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TITLE | CHAPTER NUMBER |
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| 57 | ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ACT | c. 53 | |||||
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Division 1 -- Offences and Penalties
120 (1) A person who contravenes section 12 [littering] or 13 [discharge of waste from recreational vehicles] commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(2) A person who contravenes
(a) section 9 (3) [hazardous waste storage and disposal],
(b) section 10 (1) (a), (b) or (c) or (2) [transportation of hazardous waste],
(c) section 11 [packaging, product containers and disposable products],
(d) section 72 (1) or (2) [control of air contaminants],
(e) section 79 (5) [spill prevention and reporting],
(f) section 131 (1) [confidentiality], or
(g) a regulation under section 74 (1) (i), (j) or (k) [motor vehicle and engine emission regulations]
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(3) A person who contravenes
(a) section 6 (2), (3) or (4) [waste disposal],
(b) section 7 (1) or (2) [hazardous waste -- confinement],
(c) section 8 [hazardous waste disposal facility], or
(d) section 9 (1) or (4) [hazardous waste storage and disposal]
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1 000 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(4) A person who inserts in a manifest required by section 10 [transportation of hazardous waste] information that he or she knows to be untrue or misleading commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(5) A person who obstructs or resists an officer who is performing duties under this Act or who fails to comply with a requirement of an officer imposed under this Act commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(6) A person who, holding a permit or approval issued to the person under this Act to introduce waste into the environment, introduces waste into the environment without having complied with the requirements of the permit or approval commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1 000 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(7) A person who, holding a permit or approval issued under this Act to introduce waste into the environment, fails to comply with the requirements of the permit or approval commits an offence and is liable to a penalty not exceeding $300 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(8) A person who contravenes section 10 (3) [transportation of hazardous waste] by failing to comply with a requirement of section 10 (3) (a) or (b) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(9) A person who contravenes section 10 (3) [transportation of hazardous waste] by failing to comply with a requirement of section 10 (3) (c) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $300 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(10) A person who contravenes an order or requirement, other than an order under section 9 (3) [hazardous waste storage and disposal], that is given, made or imposed under this Act by a sewage control manager, a district director, a director, the minister or the appeal board commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $300 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both, but an order or requirement is not contravened unless it
(a) was given in writing, and
(b) specified a reasonable period of time for compliance and that period has expired.
(11) A municipality that
(a) fails to submit to the minister a waste management plan as requested or directed by the minister under section 24 (2) or (3) [waste management plans], or
(b) contravenes a waste management plan that has been approved by the minister
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $300 000.
(12) A person who contravenes a requirement of the regulations respecting hazardous waste commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1 000 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(13) A person who contravenes a requirement of a regulation that specifies the quantity or characteristics of waste that may be introduced into the environment commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1 000 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(14) A person who contravenes an order under section 127 [additional sentencing orders] or 128 [variation of section 127 orders] commits an offence and is liable to the penalties provided for the offence in relation to which the order was made.
(15) A person who
(a) neglects or refuses to supply an environmental impact assessment if required to do so under section 78 [environmental impact assessment], or
(b) contravenes section 87 (8) [environmental emergency measures]
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $10 000.
(16) A person who
(a) supplies an environmental impact assessment under section 78 [environmental impact assessment] that the person knows to be false or misleading, or to contain false or misleading information, or
(b) contravenes section 85 (8) [environmental protection orders]
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $100 000.
(17) A person who
(a) fails to submit a site profile as required under section 40 (1), (2), (3), (6), (7) or (8) [site profiles],
(b) fails to undertake a preliminary site investigation or a detailed site investigation and to prepare a report of the investigation as required under section 41 (1) or (3) [site investigations],
(c) fails to comply with a remediation order under section 48 [remediation orders],
(d) contravenes section 48 (8) [remediation orders],
(e) fails to seek an opinion from an allocation panel if required to do so under section 49 (4) [allocation panel],
(f) fails to comply with the requirements of a director in a voluntary remediation agreement under section 51 (1) [voluntary remediation agreements],
(g) fails to notify a director of initiating or completing independent remediation under section 54 (2) [independent remediation procedures],
(h) fails to comply with requirements of a director under section 54 (3) [independent remediation procedures] regarding independent remediation,
(i) contravenes section 55 (1) [contaminated soil relocation], or
(j) fails to comply with a provision of the regulations under section 62 [contaminated site regulations] or 63 [minister's regulations -- contaminated sites]
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(18) A person who contravenes a requirement that has been substituted by a director or the minister for a requirement under the regulations, including a code of practice, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1 000 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(19) A person who contravenes a requirement of a protocol under section 64 [director's protocols] commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200 000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.
