site condition. ,

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "subsection (1)," and substituting "subsection (1.1),",

(c) by repealing subsection (3) (b) and (c) and substituting the following:

(c) a plan has been prepared for the purposes of containing, controlling and monitoring any substances remaining on the site and, if required by the director, works have been installed to implement the plan, , and

(d) in subsection (3) (d) by striking out "and the requirements respecting that security prescribed in the regulations have been met," and substituting "in accordance with the minister's regulations,".

9 Section 54 (1) is amended by striking out "remediation whether" and substituting "remediation in accordance with the minister's regulations whether".

10 Section 55 (3) (b) is amended by striking out "and environmental impact assessment".

11 Section 59 (4) is amended by striking out "this section." and substituting "section 58 [orphan sites]."

12 The following section is added:

Land Remediation Fund

61.1 (1) The minister may establish a fund to be known as the Land Remediation Fund.

(2) Money in the Land Remediation Fund must be held in trust by the government for the purposes under subsection (4).

(3) Money that under an enactment must be paid into the consolidated revenue fund, including the Sustainable Environment Fund, may not be paid into the Land Remediation Fund.

(4) The object of the Land Remediation Fund is to provide funding for the purposes of government programs in relation to the following:

(a) brownfield development;

(b) orphan site remediation;

(c) domestic and commercial underground tank remediation.

(5) The Land Remediation Fund may be administered by one or more councils that may pay money out of the Land Remediation Fund for the purposes of the fund in accordance with

(a) the minister's regulations, and

(b) the approved policies and procedures of the council.

13 Section 62 (1) is amended by repealing paragraphs (a) and (g).

14 Section 63 (1) is amended

(a) by repealing paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (f) to (i) and substituting the following:

(b) respecting site profiles, including, without limitation,

(i) prescribing the information that must be provided in a site profile,

(ii) prescribing circumstances in which a specified person must provide a site profile to another specified person,

(iii) prescribing procedures for providing a site profile,

(iv) prescribing procedures for assessing a site profile, and

(v) prescribing when a site profile must be provided by a specified person;

(f.1) respecting summaries of site conditions, including, without limitation,

(i) prescribing the information that must be provided in a summary of site condition,

(ii) prescribing circumstances in which a specified person must provide a summary of site condition to another specified person,

(iii) prescribing circumstances in which a director may order a person to provide to the director or another person a summary of site condition,

(iv) prescribing procedures for providing a summary of site condition, and

(v) prescribing when a summary of site condition must be provided by a specified person;

(i) respecting a determination under section 44 [determination of contaminated sites], including, without limitation,

(i) prescribing procedures for making a determination,

(ii) prescribing the persons to whom a director must give notice of a determination under section 44 [determinations of contaminated sites],

(iii) prescribing circumstances in which a director may make a determination that a site is contaminated without following the procedures prescribed under subparagraph (i), and

(iv) prescribing circumstances in which a site is considered to be a contaminated site without a determination under section 44 (1); ,

(b) in paragraph (r) by striking out "section 64 (2)" and substituting "section 64 (2);", and

(c) by adding the following paragraphs:

(s) respecting the Land Remediation Fund, including, without limitation,

(i) establishing the number of councillors for each council,

(ii) prescribing the manner of appointment or election of councillors,

(iii) if more than one council is established, establishing the responsibilities of each council in relation to one or more purposes of the fund and how responsibility for the administration of the fund is to be distributed between councils,

(iv) authorizing the council to pay money out of the fund subject to any conditions the minister prescribes,

(v) establishing policies and procedures for the administration of the fund, and

(vi) authorizing a council to establish, with the prior approval of the minister, policies and procedures for the administration of the fund;

(t) prescribing fees for computer based registry inquiries;

(u) respecting any matter in relation to which regulations of the minister are contemplated by this Part.

15 The following section is added:

Director's interim standards

63.1 (1) A director may make regulations prescribing substances and risk based or numerical criteria, standards and conditions for the purpose of the definition of "contaminated site" in section 39 [definitions and interpretation] if the director considers it necessary in the public interest.

(2) In the event of a conflict between a regulation under this section and a regulation under section 63 (1) (n), the regulation under this section prevails.

(3) A regulation under subsection (1) ceases to have effect one year after the date it was made.

