AGENDA
Canadian Contaminated Sites Regulation
- BC
- Federal
Liability of Consultants
A CONTAMINATION SCENARIO
WHAT ARE THE CONTAMINATED SITE RISKS?
- Contractual risk
- Development risk
- Operational risk
- Liability (regulatory, civil, criminal) risk
- Financial risk
- Litigation risk
LIABILITY RISK – ENVIRONMENTAL REGIME
- Provincial
- Environmental Management Act
- Contaminated Sites Regulation
- Federal
- Fisheries Act
LIABILITY REGIME OVERVIEW
- Regulatory
- Remediation order (EMA)
- Inspector's direction (Fisheries Act)
- Civil
- Cost recovery action (EMA)
- Common law claims (negligence, nuisance, etc)
- Contractual (retainer agreement)
- Criminal
- Pollution/ spills (EMA)
- Fisheries Act charges ("deleterious substances"/ s35)
BC CONTAMINATED SITES REGIME
- 1997: New contaminated sites regime came into operation in BC under the Waste Management Act
- Later changed to Environmental Management Act
- Regime based on U.S. CERCLA/ Superfund
BC REGIME – SOME KEY TERMS/
CONCEPTS
- Identification of sites
- site profile
- Notice to neighbours of migrating contamination
- Investigation of sites
- Site investigation
- Remediation order
- PSI (stage 1, 2), DSI
- Remediation
- Numeric or risk based
- No obligation to remediate unless ordered to do so
- Certificate of compliance
- Approved professional
- Govt sign off but limited protection
- conditions
SOME KEY TERMS/CONCEPTS
- Remediation order
- Cost recovery action
- Allocation of liability – s35 of CSR
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