(20) A proceeding, conviction or penalty for an offence under this Act or the regulations does not relieve a person from any other liability.
121 (1) If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, an employee, officer, director or agent of the corporation who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the offence commits the offence whether or not the corporation is convicted.
(2) In a prosecution for an offence under or arising out of a contravention of section 9 (1) [hazardous waste storage and disposal] or 10 (1) or (3) [transportation of hazardous waste], or of a regulation made with respect to hazardous waste, it is sufficient proof of the offence to establish that it was committed by an employee or agent of the accused whether or not the employee or agent is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence, unless the accused establishes that the offence was committed without the accused's knowledge or consent or that the accused exercised all due diligence to prevent its commission.
122 (1) If an offence under section 120 [offences and penalties] continues for more than one day, separate fines, each not exceeding the maximum fine for that offence, may be imposed for each day the offence continues.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a continuing offence under section 120 (15) or (16) (a) [offences and penalties].
123 Sections 4 and 5 of the Offence Act do not apply in respect of this Act or the regulations.
124 (1) The time limit for laying an information respecting an offence under this Act or the regulations is 2 years after the facts on which the information is based first came to the knowledge of a director.
(2) A certificate purporting to have been issued by a director, certifying the day on which he or she became aware of the facts on which an information is based, is admissible without proof of the signature or official character of the individual appearing to have signed the document and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, is proof of the matter certified.
125 (1) If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act and the court is satisfied that, as a result of the commission of the offence, the person acquired any monetary benefits or that monetary benefits accrued to the person, the court may order the person to pay a fine equal to the court's estimation of the amount of those monetary benefits.
(2) A fine under subsection (1) is in addition to and not in place of a fine under section 120 [offences and penalties] or 126 [intentional damage].
126 A person who, in contravention of this Act,
(a) intentionally causes damage to or loss of the use of the environment, or
(b) shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons by causing a risk of death or harm to other persons
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $3 000 000 or imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or both.
127 (1) If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, in addition to any punishment imposed, the court may, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, make an order containing one or more of the following prohibitions, directions or requirements:
(a) prohibiting the person from doing any act or engaging in any activity that may, in the opinion of the court, result in the continuation or repetition of the offence;
(b) directing the person to take any action the court considers appropriate to remedy or avoid any harm to the environment that resulted or may result from the commission of the offence;
(c) directing the person to pay the government an amount of money as compensation, in whole or in part, for the cost of any remedial or preventive action taken by or caused to be taken on behalf of the government as a result of the commission of the offence;
(d) directing the person to perform community service;
(e) directing the person to pay the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund an amount of money the court considers appropriate;
(f) directing the person to post a bond or pay into court an amount of money the court considers appropriate for the purpose of ensuring compliance with any prohibition, direction or requirement under this section;
(g) directing the person to submit to the minister, on application by the minister within 3 years after the date of the conviction, any information respecting the activities of the person that the court considers appropriate in the circumstances;
(h) directing the person to publish, in any manner the court considers appropriate, the facts relating to the commission of the offence;
(i) requiring the person to comply with any other conditions that the court considers appropriate for securing the person's good conduct and for preventing the person from repeating the offence or committing other offences under this Act.
(2) If a person fails to comply with an order referred to in subsection (1) (h) directing the person to publish the facts relating to the commission of an offence, the minister may publish those facts and recover the costs of publication from the person.
(3) If
(a) an order under this section or section 128 [variation of section 127 orders] directs a person to pay an amount of money as compensation or for any other purpose, or
(b) the minister incurs publication costs under subsection (2) of this section,
the amount and any interest payable on that amount constitute a debt due to the government and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.
128 (1) An application for variation of an order under section 127 [additional sentencing orders] may be made to the court that made the order by
(a) the Attorney General, or
(b) the person against whom the order under section 127 [additional sentencing orders] was made.
(2) Before hearing an application under subsection (1), the court may order the applicant to give notice of the application in accordance with the directions of the court.
(3) On an application under subsection (1), if the court considers variation appropriate because of a change in circumstances, the court may make an order doing one or more of the following:
(a) changing the original order or any conditions specified in it;
(b) relieving the person referred to in subsection (1) (b) absolutely or partially from compliance with all or part of the original order;
(c) reducing the period for which the original order is to remain in effect;
(d) extending the period for which the original order is to remain in effect, subject to the limit that this extension must not be longer than one year.
