Downloading of responsibility for contaminated sites from the province to regional districts did not play well with a couple of qathet Regional District (qRD) directors.
At the January 12 planning committee, directors reviewed a staff recommendation that the committee recommend to the board that it receive a staff report on the changes to the provincial contaminated sites regulation that will download responsibility for contaminated sites profile administration to municipalities and regional districts in BC effective February 1, 2021.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said he thinks it is interesting that this applies to lands designated as commercial or industrial, when it’s up to the province to approve landfills. He said the regional district recently had an item come up and it was being proposed on land that was rural residential.
“These requirements only affect industrial and commercial properties,” said Gisborne. “I find it interesting that the province can approve a landfill in a rural residential area, and they download the responsibility of the administration for contaminated sites onto local government. I’m really disappointed that the opt-out clause has been removed.”
Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said she was disillusioned when she read the staff report. She said although the report put forward where the government is coming from, and no one can argue protecting human and environmental health is a bad thing, she does not see that this initiative is doing anything to protect human and public health.
“It’s downloading the work to local governments without any compensation for that work,” said McCormick. “I realize it’s not going to affect us in a huge way but it’s the principle of downloading, which isn’t fair. We’re stuck with being at the bottom of the heap. I don’t see it as increasing the benefits to health protection. I just see it as transferring it.
“We’re not going to see much of an impact of this and that’s probably a good thing. I still don’t like downloading.”
According to a staff report, all future applications processed under the qRD development services procedures bylaw will require filing of a contaminated site profile for properties seeking a change from industrial and commercial land uses to residential, agricultural, parks and other land uses. This requirement will apply to official community plan (OCP) amendment applications, zoning amendment applications, development permit applications, and development variance permit applications, the report stated.
Effective, February 1, local governments across BC will be responsible to ensure contaminated site profiles are submitted and satisfactorily completed with the provincial ministry of environment, according to the report. Local governments must not approve applicable applications until the ministry of environment confirms any requirements for site investigation and remediation have been met.
These provisions are intended to ensure appropriate site investigation and, if necessary, site remediation occurs before a site is redeveloped. This in turn ensures protection of human health and the environment, the report stated.
