Environmental Assessment Office
Strategic Context
The continued strong performance of the provincial economy, as well as increasing demand for energy and mineral resources from Asia and the United States, has significant effects on the workload of the Environmental Assessment Office. Over the past three years, the Environmental Assessment Office has experienced an unprecedented number of energy, mining, and infrastructure projects entering the assessment process. With additional economic growth projected, this trend is expected to continue.
A key challenge for the office, therefore, is meeting the demand for environmental assessments resulting from continued economic growth and delivering timely reviews to support the economy. The Environmental Assessment Office People Plan is designed to support the office in meeting its workload pressures and its ability to hire people with the required skill sets, while ensuring appropriate succession planning measures are also in place.
Energy and mining project proposals represent the majority of projects in the assessment process and will use the bulk of the Environmental Assessment Office’s resources. The energy projects, especially from independent power producers who are helping to meet the government’s goal to be electricity self-sufficient by 2016, represent a wide diversity of energy resources (such as hydro, wind, and biomass). This diversity of projects will help enable the province to acquire 90 per cent of its energy needs from clean sources. Project proposals for new mines primarily in the northwest and northeast are expected to continue to enter the environmental assessment process at an unprecedented rate.
When conducting assessments and preparing recommendations to government on applications for environmental assessment certificates, the Environmental Assessment Office is guided by the evolving case law and government policy related to the obligations of the Crown. This means ensuring that government’s consultation and accommodation obligations to First Nations have been met.
The Environmental Assessment Office is committed to building a new relationship with First Nations that is founded on reconciliation, mutual respect and trust. As part of this commitment, the Environmental Assessment Office recognizes that First Nations have interests that are based on established or asserted aboriginal rights and title, and is working to engage First Nations early and effectively in the environmental assessment process.
More specifically, the Environmental Assessment Office seeks First Nations input on its project-scoping decisions, encourages and helps fund First Nations participation in technical working groups, and makes provisions for First Nations discussion outside of working groups where necessary. First Nations are also provided an opportunity to review and comment on the draft Assessment Report, which identifies the issues considered during an environmental assessment. The draft report includes a detailed assessment of potential impacts of the proposed project on established or asserted aboriginal rights and title, and summarizes the conclusions of the review, including the documentation of any unresolved issues. It is then finalized and forwarded to Ministers for their consideration as the statutory decision-makers under the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Act.
The Environmental Assessment Office also actively encourages proponents to meet with First Nations at their earliest opportunity to learn about First Nations communities and First Nations interests and concerns.
One of the benefits of successfully engaging First Nations in environmental assessment reviews is that it helps government establish an effective working relationship with First Nations at the beginning of a potential project. This assists other provincial agencies if the project proceeds to the permitting stage after an environmental assessment certificate has been issued by Ministers.
The Environmental Assessment Office continues to work with First Nations, proponents, stakeholders and other government bodies, including federal government agencies, to improve upon the environmental assessment process.
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