West Coast Environmental Law
Research Foundation
NewsletterWest Coast Environmental Law
Research Foundation
NewsletterIn late November of last year the B.C. Government released a discussion paper and a Rules Book on B.C.'s promised Forest Practices Code. The Discussion Paper proposes that hundreds of existing regulations, guidelines and statutes be pulled together into one Forest Practices Code.
The proposed Code will consist of framework legislation, regulations detailing specific requirements, legally enforceable province-wide and region-specific standards providing further detail, and field guides. Contents of field guides will not be legally enforceable unless they are specifically referred to in cutting permits, contracts or licences.
No draft legislation, regulations or standards have yet been released to the public. Final assessment of the Code's worth is impossible without draft legislation, regulations and standards being available; however, the Code appears to be a significant step forward in improving forest practices in B.C..
Although the Discussion Paper is ambiguous, it seems to mean that the current Coastal Fisheries/Forestry Guidelines and Interior Fisheries/Forestry/Wildlife Guidelines will become enforceable standards. Moreover, maximum penalties will be increased to a $1 million from current levels of $2000 for most Forest Act offences. The Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks will be given power to enforce environmental provisions in the Code, and administrative penalties will be available for minor offences. The government also announced in mid-January that 200 Forest Service employees are being assigned to form compliance and enforcement teams.
These developments are significant. Currently, industry compliance with guidelines such as the Coastal Fisheries/Forestry Guidelines is abysmal. An April 1992 audit of forest practices on Vancouver Island found that there was on average one moderate or major impact on fisheries habitat for every cut block. An audit released in January of this year similarly found that compliance with Coastal Fisheries Guidelines from 1988 to 1992 ranged from International Forest Product's 50% non-compliance rate to MacMillan Bloedel's rate of 80% compliance. If the proposed Code succeeds in improving compliance with guidelines, then the benefits to both a sustainable forest and fisheries will be significant.
However, two questions need to be asked: will the Code improve compliance, and is compliance with existing guidelines good enough? West Coast Environmental Law Association has recommended among other things, the creation of a separate enforcement branch or agency to ensure that enforcement efforts are not stymied by those local Ministry of Forests officials who are less than sympathetic to environmental concerns.
A separate enforcement agency is also necessary in order to avoid a conflict of interest between the Ministry of Forests District Offices' responsibility to enforce logging practices and the duty of the same District Offices to closely supervise logging carried out under the Small Business Enterprise Program.
While proposals to give the Ministry of Environment concurrent enforcement powers are a positive development they will not in themselves ensure stricter enforcement. Giving Ministry of Environment field officers some enforcement powers will have little effect unless the Ministry is also given the staff to carry out enforcement. So far, there have been no commitments to increasing the field staff of the Ministry of Environment.
Although the Discussion Paper states that the Code will include some significant improvements to existing requirements for forest practices in B.C., much of what is touted as being "major new requirements" are vague, subjective requirements, requirements which are subject to the discretion of district managers who may or may not support changes in logging practices, or requirements which do not actually represent a change from existing policies. It is essential that the Code not only enforce existing standards, but improve upon existing standards. These new standards need to be definitive standards that guarantee changes to the day to day operations in the woods, not merely new requirements related to the process for developing forest plans.
WCELA has recommended that the Forest Practices Code adopt standards for streamside no-logging zones equivalent to those being adopted by the U.S. Forest Service for the Pacific Northwest. The January 1994 audit of forest practices referred to above found that logging in streamside management zones was by far the largest cause of degradation to streams.
Other requirements that are necessary include requirements not to log within the minimum distances of important habitat such as eagle nesting, replacement nesting, roosting and foraging trees; requirements to retain a minimum number of wildlife reserve trees and green recruitment trees. Well defined habitat protection provisions have been included in forest practices codes developed in other jurisdictions such as Oregon and Washington. They can be developed for B.C.
WCELA has also recommended that the Code set down minimum percentages of land to be harvested by selection silviculture systems. This will help encourage the Ministry of Forests field staff to give a full consideration to the use of selection silviculture in a greater range of circumstances.
Other recommendations of West Coast include:
Despite these concerns, West Coast Environmental Law Association is pleased with the government's commitment to introducing a Forest Practices Code. Again, the value of the Forest Practices Code in improving logging operations will be difficult to assess until more concrete proposals are tabled.
The Environmental Legal Information Base (ELIB) is a product of West Coast's Electronic Crossroads Project, which began in March 1993. Funders include the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, the Federal Environmental Assessment Review Office, the Federal Environmental Innovation Program, the Law Foundation of B.C., the Notary Foundation of B.C., the Real Estate Foundation of B.C., the VanCity Community Foundation, and the Vancouver Foundation.
