BILL 10 – 2003
ENERGY AND MINES STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2003

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

 
Coal Act

1 Section 26 of the Coal Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 51, is amended

(a) in subsections (1) and (3) by striking out "minister" wherever it appears and substituting "chief gold commissioner", and

(b) by repealing subsection (4).

 
Hydro and Power Authority Act

2 Section 12 of the Hydro and Power Authority Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 212, is amended by adding the following subsections:

(9) The Lieutenant Governor in Council, by order, may designate any agreement entered into or to be entered into by the authority that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers relates to the provision of support services to or on behalf of the authority.

(10) For the purposes of subsection (9), "support services" means services that support or are ancillary to the activities of the authority from time to time, and includes services related to metering for, billing and collecting fees, charges, tariffs, rates and other compensation for electricity sold, delivered or provided by the authority, but does not include the production, generation, storage, transmission, sale, delivery or provision of electricity.

(11) Despite the common law and the provisions of this or any other enactment, if an agreement is designated under subsection (9),

(a) the authority is deemed to have, and to have always had, the power and capacity to enter into the agreement,

(b) the agreement and all actions of the authority taken in accordance with the provisions of the agreement are authorized, valid and deemed to be required for the public convenience and necessity,

(c) the authority is deemed to have, and to have always had, the power and capacity to carry out all of the obligations imposed under, and to exercise all of the rights, powers and privileges granted by, the agreement according to its terms,

(d) the agreement is binding on and enforceable by the authority, according to the agreement's terms, and

(e) subject to subsection (12), the authority is not required to obtain any approval, authorization, permit or order under the Utilities Commission Act in connection with the agreement or any actions taken in accordance with the terms of the agreement, and the commission must not prohibit the authority from taking any action that the authority is entitled or required to take under the terms of the agreement.

(12) Nothing in subsection (11) (e) precludes the commission from considering the costs incurred, or to be incurred, in relation to an agreement designated under subsection (9) when establishing the revenue requirements and setting the rates of the authority.

(13) Subsections (3) and (5) do not apply to any partnership created by, under or in furtherance of an agreement designated under subsection (9).

 
Mineral Tenure Act

3 Section 19 (1) (b) of the Mineral Tenure Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 292, is amended by striking out "the district inspector" and substituting "an inspector".

4 Section 22 (1) and (3) (c) (ii) is amended by striking out "minister" and substituting "chief gold commissioner".

5 Section 43 is repealed.

Mines Act

6 Section 1 of the Mines Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 293, is amended

(a) by repealing the definitions of "closed mine", "district inspector" and "owner" and substituting the following:

"closed mine" means a mine at which all mining activities have ceased but in respect of which the owner, agent, manager or permittee remains responsible for compliance with this Act, the regulations, the code and that person's obligations under the permit for that mine;

"owner" includes every person who is the immediate holder, proprietor, lessee, occupier or permittee of a mine or of any part of it, but does not include a person who

(a) receives only a royalty or rent from a mine that is subject to a lease, grant or other authority for its working, or

(b) is the owner of the surface rights of land in, on or under which a mine exists but who is not the immediate holder, proprietor, lessee, occupier or permittee; , and

(b) by adding the following definitions:

"detrimental environmental impact" occurs when the quality of air, land or water substantially reduces the usefulness of the environment or its capacity to support life;

"mining activity" means any activity related to

(a) the exploration and development of a mineral, a placer mineral, coal, sand, gravel or rock, or

(b) the production of a mineral, a placer mineral, coal, sand, gravel or rock,

and includes the reclamation of a mine;

"permit" means a permit issued under section 10;

"permittee" means the holder of a permit issued under section 10.

7 The following section is added:

Power to exempt sites from application of the Act

9.1 The chief inspector may exempt a mine or part of a mine from the application of this Act

(a) for the duration of a particular use, if satisfied that the site will not be used for any of the purposes described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of the definition of "mine", or

(b) if satisfied that the primary purpose of the activity at the site is not mining activity and that the site has no mineral title under the Mineral Tenure Act, lease or licence under the Coal Act, or Crown granted mineral or coal rights.