16 Section 64 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) (b) and (c) by striking out "prescribing" and substituting "specifying",

(b) in subsection (1) by adding the following paragraph:

(e) establishing procedures in respect of requiring, and establishing conditions for, security. ,

(c) in subsection (2) (m) by adding ", site profiles, summaries of site conditions" after "site investigations" and by striking out "for the purposes of their entry into the site registry",

(d) in subsection (2) (n) by adding ", sediment" after "soil",

(e) by adding the following paragraph:

(o.1) summarizing or specifying activities, including the preparation of specified reports or documents, that may or must be performed by an approved professional; , and

(f) by repealing the second subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(3) Section 41 of the Interpretation Act and the Regulations Act do not apply in relation to a protocol under this section.

(4) On and after the date that a protocol under this section is published in accordance with the minister's regulations, a director may refuse to accept anything governed by the protocol that is not in compliance with it.

17 Section 120 (17) (a) is repealed and the following substituted:

(a) fails to submit a site profile as required under section 40 [site profiles] or the regulations or supplies a site profile that the person knows to contain false or misleading information, .

18 Section 138 is amended

(a) in subsection (3) by adding the following paragraphs:

(f) imposing monitoring and reporting requirements, including requirements for the publication of information, in relation to

(i) waste,

(ii) handling, treating, transporting, discharging or storing waste, and

(iii) places and things that the minister considers may be affected by the handling, treatment, transportation, discharge or storage of waste;

(g) prescribing sampling, analytical, quality control and reporting procedures that must be followed by a person required to monitor or report under a regulation;

(h) authorizing the minister to amend, by setting out opposite a prescribed industry, trade, business, activity or operation the title of a code of practice prescribed by the minister under section 22 [minister's regulations -- codes of practice], a schedule to a regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council that prescribes industries, trades, businesses, activities or operations for the purposes of section 6 (2) or (3) [waste disposal];

(i) respecting any matter for which regulations are contemplated by this Act. , and

(b) in subsection (4) (a) by adding "including imposing restrictions in relation to the facilities that may perform the procedures and prescribing and requiring the payment of fees to defray the costs to the ministry of auditing samples, analytical results, data and reports" after "minister".

 
Consequential Amendments

 
Islands Trust Act

19 Section 34.1 (2) of the Islands Trust Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 239, as re-enacted by section 155 of the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 53, is amended

(a) by striking out "under section 40 of the" wherever it appears and substituting "under the",

(b) in paragraphs (a) and (b) by striking out "section 40 (4) (b)" and substituting "section 40 (2) (b)", and

(c) in paragraph (c) by striking out "final".

 
Land Title Act

20 Section 85.1 (2) of the Land Title Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 250, as re-enacted by section 156 of the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 53, is amended

(a) by striking out "under section 40 of the" wherever it appears and substituting "under the",

(b) in paragraphs (a) and (b) by striking out "section 40 (4) (b)" and substituting "section 40 (2) (b)", and

(c) in paragraph (c) by striking out "final".

 
Local Government Act

21 Section 946.1 (2) (b) of the Local Government Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 323, as amended by section 161 (b) of the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 53, is amended by striking out "section 40 (4)" and substituting "section 40 (2)".

22 Section 946.2 (2) as re-enacted by section 162 of the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 53, is amended

(a) by striking out "under section 40 [site profiles] of the" and substituting "under the",

(b) in paragraphs (a) and (b) by striking out "under section 40 of the" and substituting "under the" and by striking out "section 40 (4) (b)" and substituting "section 40 (2) (b)", and

(c) in paragraph (c) by striking out "final".

 
Petroleum and Natural Gas Act

23 Section 84.1 (2) of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 361, as re-enacted by section 168 of the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 53, is amended

(a) by striking out "under section 40 of the" wherever it appears and substituting "under the",

(b) in paragraphs (a) and (b) by striking out "section 40 (4) (b)" and substituting "section 40 (2) (b)", and

(c) in paragraph (c) by striking out "final".

 
Property Law Act

24 Section 40 of the Property Law Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 377, is repealed and the following substituted:

Vendor disclosure

40 If a vendor of real property is required under the regulations to the Environmental Management Act to provide a site profile to a purchaser and the vendor fails to provide the site profile, the purchaser may exercise any remedies under the common law or under the regulations.

 
Vancouver Charter

25 Section 571B (2) of the Vancouver Charter, S.B.C. 1953, c. 55, as re-enacted by section 173 of the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 53, is amended

(a) by striking out "under section 40 of the" wherever it appears and substituting "under the",

(b) in paragraphs (a) and (b) by striking out "section 40 (4) (b)" and substituting "section 40 (2) (b)", and

(c) in paragraph (c) by striking out "final".

Commencement

26 This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.