(4) If an application under subsection (1) has been heard by a court, no other application may be made in respect of the order under section 127 [additional sentencing orders] except with leave of the court.
129 The offence provisions of an enactment do not apply to a conservation officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties under that enactment.
130 (1) An order, permit, licence, approval or certificate that is issued under this Act or any other enactment administered by the minister and that purports to be signed by, or a copy that purports to be certified as a true copy and to be signed by,
(a) the minister, the chief conservation officer, a director or a manager,
(b) a public officer designated by the minister, or
(c) an analyst designated by the minister under subsection (2),
is admissible in a proceeding without proof of office or signature of the person signing, and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, is evidence of the order, permit, licence, approval or certificate and of the matters set out in it.
(2) For purposes of this or any other enactment administered by the minister, the minister may designate as an analyst a person the minister considers qualified.
(3) A person designated as an analyst under subsection (2) may issue a certificate of analysis with respect to a sample held in the person's custody and analyzed by the person.
131 (1) If, under this Act, information relating to any trade secret or any proprietary right in a process or technique that the user keeps confidential is disclosed to or obtained by any person engaged in the administration of this Act, a person who has access to the information so disclosed or obtained must not communicate it to any other person except
(a) as may be required in connection with the administration of this Act or the regulations or any proceeding under this Act or the regulations,
(b) to his or her counsel, or
(c) with the consent of the person rightfully possessing or using the trade secret, process or technique to which the information relates.
(2) Except in a proceeding under this Act or the regulations, a person is not required to give testimony, other than testimony in respect of the deposit, addition, emission or discharge of a contaminant into the natural environment, in any civil suit or proceeding with regard to information obtained by or in the course of any investigation, survey, examination, test or inquiry under this Act or the regulations.
132 (1) The ownership of waste that is accepted at a waste management facility by the owner of the facility is transferred to the owner of the facility on acceptance.
(2) If, at a waste management facility, waste is stored or introduced into the environment without having been accepted by the owner of the facility, the ownership of the waste is deemed to have been transferred to the owner of the facility immediately before the waste was stored or introduced into the environment.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) apply only in respect of a waste management facility that is authorized in accordance with this Act and the regulations.
(4) Subsection (1) applies only in the absence of a contract to the contrary.
(5) Subsections (1) to (4) do not relieve any person from liability except liability as owner of waste that is delivered to and accepted by the owner of a waste management facility in accordance with this section.
(6) If the owner of a waste management facility is not the owner of the land on which the facility is located, subsections (1) and (2) do not prevent the ownership of waste that is accepted or deposited at the site from being transferred to the owner of the land.
133 (1) Anything that under this Act must be served on a person, may be served by registered mail sent to the last known address of the person.
(2) Any notice under this Act may be given by registered mail sent to the last known address of the person.
(3) If a notice under this Act is sent by registered mail to the last known address of the person, the notice is deemed to be served on the person to whom it is addressed on the 14th day after deposit with Canada Post unless the person received actual service before that day.
134 Each of the following must pay to the government, in the time and manner prescribed in the regulations, the fees and charges established by the regulations:
(a) a holder of a permit or approval;
(b) the holder of a licence for the transportation of hazardous wastes;
(c) the subject of an order under this Act;
(d) a municipality in respect of which a waste management plan has been approved under Part 3 [Municipal Waste Management].
135 (1) Subject to the direction of the minister, the chief conservation officer or any other person designated by the minister may enter into agreements with other agencies of government, including those of the federal government and of provincial, municipal and first nations governments, respecting
(a) law enforcement delivery related to environmental protection or natural resource use,
(b) activities that may be carried out by an officer, as defined in the Wildlife Act, related to wildlife-human conflict response and management, and
(c) cooperative working agreements between the Conservation Officer Service and another enforcement agency that are within the mandate of either agency.
(2) Agreements entered into under subsection (1) may contain provisions setting out requirements for compensation or other legal recourse in the event that the agreement is breached by one or more of the parties to the agreement.
136 (1) The minister may establish a fund to be known as the Waste Management Trust Fund.
(2) The money in the Waste Management Trust Fund must be held in trust by the government for the purposes specified in this section.
(3) The object of the Waste Management Trust Fund is to provide money for the purposes of
(a) environmental clean up necessitated by inadequate closure of waste management facilities, and
(b) long term care and maintenance of waste management facilities.
(4) Money collected or received under the regulations for the purposes of the Waste Management Trust Fund must be paid into the Waste Management Trust Fund.
