BC Environmental Assessment Act

The BC Environmental Assessment Act requires an environmental assessment to be done before certain projects are built within the province of British Columbia.  An environmental assessment (EA) is a process for evaluating the impacts or effects of a proposed project, with the aim of ensuring that the project will be sustainable.  A similar process is required for projects involving federal government approval under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

The BC legislation authorizes the assessment of environmental, economic, social, heritage and health effects of a “reviewable project”.  The goal is to identify and evaluate the effects of a project before the project is started (or an existing project is modified), so that the negative or damaging effects may be avoided, or at the very least mitigated. 

The Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management is responsible for the Act.  In addition a separate agency, known as the Environmental Assessment Office, coordinates the assessments.

From a strategic point of view, EA processes can be an opportunity for the public to let their concerns about a project be known and taken into consideration in decision-making.  The process is an opportunity to share knowledge, perspectives and alternatives.

What can be reviewed?

According to the Act, if a project is reviewable, the proponent may not proceed with the project unless an environmental assessment certificate has been issued for the project, or unless the executive director of the Environmental Assessment Office decides that an EA certificate is not required.  The first step in using the Act is to determine whether a particular project is “reviewable”, in which case an environmental assessment may be required. 

There are three routes through which a project may become reviewable:

·          The Reviewable Project Regulation (passed under the Act) designates the project as reviewable;

·          by special ministerial order, the Minister designates an otherwise not reviewable project as reviewable; or

·          the person initiates project proponent applies for the project to be reviewed and the Minister orders it to become a reviewable project.

For most projects the Reviewable Projects Regulation will determine whether it is reviewable.  The Regulation sets out criteria for projects in the following categories:

·          industrial,

·          energy,

·          water management,

·          waste disposal,

·          food processing,

·          transportation, and

·          tourist destination projects.

As noted above, the executive director has the discretion under section 10(1)(b)(ii) to decide that “a reviewable project will not have a significant adverse environmental, economic, social, heritage or health effect...” and to determine that a project may proceed without an assessment. 

The Environmental Assessment

The Act does not provide a lot of direction about how an Environmental Assessment will be conducted or who should be involved.  This is left up to the Executive Director of the Environmental Assessment Office.  For more information about how an Environmental Assessment may function, see the Guide’s page on the B.C. Environmental Assessment Process.  If the federal government also has some responsibility for the project you will also want to look at the Guide page on the B.C.-Canada Agreement on Environmental Assessment.

After an environmental assessment has been completed, the proponent’s application, the assessment report and report recommendations are given to the ministers of Sustainable Resource Management, Water Land and Air Protection, and the minister responsible for the project in question.  These ministers may:

·          issue an environmental assessment certificate (with any conditions the ministers deem appropriate),

·          refuse to issue a certificate, or

·          order that further assessment be carried out. are then required to:

The assessment report and recommendations are not binding on the ministers; but, they must be considered along with “any other matters that they consider relevant to the public interest” when making their decision on the application.  Once an environmental assessment certificate is issued the individual or company building the project may proceed. 

Related Guide pages:

·          BC Environmental Assessment Process

·          Canada-BC Agreement on EA

·          Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

More information about the B.C. Environmental Assessment Act:

·          An electronic copy of BC’s Environmental Assessment Act

·          An electronic copy of the Reviewable Projects Regulation

·          West Coast Environmental Law Deregulation Backgrounder, May 15, 2002 – Outlining differences between the current Environmental Assessment Act and its predecessor.

·          The Environmental Assessment Office website.

·          BC government Project Information Centre