Environmental Assessment Office

Purpose of the Office

The Environmental Assessment Office was created in 1995 to co-ordinate the assessment of proposed major projects in British Columbia as required under the Environmental Assessment Act. This role was continued for the Environmental Assessment Office when government proclaimed the new Environmental Assessment Act in December 2002.

Environmental assessment examines the potential for adverse environmental, economic, social, health and heritage effects from the construction, operation and, where required, decommissioning stage of a project. For any project requiring an environmental assessment certificate, the proponent must complete an environmental assessment review and receive a certificate before ministries can issue approvals for the project under other provincial enactments.

There are three ways a project can be designated reviewable under the Environmental Assessment Act. Projects in the following sectors that meet or exceed the size thresholds established in the Reviewable Projects Regulation (B.C. Reg. 370/2002) are automatically subject to the Environmental Assessment Act: industrial, mining, energy, water management (dams, dykes, and reservoirs), waste disposal, food processing, transportation and tourism (destination resorts). Project proponents may also apply to the Environmental Assessment Office to have their project reviewed under the Environmental Assessment Act. The Minister of Environment may also order the assessment of a project if the Minister believes the project has potential for significant adverse effects and where it is in the public interest to do so.

The environmental assessment process administered by the Environmental Assessment Office provides for:

• opportunities for First Nations, local government, government agencies, and all interested parties to provide input and identify issues;
• consultations with First Nations to address and, where appropriate, accommodate potential effects on established or asserted aboriginal rights and title;
• technical studies to identify any potentially adverse environmental, social, economic, heritage or health effects of a proposed project;
• strategies and measures to avoid, prevent or reduce potential adverse effects through mitigation or project redesign;
• development of a comprehensive environmental assessment report summarizing issues and findings that may include recommendations on whether to issue an environmental assessment certificate for a project; and
• assigning conditions and follow-up or compliance reporting requirements to a proponent in an environmental assessment certificate.

Major projects subject to the Environmental Assessment Act may also be reviewable under the federal Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. To minimize duplication and overlap, Canada and British Columbia agreed in the Canada/British Columbia Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation (2004) to co-ordinate information requirements, use provincial time limits and issue a joint assessment report wherever possible, while retaining their respective decision-making powers.

During an assessment, the Environmental Assessment Office obtains valuable advice from other provincial ministries, such as the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, and the Ministry of Community Services on technical and policy considerations within their respective mandates.