The goal of the project is to improve public access to computerized environmental legal information. Progress to date includes:
West Coast's Environmental Legal Information Base (ELIB) will have its premiere public presentation at the Revisiting the Land Ethic conference in Vancouver from March 3-5, 1994. ELIB provides instant electronic access to more than 20 MB of books, reports, statutes and catalogue entries. It also features an interactive educational guide to legal tools for voluntarily protecting private land. Free public modem access to the ELIB infobase is expected to be announced at the conference.
For details about ELIB, contact Bill Andrews (Phone: 604-689-3235, FAX: 604-684-1312, E-mail: wcelrf@unixg.uB.C..ca.)
The B.C. Environmental Network (B.C.EN) is conducting a survey that will attempt to assess the state of electronic environmental communications in the Province. In conjunction with this survey, an environmental communicators workshop is planned for March 31, 1994 in Vancouver. For more information, contact Jim Dixon (Phone: 604-769-5080 (9:30am to 11:00am, 12:30 to 5:00pm), Fax in Kelowna: 604-868-3718, Fax in Vancouver: 604-879-2279, E-mail: EarthNet BBS: 769-5097 or B.C.en@web.apc.org).
The province plans to introduce a new Environmental Assessment Act in the upcoming session of the legislature. Last year, the government introduced an act -- known as Bill 32 -- but withdrew it for further consultation rather than passing it. Currently,the government has set up a stakeholder consultation process to recommend amendments to Bill 32 and to advise the government on regulations detailing issues such as what projects will be covered by the Act and what the timelines under the Act will be.
WCELA staff counsel Ann Hillyer is participating in the consultation exercise. Pat Moss, Adrienne Peacock and Lloyd Manchester from the Environmental Assessment Caucus of the B.C. Environmental Network also are participating.
Key points we are advocating include:
For further information, contact Ann Hillyer at WCELA offices.
For more information or a copy of WCELA's brief on the Forest Practices Code, please contact Chris Rolfe.
Here Today, Here Tomorrow, written by barbara findlay and Ann Hillyer, is designed to encourage efforts to protect land which is privately owned by providing a reference-quality catalogue of legal mechanisms which can be used to protect private land.
Designed primarily for use by large and small conservation organizations, Here Today, Here Tomorrow will also serve as a useful reference tool for real estate professionals, land owners, community groups, educators and students. Here Today, Here Tomorrow explores how current laws can be used to allow us to make careful decisions about how to conserve land now owned privately.
Specifically, it examines the concept of land stewardship, developing a strategy for protecting private land, the role of conservation organizations, basic land law concepts and legal tools currently available that can be used to protect private land.Each option -- ranging from leases to trust agreements -- reviews the legal context, possible applications, maintenance or monitoring concerns, and advantages/disadvantages.
Using examples and illustrations, Here Today, Here Tomorrow examines how conservation organizations can work with landowners to protect private land.
The report includes a strategy section which discusses how to choose the best legal mechanism in light of the interest to be protected, the resources available, and other factors. Examples of current B.C. initiatives are discussed, and a resource list of active groups is included.
Support for the research of Here Today, Here Tomorrow was provided by the Real Estate Foundation of B.C.. That support has allowed WCELRF to distribute copies fo the report to all communities libraries and municipal governments in the province, as well as over 100 conservation groups. This report is now available from WCELRF. Copies are $18, plus $2 for postage. Please write or call our office for your own copy!
Federal Regulatory Plan 1994 (Treasury Board Secretariat, Government of Canada). The Federal Regulatory Plan 1994 is the result of an all-party parliamentary review struck in January 1993 on regulations and competitiveness. At the outset of the review, the review agreed that most federal regulatory programs will have to be modified in the near future because:
With this premise, the Plan reviewed the work that has been done in the past year to improve regulatory systems at the federal, provincial and local levels. The Plan considers the role a well-defined regulatory climate plays in achieving health, safety and environmental protection in Canada. It discusses alternatives to traditional command-and-control regulatory approaches, including consensus standards, environmental audits and economic instruments. This publication is available both in hard copy (360 pages) and on disc. Available from: Globe Information Services, 444 Front Street West, Toronto, ON, M5V 2S9, call 1-800-268-9128.
WCELRF Newsletter, copyright 1994, is published by the West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation. This issue was produced by Bill Andrews, Morgan Ashbridge, Glenna Forrest, Chris Heald, Ann Hillyer, Catherine Ludgate, Chris Rolfe, and Kim Stanton. Subscription information is below. 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.