Mineral Tenure in British Columbia
British Columbia mineral tenure is governed by the provincial Crown administering the provisions of the British Columbia Mineral Tenure Act. Mineral rights may also be obtained through a grant from the provincial Crown under the British Columbia Land Act. Mineral tenure does not include rights to oil and gas, which is governed by the British Columbia Petroleum and Natural Gas Act, or coal, which is governed by the British Columbia Coal Act. This article by Greg Umbach gives a brief overview of the process to obtain mineral tenure in British Columbia, excluding oil, natural gas and coal.

B.C. Puts LNG Power Commitment into Regulation
Minister of Energy and Mines Rich Coleman [recently] announced that British Columbia's Clean Energy Act has been updated to enable the use of natural gas to power liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants. Effective immediately, LNG export facilities, and the electricity generation used to power them, are excluded from the Clean Energy Act's 93 percent clean and renewable energy requirement.

Premier Christy Clark announced government's intention to clarify its clean energy policy to include natural gas last month during a meeting with the Business Council of British Columbia.

This change will ensure the LNG industry can access a reliable, timely and cost-competitive mix of gas-fired and renewable power generation to meet its large electrical demand. The 93 percent clean energy target will continue to apply to non-LNG load and will ensure the majority of B.C.'s power requirements will be met with renewable resources. Read the Government News release.
[Note: Quickscribe is pleased to be able to provide you with access to B.C. Reg. 234/2012 well before it was made available to the general public.]

1 Out of 5 Natural Gas Drilling Projects Stalled Near Fort Nelson, B.C.
B.C.'s natural gas-rich northeast is being pinched by plummeting natural gas prices
A national trade association revised an earlier forecast and now says that natural gas drilling activity in B.C.'s northeast will likely be 22 percent lower this year than originally predicted.

Fort Nelson sits on one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, but Petroleum Services Association of Canada President Mark Salkeld said that only 485 wells will be drilled in B.C. instead of roughly 620 that were expected, mainly due to declining commodity prices.

"It's been a steady decline since our initial forecast for 2012 with a little over 15,000 wells [for all of Canada]," he said. Read the full CBC article here.

Oil Wealth: Should Norway Be the Canadian Way?
How did Norwegians get so petro-smart? The Tyee sent Mitchell Anderson there to find out. This is the first of his reports. Is Canada an oil nation? While debate grows in this country about the ethics of the oil sands or the implications of Dutch Disease, there is little doubt that petroleum is a major part of our economy and certain to become more significant in the future.

Canada is sixth-largest oil-producing nation in the world. Energy exports are seven per cent of our GDP and 19 per cent of our exports. The Alberta oil sands have reserves second only to Saudi Arabia, and some analysts believe production may double by 2020, reaching six million barrels per day. View full article posted in The Tyee.

Court Favours B.C. in Softwood Lumber Dispute
London tribunal dismisses U.S. claim of subsidy to Interior producers
British Columbia lumber producers avoided a $300-million penalty Wednesday after an international business court rejected claims by United States rivals that B.C. cheated on terms of a Canada-U.S. trade pact. The U.S. alleged in 2011 that B.C. producers and the province had used the devastation caused to Interior forests by the mountain pine beetle to justify low stumpage rates – and that export volumes of lumber appeared to exceed the production expected from the harvest of beetle-damaged wood.

The U.S. claimed B.C.'s actions were in violation of the portion of the 2006 Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) that covers B.C. timber pricing policies. However the London Court of International Arbitration, a 129-year-old institution for resolving commercial disputes that charges up to $710 per hour of court time, voted unanimously in favour of B.C. producers. All three members of the tribunal that heard the case are European. One was selected by Canada, one by the U.S., and the third selected by the other two. Read the Vancouver Sun article.

Federal Government Increases Oversight of Activities Impacting Fisheries
Bill C-38, the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, (the Bill) was passed on June 29, 2012. While the Bill was publicized as streamlining natural resource development approvals, which it does, it also contains substantial amendments to the Fisheries Act (the Act) that have led to allegations that the federal government is reducing protection of the aquatic environment. What has been lost in this public discourse is that changes made by Bill C-38 to the Act actually increase the oversight by the federal government of activities impacting fish-bearing waters and fish habitat. This includes extending the power to order works to mitigate harm, allowing government officials to shut down operations permanently and increasing responsibilities on individuals and corporations to report potentially harmful activities. View the full article.

Forest Act Amendments
B.C. Reg 203/2012 brought about a small number of amendments to the Forest Act in July, including amendments to section 54.4 dealing with the transfer of certain agreements not permitted. Specifically, these amendments brought into force sections of 2011 Bill 13 and are intended to:

• define the term "restricted forest licence", as that term is used in the amendments made by this Bill to this section;
• prohibit the disposition of a restricted forest licence that was entered into with a person who owned or leased, or intended to own or lease, a prescribed type of processing facility, unless that disposition is made with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council or as permitted by the regulations;
• add a reference consequential to the addition by this Bill of subsection (1.01) to this section.

Pulp Mill Fined for Polluting Columbia River – Environmental Management Act
Zellstoff Celgar Limited Partnership was sentenced in a British Columbia Provincial court yesterday for depositing acutely lethal effluent into the Columbia River, and for other offences under the Environmental Management Act.

The sentencing is the result of a conviction on February 16, 2012, following an 8 day trial.

Zellstoff Celgar Limited Partnership was fined a total of $150,000, and ordered to post details about the conviction on their corporate website until July 31, 2013. The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation will receive $120 000 of the fine. View the full article published by Forest Talk.

B.C. Moose Ravaged by Salvage Logging of Beetle-Killed Pine Forests
Aggressive salvage logging of beetle-killed pine forests is being blamed for moose populations crashing by up to 70 percent in the B.C. Interior.

Massive clearcuts with no size limits have eliminated extensive habitat, leaving moose exposed and vulnerable to human hunters and wild predators that are taking advantage of increased access to the back country.

The situation is so serious that the province is imposing greater restrictions on hunting opportunities, and one aboriginal group is declaring their traditional Chilcotin territory off-limits to non-native moose hunters this fall. Read more.