February 2002
Environmental Alert
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February 2002 |
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We wish to bring to your attention new reporting requirements just introduced in amendments to the British Columbia Contaminated Sites Regulation. If you are the owner or operator of land in British Columbia and you are aware that contamination has migrated or is likely to have migrated from your land to neighbouring lands, this change will be important for you to consider. A copy of new sections 57 and 60.1 of the Regulation which came into effect by Cabinet order on February 4, 2002 are attached to this alert. Under section 57, if an owner or operator carries out independent remediation of his land and knows that contaminants have migrated or are likely to have migrated onto neighbouring lands, that person is required to notify the owner of the neighbouring land with a copy of the notification to the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection. Under section 60.1, the same notification requirement is triggered by an owner or operator who carries out a preliminary or detailed site investigation that discloses that one or more substances has migrated or is likely to have migrated to a neighbouring site and is, or is likely causing, contamination in the neighbouring site. The notice in both cases must be made within 15 days after the responsible person becomes aware of the migration or likely migration of contaminants to the neighbouring property. There are a number of questions about this new requirement such as:
For example, "independent remediation" is not defined in the Regulation or the Waste Management Act, but "remediation" alone is defined to include "tests, sampling, surveys and data evaluation". It is not clear whether this means that any testing done at a site is considered "independent remediation" or whether only testing which is done in conjunction with actual excavation and removal of contamination at a site is caught by this section. Similarly, it is unclear whether all investigations and reports are considered a "site investigation" and trigger the new reporting requirements. These unanswered questions and others make it difficult to determine when a report to neighbouring land owners is required. If you require any assistance understanding these new requirements, please do not hesitate to call any member of our Environmental Practice Group. We can be contacted by e-mail at environmental@bht.com. Shelley O'Callaghan Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP
EXCERPTS FROM RECENT AMENDMENTS TO THE BRITISH COLUMBIA Section 57 is amended (a) by repealing the marginal note and substituting "Notifications
for independent (b) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following: (1) A responsible person who carries out independent remediation of a site pursuant to section 28 (1) of the Act must, if the responsible person knows that one or more substances has migrated or is likely to have migrated to a neighbouring site and is or is likely causing contamination of the neighbouring site, provide the notification described in subsection (1.1). (1.1) The responsible person must provide written notification to the person or persons who own the neighbouring site and a copy of the notification to the manager, within 15 days after the responsible person becomes aware of the migration or likely migration of each substance to the neighbouring site, giving:
(1.2) A person who has a duty to provide notification to a manager of commencement of independent remediation under section 28 (2) (a) of the Act must provide written notice to the manager within 3 days after the commencement of any remediation activity involving handling, management or treatment of contamination, other than activity which has the purpose of obtaining results for investigation purposes, giving:
The following section is added to Part 14: 60.1 Notification of neighbouring site owners after site investigations (1) A responsible person who carries out a site investigation that discloses that one or more substances has migrated or is likely to have migrated to a neighbouring site and is or is likely causing contamination of the neighbouring site must provide written notification described in subsection (2). (2) The responsible person for the investigated site must provide written notification to the person or persons who own the neighbouring site and a copy of the notification to the manager, within 15 days after the responsible person becomes aware of the migration or likely migration of each substance to the neighbouring site, giving:
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