BILL 56 – 2018
OIL AND GAS ACTIVITIES
AMENDMENT ACT, 2018

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

1 Section 1 (2) of the Oil and Gas Activities Act, S.B.C. 2008, c. 36, is amended

(a) by adding the following definition:

"off-site environmental mitigation activity", in relation to a permit, means

(a) an activity outside the operating areas of the permit to mitigate or otherwise offset impacts to the environment of

(i) an oil and gas activity permitted by the permit, or

(ii) a related activity of an oil and gas activity referred to in subparagraph (i) or of the application for the permit under section 24, and

(b) any of the following activities in relation to an off-site environmental mitigation activity referred to in paragraph (a):

(i) monitoring;

(ii) taking samples;

(iii) conducting tests and analyses;

(iv) submitting records and information to the commission; ,

(b) in the definition of "related activity" by repealing paragraph (b) and substituting the following:

(b) the carrying out of which is required for or facilitates

(i) carrying out an oil and gas activity,

(ii) carrying out an off-site environmental mitigation activity, or

(iii) making an application for a permit under section 24; , and

(c) in the definition of "specified provision" by repealing paragraph (d) (ii).

2 Section 9 (4) is amended by striking out "and" at the end of paragraph (b) and by adding the following paragraph:

(b.1) section 32 (1.1) does not apply in relation to the approval, and .

3 Sections 22 (3) and 35 (1) are amended by striking out "oil and gas activities and related activities" and substituting "oil and gas activities, off-site environmental mitigation activities and related activities".

4 The following section is added:

Off-site environmental mitigation activities

25.1  (1) In this section:

"mitigation area", in relation to an oil and gas management area, means a mitigation area established under section 105.1 (1) (b) (ii) as a mitigation area for the oil and gas management area;

"oil and gas management area" means an oil and gas management area established under section 105.1 (1) (b) (i).

(2) Subject to subsection (3) and the regulations, in issuing or amending a permit that permits an oil and gas activity in a prescribed class of oil and gas activities to be carried out in an oil and gas management area, the commission

(a) must specify in the permit

(i) the off-site environmental mitigation activities the permit holder is required to carry out, and

(ii) the mitigation area for the oil and gas management area, or a location in that mitigation area, where those off-site environmental mitigation activities must be carried out, and

(b) may specify in the permit when and how those off-site environmental mitigation activities must be carried out, including, without limitation, by specifying methods to be used or results to be achieved.

(3) In amending a permit, the commission may not specify off-site mitigation activities in relation to any of the following:

(a) an oil and gas activity that is or was permitted by the permit before the amendment, unless the amendment will increase the potential impacts to the environment of the oil and gas activity;

(b) in the case of an amendment that will increase the potential impacts to the environment of an oil and gas activity described in paragraph (a), the actual or potential impacts to the environment of the oil and gas activity permitted by the permit before the amendment.

5 Section 26 is amended

(a) in subsection (4) (b) by striking out "oil and gas activities permitted under" and substituting "oil and gas activities permitted, or off-site environmental mitigation activities required, under", and

(b) in subsection (5) by adding "or a permit expires under section 32 (1)" after "subsection (1) (b) or (c)" and by striking out "an oil and gas activity permitted by" and substituting "an oil and gas activity permitted, or an off-site environmental mitigation activity required, by".

6 Section 29 (1) (b) is amended by striking out "an oil and gas activity permitted by" and substituting "an oil and gas activity permitted, or an off-site environmental mitigation activity required, by".

7 Section 32 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "subsection (8)" and substituting "subsections (8) and (9)" and by striking out "a related activity of an oil and gas activity permitted by" and substituting "a related activity of an oil and gas activity permitted, or an off-site environmental mitigation activity required, by", and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(9) Despite subsection (1), an authorization issued to a permit holder for a related activity of an off-site environmental mitigation activity required by the permit does not expire under that subsection if the permit holder has begun to carry out the off-site environmental mitigation activity by the day referred to in that subsection.

8 Section 33 (2) (b) is repealed and the following substituted:

(b) despite anything in a specified enactment, cancel an authorization issued to the permit holder for a related activity of

(i) the oil and gas activity with respect to which the notice was submitted, or

(ii) an off-site environmental mitigation activity required by the permit in relation to that oil and gas activity.

9 Sections 34 (2), 36 (1) and (2), 37 (1) and (2), 45 (2) (b) and 103 (1) and (2) are amended by adding "or an off-site environmental mitigation activity" after "an oil and gas activity".

10 Section 34 (2) (a) (i) is amended by adding "or the Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing Act" after "the Land Act".

11 Sections 49 (1) (a) and 57 (2) (a) are amended by striking out "an oil and gas activity or a related activity" and substituting "an oil and gas activity, an off-site environmental mitigation activity or a related activity".

12 Section 49 (4) (d) and (e) is repealed and the following substituted:

(d) that a person suspend or resume an oil and gas activity, an off-site environmental mitigation activity, a related activity or any aspect of any of those activities;

(e) that a person use a specified method to carry out an oil and gas activity or an off-site environmental mitigation activity; .

