West Coast Environmental Law
Research Foundation
NewsletterWest Coast Environmental Law
Research Foundation
NewsletterA key Council of Forest Industries (COFI) brief is a document of "debatable technical merit", according to an Environment Canada review of the document. COFI's brief was released last year to support its claim that a 2.5 kg AOX/tonne standard for pulp mills provides adequate environmental protection. WCELA obtained the Environment Canada review, written by William F. Sinclair and Alan G. Colodey, following an access to information request.
The COFI brief, "Sustainable Development and the B.C. Pulp and Paper Industry", has frequently been referred to by industry in support of a 2.5/kg AOX/tonne regulatory standard for organochlorines and as evidence of the B.C. pulp industry's spending on environmental upgrading. However, Sinclair and Colodey warn that "selective use of observations from source material, the omission of certain facts about issues raised in the paper, and a general lack of detail about assumptions used to calculate the estimated cost of adopting environmental controls, together, raise concern about credibility of the report".
The Environment Canada report concludes that the studies referred to in the COFI brief do not support the arguments used by COFI to defend one of its key recommendations -- that government regulators should establish a pulp mill discharge standard of 2.5 kg AOX/tonne.
The Environment Canada document also challenges claims made by COFI about the amount of money spent on pollution abatement equipment by the B.C. pulp industry. Sinclair and Colodey point out that from 1960 to 1986 B.C. pulp mills invested a much smaller percentage of their total capital investment on pollution control equipment than mills elsewhere in Canada. And according to Sinclair and Colodey, figures used in the COFI brief on projected 1990 spending do not jive with figures in a survey published by the provincial Ministry of Regional Development in September 1989.
The province has released a "Pulp Mill Effluent Status Report" containing information about industry compliance and progress reports on mill upgrading programs. It shows nine B.C. mills out of compliance with permit standards at least once between January 1 and March 31, 1991. Of those nine mills, eight had their permit standards relaxed by waivers in the December pulp regulation.
Of particular concern are the MacMillan Bloedel mills at Port Alberni and Powell River. Both are out of compliance -- even though each mill had its permit standards relaxed in the December regulation -- and both are at least six months behind schedule for installing secondary effluent treatment equipment.
Of the 14 mills now in compliance with current requirements, three received waivers in the December regulation.
For copies of the pulp mill status report, contact Dr. Jon O'Riordan, B.C. Environment, Tel: 387-9877.
In the July status report on pulp mill effluents, Environment Ministry Dave Mercier announced that, "B.C. Environment's goal is to work with industry towards zero discharge of wastes". For the first time, industry and the public have been told that this is the goal for the B.C. pulp industry.
WCELA has written to the Minister urging him to:
Dear Friends:
Concerning the title "Talk and Log", may I draw attention to the last paragraph. I would like to clarify some of our reasons for resigning from the Clayoquot Sustainable Development Committee. The Interim "Conservation" & Development Committee allocated 2,400 hectares (some 8.25 sq. mi.) to be clearcut during the term of the Strategy, which ends June of next year. Not one tree was set aside for long term conservation.
One of the areas to be clearcut, the Bulson Creek watershed, was the most contentious with justification for clearcutting being that 176 ha. of the 10,250 ha. watershed had already been clearcut. Even this was done by jerrying the watershed boundary as by my observation about 10 ha. of this area was contested at the outset of the first Task Force. It was also requested through me as representative that the Interim committee provide locations for all of the 2,400 ha. and also a copy of the real Interim Report as the released report was apparently done by a public relations firm as was admitted by the chairman. None of this information was forthcoming.
Sincerely,
The provincial government has released its third noncompliance/pollution concern report, covering the period from September 1, 1990, to March 31, 1991. It lists 63 permit holders in significant noncompliance with permit standards and 41 cases that are pollution concerns to B.C. Environment. The report does not include pulp mill effluent discharges -- these were covered in the pulp mill status report released mid-July
-- but does include ten pulp mills in significant noncompliance with their air emission standards.
The government also released a list of charges laid under environmental statutes between October 1, 1990, and March 31, 1991.
For copies of the noncompliance report, contact Ron Driedger, B.C. Environment, Tel: 387-9974. For copies of the list of charges, contact Alan Dolan, B.C. Environment, Tel: 387-9423.
Organizations named in bold have received EDRF grants. The West Coast Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund is used to help individuals and groups resolve environmental disputes through participation in litigation, environmental assessments, administrative tribunals and alternative dispute resolution. Contact WCELA for information.
