| Goal
1: Protect the environment and human health and safety by
ensuring clean and safe water, land and air. |
| Objective:
Streamline standards and improve monitoring, reporting and
compliance. |
Strategies:
- Reduce regulatory requirements to decrease costs and
processing time, and allow flexibility in the methods
used to achieve environmental standards.
- Revise legislation (such as the Waste Management
Act and Pesticide Control Act) and associated
regulations to enable implementation of innovative and
results-based approaches.
- Amend legislation to ensure effective clean up of previously
contaminated sites that pose a high risk to human health
and the environment.
- Update the scientific information used to develop guidelines
and standards for environmental protection.
- Implement an effective data collection process and information
network that supports air and water quality monitoring,
tracks trends and provides for transparent progress reporting.
- Maintain regulatory activities to monitor achievement
of standards.
- Target compliance initiatives at situations posing high
risks to human health or the environment.
|
| Objective:
Limit air pollution and contribute to meeting global atmospheric
objectives. |
Strategies:
- Shift to a geographic area-based planning approach to
reduce the effect of air emissions on health and the environment
(including ongoing opposition to the Sumas II power project).
- Develop a climate change strategy and action plan for
British Columbia, and ensure the province’s interests
are addressed in a national strategy.
- Encourage incorporation of environmental technology
and clean energy into government and other operations.
|
| Objective:
Ensure safe, high-quality drinking water and reduce discharges
that threaten water quality. |
Strategy:
- Protect surface water and groundwater from health-threatening
contamination by implementing groundwater regulations
and the Action Plan for Safe Drinking Water.
|
| Objective:
Reduce/remove toxins and wastes that contaminate land. |
Strategy:
- Create a business strategy that enables producers to
remove high-risk components from the waste stream and
expand the number of products that can be recycled.
|
| Objective:
Readiness to respond to high-risk environmental emergencies. |
Strategies:
- Revise the Flood Hazard Management Strategy to clarify
the roles and responsibilities of the provincial government,
local governments and others.
- Respond effectively to high-risk environmental emergencies
in conjunction with other ministries, local governments
and industry.
- Expand industry responsibility for response to and clean
up of spills.
- Test industry, agency and ministry toxic-spill emergency
response plans.
- Partner with other ministries and local governments
on permanent flood protection initiatives through administration
of the Flood Protection Assistance Fund.
|
