Energy and Mines News:

Early Consolidation of Petroleum and
Natural Gas Act Now Available
At the request of some of our clients, we have published an early consolidation of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act as it will read when 2014 Bill 12, Natural Gas Development Statutes Amendment Act, 2014, and 2015 Bill 40, Natural Gas Development Statutes Amendment Act, 2015, are consolidated. The Bills, which will eventually come into force by regulation, affect the following sections: 1, 5.1, 37, 38(1), 47(7), 49, 49.1 to 49.3, 50(2) and (3), 52(1), 54, 55 to 57, 58(1) and (2), 62, 63, 64, 65.1, 110, 117(4) and (6), 125.1, 125.2, 126, 130, 133(2) and (3) and 134(1).

BC Responds to Mount Polley Dam Failure with
Proposed Amendments to the Mines Act
On February 25, 2016, as part of British Columbia's response to the Mount Polley dam failure, British Columbia's Minister of Energy and Mines introduced amendments to the Mines Act, RSBC 1996, c 293, aimed at strengthening the provincial government's regulatory oversight of the mining industry. Bill 8, the Mines Amendment Act ("Bill 8") proposes to increase penalties for prosecutions, allow for administrative monetary penalties and increase director and officer liability under the Mines Act. Bill 8 is the first legislative change following recommendations from an independent engineering review panel and the Chief Inspector of Mines on the Mount Polley dam failure. Both the Review Panel and the Chief Inspector concluded that the primary cause of the Mount Polley incident was failing to account for the strength and locations of a layer of clay underneath the dam in the tailing storage facility's original design and subsequent dam raises. Both investigations found that general management and regulatory practices also played a part in the tailing pond failure and recommended changes to prevent future dam failures. For instance, the Chief Inspector recommended that the Ministry of Energy and Mines improve its investigative and enforcement capacity and consider a full range of regulatory tools, such as administrative penalties. Read the full article by Sean Jones and Rick Williams of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. 

BC Government to Introduce "World-Leading" Oil Spill Response Law
Legislation will pave way for oil companies to comply
with 1 of BC's 5 heavy oil pipeline conditions
The BC government is set to introduce a new law [Environmental Management Amendment Act, 2016] requiring oil companies to have what it calls a "world-leading" response to oil spills on land – creating a path for industry to meet one of the province's five requirements for heavy oil pipelines. Environment Minister Mary Polak said the province's existing Environmental Management Act was "really out of date," and the amendments will require companies to prepare for an oil spill on land and clean up after one. "The biggest change here is the scope" of what a company is responsible for, said Polak, from prevention to cleanup to environmental restoration. Read the CBC article. 

New Water Sustainability Act and
Regulations Now in Force
Bill 18, the Water Sustainability Act was originally introduced on March 11, 2014, and has now come into law as of February 29, 2016. The new WSA repealed and replaced much of the 100-year-old Water Act and will ensure a sustainable supply of fresh, clean water by managing the diversion and use of water. The Act and new regulations will help protect water flows for ecosystems and fish and include new and improved requirements for groundwater use and licensing, well construction and maintenance, dam safety, and compliance. For the first time, those who use groundwater for non-domestic purposes such as irrigation, industrial use, water bottling or municipal water systems will require a water licence and pay fees and annual water rentals just like surface water users. For existing groundwater users, the regulations provide a three-year transition period in which to apply for a licence; application fees will be waived during the first year. The new regulations are as follows:

• Dam Safety Regulation, B.C. Reg. 40/2016
• Groundwater Protection Regulation, B.C. Reg. 39/2016
• Water Districts Regulation, B.C. Reg. 38/2016
• Water Sustainability Fees, Rentals and Charges Tariff Regulation, B.C. Reg. 37/2016
• Water Sustainability Regulation, B.C. Reg. 36/2016

BC Supreme Court: Province Cannot Surrender Statutorily-Imposed
Environmental Assessment Obligations
The British Columbia Supreme Court has declared that the Province cannot effectively "contract-out" of its environmental certification obligations on proposed energy projects without breaching its duty to consult with affected Aboriginal groups. In Coastal First Nations v. British Columbia (Environment), 2016 BCSC 34, the Court addressed the enforceability of the Equivalency Agreement (the "Agreement") entered into by the Environmental Assessment Office ("EAO") and the National Energy Board ("NEB") in 2010 in respect of Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline Project (the "Project"). Specifically, the Court was concerned with clause 3 of the Agreement, which provided that any NEB assessment of a project would constitute an equivalent assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act, S.B.C. 2002, c. 43 ("EAA") and, therefore, would permit the project to proceed without a provincial Environmental Assessment Certificate ("EAC") – the Province's "OK" stamp for projects that may have an adverse impact on the environment. In finding that the Province cannot abdicate its certification role by agreement, the Court engaged in an extensive statutory interpretation analysis of the EAA and concluded that the certification decision is not optional. Read the full article by Charles W. Bois and Spencer Landsiedel, Student-At-Law of Miller Thomson LLP. 

BC Says Great Bear Rainforest Act Enshrines
Co-existence in Global Treasure
Premier Christy Clark says her government's protection of the Great Bear Rainforest is British Columbia's gift to the world. The province introduced legislation [March 1st] that protects most of the globe's largest intact temperate rainforest on BC's rugged central coast from logging. "We all knew that yes today would mean something incredible for the next 100 years, for the next 500 years, not just for BC, but the entire world," Clark said at a ceremony after the protection law was introduced in the legislature. The Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act protects 85 per cent of the 6.4-million-hectare area that stretches from the Discovery Islands on Vancouver Island northwards to Alaska. Read The Vancouver Sun article.