(5) Money may be paid out of the Waste Management Trust Fund in a manner the minister considers appropriate on the requisition of the minister for the purposes of the fund.
(6) If money of the Waste Management Trust Fund is spent for the purpose referred to in subsection (3) (a), a certificate signed by the minister and showing the amount spent is conclusive proof as to the amount spent.
(7) An amount shown by a certificate referred to in subsection (6) is a debt due to the government recoverable, subject to subsection (8), by action in the Supreme Court from the person who was the owner of the waste management facility immediately before its closure.
(8) If the Supreme Court is satisfied that the expenditure incurred by the government under this section was either
(a) excessive, taking into consideration the reasons for the clean up and the results achieved by the expenditure, or
(b) unnecessary, taking into consideration the unlikelihood of significant material damage to any person had the government not acted under this section,
the court may reduce or extinguish the amount of the judgment that it would otherwise have ordered be entered against the person against whom the action has been brought.
(9) Money recovered under subsection (7) must be paid into the Waste Management Trust Fund and may be spent for the purposes of that fund.
137 (1) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers it to be necessary in the public interest, the Lieutenant Governor in Council has and may exercise, in respect of wastes, all the powers that a director may exercise under this Act in respect of wastes.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council, after any consultations the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers desirable, may issue permits for the construction and operation of facilities for the management, treatment, disposal, recycling, storage and destruction of wastes or for the introduction of wastes into the environment.
(3) In acting under this section, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may act in a manner the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers to be in the public interest and is not limited to the considerations that would be taken into account by a director, district director or officer.
Division 4 -- Regulation Making Authorities
138 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:
(a) establishing an area of British Columbia as a waste management region, abolishing and varying boundaries and names of waste management regions and consolidating waste management regions;
(b) prescribing the form and content of any notice;
(c) requiring applicants to pay fees for making applications under this Act, and prescribing the amount of those fees;
(d) requiring persons to whom a permit, approval, operational certificate, exemption or other licence or privilege is issued under this Act or the regulations to pay to the government charges in respect of the permit, approval, operational certificate, exemption, licence or privilege, establishing the amount of those charges or the method of their determination and requiring that they be paid yearly or otherwise;
(e) establishing procedures for making applications under this Act, and establishing the information that must be submitted in those applications;
(f) requiring consultations among ministries before an application under this Act is disposed of, setting time limits for those consultations and authorizing a director to extend those time limits;
(g) requiring that any person who is authorized to make a decision or a determination under this Act give notice in writing and publish the decision or determination;
(h) authorizing and establishing amounts for the rebate of fees or charges under this Act to foster expenditures in or contributions towards projects or purposes that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers to be in the interest of the environment including authorizing the minister to pay money out of the Sustainable Environment Fund continued under the Sustainable Environment Fund Act for the issuance of any rebate authorized under the regulations;
(i) prescribing a material as a recyclable material and for this purpose may establish conditions and circumstances when a prescribed material is a recyclable material;
(j) regulating and imposing requirements and prohibitions respecting the transportation, labelling, handling, treatment, recycling, storage, disposal and destruction of recyclable materials or wastes or a class of wastes, and the selling, giving or otherwise transferring the ownership or possession of recyclable materials or wastes or a class of wastes;
(k) regulating and imposing requirements and prohibitions respecting the siting, planning, construction and operation of facilities for the treatment, recycling, storage, disposal and destruction of recyclable materials or wastes;
(l) authorizing the minister or a director, on receipt of an application or on his or her own initiative, to substitute a different requirement for a requirement contained in the regulations, including a code of practice prescribed under section 22 [minister's regulations -- codes of practice], if the minister or director considers that, in the individual case,
(i) the substitution is necessary to protect the public or the environment, or
(ii) the intent of the regulations will be met by the substitution;
(m) requiring the director to give or require notification to the public of an application or a decision to substitute a different requirement for a requirement in a regulation, including a code of practice;
(n) requiring that, as a condition of obtaining a permit under this Act to discharge waste, the owner of the waste management facility make adequate arrangements to maintain the facility after it has been closed and, if required by the government, to transfer to the government ownership of the facility after its closure;
(o) requiring that, as a condition of obtaining a permit under this Act to discharge waste, the owner of the waste management facility make contributions to the Waste Management Trust Fund, the amount of the contributions to be prescribed or established by agreement or both;
(p) prescribing a substance as a waste and prescribing circumstances in which a substance is a waste;