13 The following Division is added to Part 5:

Division 3.1 – Public Requests for Investigation

Application for investigation

61.1  (1) An individual who is resident in British Columbia and at least 18 years of age may apply to the commission for an investigation of a prescribed contravention under this Act in relation to the emission of methane that the individual alleges has occurred or is occurring.

(2) An application under this section must include a statutory declaration or affirmation

(a) stating the name and address of the applicant,

(b) stating that the applicant is resident in British Columbia and at least 18 years of age,

(c) stating the nature of the alleged contravention and the name of each person alleged to have done something, or to have failed to do something, in contravention of this Act or the regulations, and

(d) containing a concise statement of the evidence supporting the allegations.

(3) If a form of application has been prescribed for the purposes of this section, an application under this section must be made in the prescribed form.

Investigation by commission

61.2  After receiving an application under section 61.1, the commission must

(a) acknowledge its receipt, in accordance with the regulations, within 20 days, and

(b) investigate all matters that the commission considers necessary to determine the facts relating to the alleged contravention.

Progress reports

61.3  (1) Subject to subsection (3), after acknowledging receipt of an application under section 61.1, the commission must report, in accordance with the regulations, to the applicant every 90 days on the progress of the investigation and the action, if any, that the commission has taken.

(2) A report under this section must include an estimate of the time required to complete the investigation.

(3) A report under this section is not required if the investigation is discontinued before the end of a 90-day period referred to in subsection (1).

Discontinuation of investigation

61.4  (1) The commission may discontinue an investigation if the commission is of the opinion that

(a) the alleged contravention does not require further investigation, or

(b) the investigation does not substantiate the alleged contravention.

(2) If an investigation is discontinued, the commission must

(a) prepare a written statement of the reasons for the discontinuation, and

(b) in accordance with the regulations, send a copy of the statement to the applicant and to any person whose conduct was investigated.

(3) A copy of the statement sent to a person whose conduct was investigated must not disclose the name or address of the applicant or any other personal information about the applicant.

14 Section 72 (5) (a) is repealed and the following substituted:

(a) if a person to whom an order under section 49 (1) has been issued files an appeal, the following persons, as applicable and if different from the appellant, are also parties to the appeal:

(i) in the case of an order with respect to an oil and gas activity permitted, or an off-site environmental mitigation activity required, by a permit, or a related activity of either of those activities, the permit holder;

(ii) in the case of an order with respect to a related activity of an application for a permit under section 24, the applicant, .

15 Section 94 (4) is amended by striking out "105" and substituting "105.1".

16 Section 99 (1) is amended by adding the following paragraphs:

(j.1) prescribing contraventions for the purposes of section 61.1 (1);

(j.2) respecting the commission's obligation under section 61.2 to acknowledge receipt of applications, or the commission's reporting obligation under section 61.3 (1) or 61.4 (2), including, without limitation, regulations limiting or modifying those obligations if the commission receives more than the prescribed number of applications in respect of the same alleged contravention; .

17 The following section is added to Division 1 of Part 9:

Off-site environmental mitigation activities

105.1  (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) prescribing classes of oil and gas activities for the purposes of section 25.1, including, without limitation, by reference to a method of carrying out an oil and gas activity;

(b) authorizing a minister to establish, for the purposes of section 25.1,

(i) an area as an oil and gas management area, and

(ii) an area as a mitigation area for an oil and gas management area;

(c) respecting off-site environmental mitigation activities for the purposes of section 25.1, including, without limitation, regulations as follows:

(i) respecting the selection of off-site environmental mitigation activities to be specified under that section, including, without limitation, providing what activities may or must be specified;

(ii) respecting the selection of the mitigation area, or the location in the mitigation area, to be specified under that section;

(iii) respecting the specification under that section of when and how off-site environmental mitigation activities are to be carried out, including, without limitation, providing what methods or results may or must be specified.

(2) Subject to the regulations under subsection (3), a minister on whom authority is conferred under subsection (1) (b) may establish one or more of the following as a mitigation area for an oil and gas management area:

(a) the oil and gas management area;

(b) an area wholly inside the oil and gas management area;

(c) an area wholly outside the oil and gas management area;

(d) an area partially inside and partially outside the oil and gas management area.

(3) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) prescribing the circumstances in which and the extent to which a discretion conferred in an authorization referred to in subsection (1) (b) may be exercised;

(b) authorizing a minister referred to in subsection (1) (b) to delegate any power conferred on the minister by a regulation made under this section with or without directions on how the delegated power is to be exercised;

(c) prescribing the consultations or notifications, or both, that a minister referred to in subsection (1) (b), or a person authorized by the minister, must carry out before exercising a power conferred on the minister by a regulation made under this section;

(d) prescribing a date on which, or a period of time at the expiry of which, an order made by a minister referred to in subsection (1) (b) in the exercise of a power conferred on the minister by a regulation made under this section comes into force.

(4) Without limiting section 94 (2) (c), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make different regulations under subsection (1) of this section for different oil and gas management areas or mitigation areas.

18 Section 112 (1) is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(k.1) prescribing the form of an application for the purposes of section 61.1 (3); .

Commencement

19  The provisions of this Act referred to in column 1 of the following table come into force as set out in column 2 of the table: