Changes to the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation
On July 1, 2012, changes to the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation, B.C. Reg. 529/2004, will come into effect with respect to claim acquisition and tenure maintenance. The changes will be brought into force by B.C. Reg. 89/2012. The BC regulation and a copy of the Mineral Tenure Act Regulation with the changes highlighted are available for your reference at the Ministry of Energy and Mines and Responsible for Housing site.

For your information, the major changes are:

• New claim registration fees are increased
• Most other event registration fees are eliminated
• Annual work obligations are increased and expanded
• A transition section that allows all claims to be deemed to be in year one
• A new subdivision tool

Clean Energy Act – Clark Declares Natural Gas "Green Energy" as Long as It’s Used for LNG
Premier Christy Clark said [recently] that natural gas is to be declared a source of clean energy as long as it is used to support the development of a new liquefied natural gas industry in British Columbia. The changed status of natural gas marks a major departure in the province’s clean energy policy by declaring a fossil fuel to be green energy under certain circumstances. Gas-fired power plants used to make LNG or to propel gas along pipelines will be considered green energy, a move that will enable the oil and gas industry to produce cheap electricity without compromising the requirements of the Clean Energy Act. The premier announced the change in the status of natural gas at an energy conference sponsored by the Business Council of British Columbia. Clark said the change is necessary because of the enormous amount of electricity required to liquefy natural gas. [Quickscribe will keep you informed as to when these regulations come into force.] Read full article in the Vancouver Sun.

New Legislative Changes to Provide Access to Logging
Slash & Wood Waste For Bioenergy Producers
Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Steve Thomson, recently announced regulatory changes that provide access to logging slash and wood waste fibre needed by bioenergy producers and manufacturers of wood pellets and other bio-products. Amendments to regulations under the Forest Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act, and the Wildfire Act will bring into effect a residual forestry licence to cut, as well as a fibre supply licence to cut, for wood biomass. These licences will enable smaller operators to acquire wood fibre and logging debris unwanted by primary harvesters. This includes the smaller trees, branches, limbs and tops of trees that are piled roadside or on logging landing sites as the by-product of a typical timber harvesting operation. The new tenures do not grant rights to harvest standing timber. View government news release.

Audit Uncovers Problems with Timber Sales Program on Island
An audit of a program created by the provincial government to revitalize the forest industry has found instances of non-compliance with regulations. B.C. Timber Sales program, active in 12 "business areas" around the province, did not comply with some rules in the Strait of Georgia area, which includes land around Campbell River. Examples include allowing sediment into fish-bearing streams, failing to maintain natural drainage of streams and not having sufficient fire-suppression measures in place. Read more.

Consultations – Timber Supply
The Special Committee on Timber Supply recently announced its plans for conducting community and provincial consultations. The all-party committee was appointed in May 2012 to investigate and make recommendations to address the loss of mid-term timber supply in the central interior due to the mountain pine beetle epidemic. A discussion paper available online outlines options for increasing the timber supply. “We plan to visit 15 communities and hold meetings in Vancouver to find out which options First Nations, local governments, the public and stakeholders prefer,” said committee chair John Rustad. “We are hoping to learn from communities what values and local knowledge should be considered when making recommendations about the mid-term timber supply,” added Norm Macdonald, deputy chair. For a list of the public hearings, and discussion paper, click here. 

Amendments to the Fisheries Act – New Fish Habitat Provisions and Increased Penalties
The federal Fisheries Act (the “Act”) is arguably the most powerful and most applied, on a day-to-day basis, environmental law in the country. Amendments to the Act that were passed into law by the government on June 18, 2012 as part of Bill C-38, the omnibus budget implementation legislation, bring significant changes to the regulatory regime and consequently to those regulated by the Act. The Act has changed its regulatory perspective over the years. Currently, the habitat and deleterious substance provisions in the Act are used as primary protection for the environment. The section 35 habitat provisions prohibit the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction (HADD) of fish habitat, unless a person has an authorization to do so. An HADD without an authorization is a punishable offence. View the full article by Tony Crossman, with Miller Thomson.