(q) regulating and imposing requirements and prohibitions respecting the quantity of wastes and the characteristics and components of wastes that may be discharged into sewage facilities owned by a municipality;
(r) prohibiting, regulating or restricting the use, supply, storage, transportation, handling, treatment or disposal of any substance specified in the regulations, whether natural or artificial and whether in a solid or liquid or other form, if the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers it appropriate to do so for the purpose of preventing the substance from causing damage to persons, animals or plants or polluting air, water or land;
(s) exempting any operation, activity, industry, waste or works or any class of persons, operations, activities, industries, wastes or works from any or all of the provisions of this Act or the regulations in circumstances and on conditions that the Lieutenant Governor in Council prescribes;
(t) requiring the keeping of and allowing the inspection of records;
(u) requiring, on request of the minister, that a person or a class of persons involved in the manufacture, distribution, sale, transportation or importation of empty or filled beverage containers of a prescribed type, or a person or association on behalf of that class of persons, supply information respecting the use, reuse and wastage of a prescribed type of beverage container;
(v) regulating and imposing requirements and prohibitions for the design, siting and operation of any works, activities or operations that produce waste;
(w) regulating and imposing requirements and prohibitions for the installation of septic tanks, the siting and performance standards to be met if sewage disposal systems using septic tanks are installed, and respecting the use and operation of systems using septic tanks;
(x) requiring a municipality designated by the minister to administer regulations under this section relating to hazardous wastes as they apply to effluent discharged by an industry connected to the municipal sewer system;
(y) authorizing a municipality designated under paragraph (x) to collect fees from industries for the purpose of administering the regulations relating to hazardous wastes and respecting the amount of those fees;
(z) regulating and imposing requirements and prohibitions for the registration, siting, installation, testing, use and removal of tanks used to store petroleum products, or used to store any other prescribed substance, and prescribing performance and operating standards for those tanks.
(3) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:
(a) requiring and establishing requirements for the certification or licensing of a person who install the tanks described under subsection (2) (z);
(b) requiring persons to pay fees with respect to services provided by the government or a municipality with respect to the tanks described under subsection (2) (z), and prescribing the amount of those fees;
(c) authorizing a municipality to collect and retain the fees prescribed under paragraph (b);
(d) prescribing for a contravention of a regulation a penalty not exceeding $200 000;
(e) regulating and imposing requirements and prohibitions respecting flood hazard management, including without limitation, requiring a diking authority as defined in the Dike Maintenance Act, or a local government or an improvement district to develop plans or programs in accordance with those regulations or requirements for the purposes of
(i) preventing, mitigating or reducing potential flood hazards,
(ii) protecting the environment and the public from damage caused by flood waters or potential flooding, and
(iii) restoring or enhancing the environment or public safety after a flood or a series of floods.
(4) The minister may make regulations as follows:
(a) respecting the sampling, analytical, quality control and reporting procedures that must be followed by a person required to submit environmental monitoring data as a requirement of an order, permit, licence, approval or certificate issued under this or any other enactment administered by the minister;
(b) if land is or would likely be subject to flooding, requiring
(i) a person having an interest in the land or improvements on the land, or
(ii) a person responsible for the development, sale, or other disposition of the land or improvements on the land
to disclose the information prescribed by the minister to potential transferees of the land or an interest in the land or the improvements in respect of
(iii) whether the land, any part of the land or any improvements on the land are or may be susceptible to damage by flood waters, and
(iv) steps that have been taken to mitigate that susceptibility;
(c) prescribing the form and content of a disclosure required by a regulation under paragraph (b).
(5) Section 139 [regulations -- general rules] applies for the purpose of making regulations under this section.
139 (1) A regulation under this Act may delegate to the minister or a director, those powers and functions that the Lieutenant Governor in Council or the minister, as applicable, considers desirable.
(2) A power to make regulations under this Act in relation to a person, thing, matter or substance, may be exercised to make regulations that are different for different classes of persons, things, matters or substances.
(3) A regulation under this Act may establish classes for the purposes of subsection (2).
(4) A regulation under this Act may be made applicable generally or in respect of a specified area of the Province.
(5) A regulation under this Act may adopt by reference, in whole or in part and with any changes considered appropriate by the Lieutenant Governor in Council or the minister, as applicable, a code, standard or rule
(a) set by a provincial, national, international or any other code or standard making body, or
(b) enacted as or under a law of another jurisdiction, including a foreign jurisdiction.
(6) A code, standard or rule referred to in subsection (5) may be adopted as amended from time to time.
(7) The regulations may establish different charges, different bases for rebate, and different administrative costs for different persons, permits, approvals or orders or different classes of persons, permits, approvals or orders.
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