8 Section 10 (1), (4) to (6), (8) and (9) is repealed and the following substituted:

(1) Before starting any work in, on or about a mine, the owner, agent, manager or any other person must hold a permit issued by the chief inspector and, as part of the application for the permit, there must be filed with an inspector a plan outlining the details of the proposed work and a program for the conservation of cultural heritage resources and for the protection and reclamation of the land, watercourses and cultural heritage resources affected by the mine, including the information, particulars and maps established by the regulations or the code.

(4) The chief inspector may, as a condition of issuing a permit under subsection (3), require that the owner, agent, manager or permittee give security in the amount and form, and subject to conditions, specified by the chief inspector

(a) for mine reclamation, and

(b) to provide for protection of, and mitigation of damage to, watercourses and cultural heritage resources affected by the mine.

(5) If required by the chief inspector, the owner, agent, manager or permittee, in each year, must deposit security in an amount and form satisfactory to the chief inspector so that, together with the deposit under subsection (4) and calculated over the estimated life of the mine, there will be money necessary to perform and carry out properly

(a) all the conditions of the permit relating to the matters referred to in subsection (4) at the proper time, and

(b) all the orders and directions of the chief inspector or an inspector respecting the fulfillment of the conditions relating to the matters referred to in subsection (4).

(6) The owner, agent, manager or permittee, or an inspector, may apply to the chief inspector for a revision of the conditions or an extension of the term of a permit issued under this section, and the chief inspector may revise the conditions or extend the term, as the case may be.

(8) If the owner, agent, manager or permittee fails to perform and complete the program for reclamation or comply with the conditions of the permit to the satisfaction of the chief inspector, the chief inspector, after giving notice to remedy the failure, may do one or more of the following:

(a) order the owner, agent, manager or permittee to stop the mining operation;

(b) apply all or part of the security toward payment of the cost of the work required to be performed or completed;

(c) close the mine;

(d) cancel the permit.

(9) An owner, agent, manager or permittee must

(a) hold and maintain a permit for the mine,

(b) ensure that no work takes place in, on or about the mine, except under and in accordance with a permit, and

(c) comply with all the conditions of the permit.

9 The following section is added:

Acquisition of a mine

11.1 If a person acquires a mine, before the person engages in mining activity the person must apply to the chief inspector to

(a) obtain a permit, or

(b) amend an existing permit for the mine to identify the applicant as the holder of the permit.

10 Section 15 is amended

(a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

(1) At any time an inspector may inspect

(a) a mine, or

(b) a site considered by the inspector to be a mining activity site that is operating without a permit. ,

(b) by repealing subsection (4) (b) and (c) and substituting the following:

(b) note any contraventions of an order under this section,

(c) note any contraventions of the Act, the regulations, the code or a permit, and

(d) order remedial action, specify the results to be obtained by the remedial action and specify time limits for compliance with the order or any provision of the Act, the regulations, the code or a permit. ,

(c) by adding the following subsections:

(4.1) If an inspector believes on reasonable grounds that a person has contravened or is contravening an order under this section or a provision of the Act, the code, the regulations or a permit and that the contravention has a detrimental environmental impact, the inspector may order the owner, agent, manager, permittee or any other person apparently in charge in, on or about a mine to do any of the following:

(a) take immediate remedial action;

(b) suspend regular work until remedial action is taken;

(c) close the mine or part of it until remedial action is taken.

(4.2) An order under this section may be made against an owner, agent, manager, permittee, contractor or other person who carries out mining activity without a permit. ,

(d) in subsection (6) (b) by striking out "district", and

(e) by adding the following subsection:

(7) The owner, agent, manager, permittee, and all persons in, on or about a mine must provide an inspector with all assistance necessary for the completion of an inspection or investigation.

11 Section 21 (b) is amended by striking out "district".

12 Section 23 is amended by striking out "the regulations and the code." and substituting "the regulations, the code and the permit."

13 Section 25 (1) is amended by striking out "the regulations, the code" and substituting "the regulations, the code, the permit".

14 Section 28 is repealed.

15 Section 31 is repealed.

16 Section 35 is repealed and the following substituted:

Enforcement of Act, regulations, code, permit or order

35 (1) If an inspector finds that a mine is not being operated in accordance with an order under section 15 or a provision of the Act, the regulations, the code or a permit, the inspector may order the owner, agent, manager, permittee or person apparently in charge in, on or about a mine to comply with the order or provision.