Western Canada Wilderness Committee v. Minister of Environment: In late December, Federal Court Judge Collier dismissed the Western Canada Wilderness Committee's challenge to clear cut logging in the Walbran and Carmanah Valleys, based on the federal government's failure to apply its Environmental Assessment and Review Process (EARP) regarding potential harm to the Marbled Murrelet. Mr. Justice Collier said that he would be delivering Reasons and that an appeal could not be taken from his decision until formal pronouncement of his Order. Written reasons have not been delivered. Because of the urgency of the situation, counsel for estern Canada Wilderness Committee has obtained permission from the Court Registry to file a Notice of Appeal and are taking teps to have this matter proceed. The Western Canada Wilderness Committee is represented by Joe Arvay, Q.C., and Greg McDade.
The Bridge Creek-Canim Lake Anti-Pollution Committee received an EDRF grant to retain lawyer Murray Rankin to resolve the pollution problems stemming from a sewage lagoon operated by the Municipality of 100 Mile House. On March 1, 1991, the dyke of the municipal sewage lagoon failed and over five million gallons of virtually untreated sewage spilled into Bridge Creek, which empties into Canim Lake. The Committee's goal is to have the sewage lagoon moved away from the Creek. The Committee was originally formed in 1967 by area residents concerned about the construction of the lagoon within their watershed.
Western Canada Wilderness Committee, et al., v. Attorney General for British Columbia et al., Vancouver Registry A911359, May 21, 1991. B.C. Supreme Court Justice William Selbie prohibited MacMillan Bloedel Limited from cutting trees to construct logging roads in the Upper Nahmint Valley on Vancouver Island for which a Pre-harvest Silvaculture Prescription (PHSP) has not been issued, except with a road permit under the Forest Act (which the company has not obtained.) A Cutting Permit purported to authorize MacMillan Bloedel to build roads toward cut-blocks which had not yet been approved under a PHSP. The Court stated, "It seems a reasonable restriction to confine road-building to areas where it is known harvesting has been approved under a PHSP."
Other arguments by the WCWC -- represented by Greg McDade and Mark Haddock of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund -- were rejected by the Court, including the argument that the company's five-year Management and Working Plan (MWP) was invalid because it was extended past its expiry date rather than being replaced by a new MWP. Either or both sides may appeal.
Comment: This decision injects a welcome dose of common sense into the forest planning process. How can the Forest Service objectively assess whether to approve a particular cut-block after a company has already been allowed to spend money building a road to the cut-block? -- BA
Successor Liability for Environmental Damage, by Terry R. Davis, Canadian Institute of Resources Law, discussion paper, Calgary (1989): a cogent analysis of the legal principles governing liability for environmental damage in real estate transactions. Contact: 2500 University Drive Northwest, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N2, Tel: (403) 220-3200.
In Search of Consensus: An Evaluation of the Clayoquot Sound Sustainable Development Task Force Process, by Craig Darling, UVic Institute for Dispute Resolution (1991): analyses the failure of the Task Force and concludes that, "the successful negotiation of community based sustainable development strategies will require a major commitment to pre-negotiation planning by the sponsoring agency." Rather than "imposing a generic `Made in Victoria' model," the report argues that future processes must provide prospective parties an opportunity to discuss the desirability of entering the process, to select the mediator and to agree on the procedural ground rules. Contact: UVic Institute for Dispute Resolution, P.O. Box 2400, Victoria, B.C., V8V 3H7, Tel: (604) 721-8777.
British Columbia Round Table on the Environment and the Economy: The following Round Table reports are available from 229 - 560 Johnson Street, Victoria, B.C., V8W 3C6, Tel: (604) 387-5422 Fax: (604) 356-9276.
Theme Papers
Background Papers
WCELRF Newsletter, copyright 1992, is published by the West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation. This issue was produced by Bill Andrews, Morgan Ashbridge, Benita Bellrichard, Ann Hillyer, Kelly Lamorie, Catherine Ludgate, Linda Nowlan and Denice Regnier. Subscription information is on page 3. The cartoons on pages 1 and 2 of the original are copyright of Don Monet. WCELRF does research and education and maintains an environmental law library. The West Coast Environmental Law Association provides legal representation and promotes law reform. The mission of WCELRF and WCELA is to provide legal services to protect the environment and to foster public participation in environmental decision-making. We are grateful to the Law Foundation of British Columbia for core funding of the West Coast Environmental Law Association and West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation. Donations to WCELRF are tax creditable.
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