(2) If a person fails or refuses to comply with an order of an inspector under subsection (1) of this section or under section 15, the inspector may apply to the Supreme Court for an order directing the person to comply.

17 The Supplement to the Mines Act is repealed.

 
Petroleum and Natural Gas Act

18 Section 1 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 361, is amended

(a) by adding the following definition:

"water source well" means a hole in the ground drilled to obtain water for the purpose of injecting water into an underground formation in connection with the production of petroleum or natural gas; ,

(b) in the definition of "well" by striking out "ground" and substituting "ground, other than a water source well," and in paragraph (b) of the definition by striking out "obtain water for injection or for injecting" and substituting "inject", and

(c) by repealing the definition of "zone" and substituting the following:

"zone" means a stratum or strata designated by the commission as a zone generally or for a designated area or a specific well, or a stratum or strata designated by the director for the purposes of petroleum and natural gas rights administration.

19 Section 79 is repealed.

20 Section 84 is repealed and the following substituted:

Certificate of restoration

84 (1) A person must be considered not to have abandoned a well, test hole or production facility until the commission issues, on application, a certificate of restoration respecting the well, test hole or production facility.

(2) By issuing a certificate of restoration in the form the commission determines, the commission may certify that it is satisfied, on the basis of the information known to the commission at the time of certification, that a well, test hole or production facility has been abandoned in accordance with the regulations.

(3) In respect of any matter that was not known to the commission at the time a certificate of restoration was issued, the issue of a certificate of restoration does not absolve the holder of a well authorization or test hole authorization or the owner of a production facility from their obligation to abandon the well, test hole or production facility in accordance with the regulations.

21 The following Division is added to Part 12:

Division 2.1 -- Water Source Well Authorizations

Water source well authorization

92.1 A person must not begin to drill, or drill or operate, a water source well except under a subsisting water source well authorization under this Act.

Scope of water source well authorization

92.2 A water source well authorization may authorize the holder to drill one or more test holes in a specified area.

Application of Divisions 2, 3 and 4 to water source wells

92.3 Sections 90 (a) and (b), 91 (b) and (c), 92 to 95 and any other provision of this Act specified by regulation apply to water source well authorizations, and for that purpose a reference in those sections to a test hole or well must be read as a reference to a water source well and a reference to a test hole authorization or well authorization must be read as a reference to a water source well authorization.

Power to suspend use of water source well that injuriously affects other uses

92.4 The commission may suspend the operation of a water source well if satisfied that its continuing use by the water source well authorization holder injuriously affects use of the water source for domestic or other purposes.

22 Section 96 is amended

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

(h.1) make regulations respecting water source wells and the requirements for applications for water source wells; , and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(3) The commission may by regulation specify that, in addition to the provisions referred to in section 92.3, any other provision of this Act applies to a water source well or water source well authorization.

23 Section 98 (a) to (c) is repealed.

24 Section 133 (2) (h) is repealed.

 
Utilities Commission Act

25 Section 1 of the Utilities Commission Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 473, is amended in the definition of "public utility" by striking out "or" at the end of paragraph (e), by adding ", or" at the end of paragraph (f) and by adding the following:

(g) a person, other than the authority, who enters into or is created by, under or in furtherance of an agreement designated under section 12 (9) of the Hydro and Power Authority Act, in respect of anything done, owned or operated under or in relation to that agreement; .

 
Waste Management Act

26 Section 26 (1) of the Waste Management Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 482, is amended by repealing the definition of "district inspector" and substituting the following:

"inspector" means an inspector as defined in the Mines Act; .

27 Section 26.1 is amended

(a) in subsection (4) by striking out "a district inspector" and substituting "an inspector", and

(b) in subsections (5), (6) and (11) (b) by striking out "district inspector" and substituting "inspector".

28 Section 26.4 (2) (b) (ii) and (e) (ii) is amended by striking out "district inspector" and substituting "inspector".

29 Section 27 (2) (d) is amended by striking out "a district inspector" and substituting "an inspector".

Commencement

30 Sections 1, 3, 6 to 24 and 26 to 29 come into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.