 |
|
|
| |
|
2002/03 Annual Service Plan Report
Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection |
|
| |
Ministry Role and Services
Mandate
In early 2002, the government completed its Core Review of all
ministries. This review confirmed that the mandate of the Ministry
of Water, Land and Air Protection is to protect and enhance the
quality of British Columbia's water, land and air in a way that
contributes to healthy communities, recreational opportunities,
a sustainable environment, and a strong and vibrant provincial economy.
The Core Review provided direction on three major areas of action
for the ministry:
- Environmental Protection — shift to results-based regulation,
industry responsibility and market incentives.
- Environmental Stewardship and Conservation — shift to
results-based regulation and focus on priority ecosystems for
protection.
- Outdoor Recreation — increase partnerships and private
sector involvement and move to market-rate fees for service.
The ministry's goals, strategic shifts, operational structure,
activities and performance targets have been guided by its mandate,
the direction provided by the Core Review and by the British Columbia
government's Strategic Plan 2002/03 – 2004/05: Restoring
Hope & Prosperity. That plan is published annually and outlines
the key goals, objectives and performance measures for the provincial
government as a whole.
The three goals that set the government's strategic direction are:
(1) a strong and vibrant provincial economy; (2) a supportive infrastructure;
and (3) safe, healthy communities and a sustainable environment.
Of primary importance to the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection
is the third goal, although all three inform the ministry's vision,
mission and organizational values and principles.
Vision
The ministry's vision is a clean, healthy and naturally diverse
environment that enriches people's lives, now and in the future.
Mission
The ministry provides leadership and support to British Columbians
to help them limit the adverse effects of their individual and collective
activities on the environment, while fostering economic development
and providing recreational opportunities.
Organizational Values and Principles
The ministry plays a leadership role in managing British Columbia's
natural resources in an environmentally sustainable manner and in
promoting safe, healthy communities. Fulfillment of this role depends
on a skilled workforce operating in an innovative and accountable
culture, an integrated approach to service delivery and an emphasis
on shared stewardship.
Organizational Values
- We respect our staff and create a healthy workplace that sets
and communicates clear expectations, and supports a culture of
staff development, recognition, reward and opportunity.
- We ensure that professional accountability and discipline characterize
our behaviour.
- We focus on achieving high environmental standards through a
culture of continuous adaptation to change.
- We strive to consistently meet agreed-upon client requirements
and deliver our services in a transparent, fair and timely manner.
- We are committed to continuous improvement in the environmental
management of the province.
Principles
- We believe a sustainable environment is central to providing
economic and social opportunities for all British Columbians.
- We believe a sustainable environment is a naturally diverse
environment.
- We believe that all sectors of society are responsible for ensuring
a sustainable environment — government, business, industry
and citizenry.
- We believe that citizens have the right to safe, healthy communities.
Ministry Operating Context
The ministry operates within the context of:
- legislation that defines its role in the provincial government
(see Appendix B);
- government priorities that influence the amount of financial
and human resources it is allocated; and
- broad environmental, social and economic considerations.
As part of its planning process, the ministry assesses the impact
of external and internal factors that may affect its ability to
operate successfully within this context. The ministry evaluates
these factors in terms of the risks they may present to the delivery
of ministry programs, client services and Service Plan goals. Some
of these risks are broad in scope, such as those related to external
environmental, social and economic factors. Others are related to
internal factors that could affect the efficiency and effectiveness
of ministry operations, such as those that may have an impact on
regulatory reform, technology infrastructure improvement, employee
development or revenue recovery.
The ministry is actively working to refine its risk management
practices to improve its effectiveness in addressing risks and maintaining
consistency with a government-wide risk management initiative. In
2002/03, the ministry identified and began to address risks associated
with the following external and internal factors.
External Risk Factors
- The complexity of many of the issues the ministry must address
can pose significant risks. Frequently, there is considerable
uncertainty about the nature and magnitude of the associated environmental,
health, social and economic implications of these issues. There
is also potential for further risk because of uncertainty about
the interrelationships or linkages between different issues and
the actions that may be taken to address them. To respond to such
risks, the ministry fosters a knowledge-based organization and
uses science to inform its decision-making. The ministry is currently
reviewing its approach to policy-making by:
- looking for ways to integrate policy with the results of environmental
outcomes measures; and
- using scientific indicators, such as those in the Environmental
Trends in British Columbia 2002 report.
- The ministry's actions alone may not be sufficient to protect
the environment. To address this risk, the ministry is focusing
considerable effort on developing partnerships and fostering stewardship
as a social responsibility that all citizens must share.
Internal Risk Factors
- The ministry's regulatory regime is intended to serve the public
interest. When it does not reflect an appropriate balance of alternative
views about responsible environmental protection, components of
the regulatory regime may be revised. Such revision can avoid
higher than necessary costs for businesses and prevent higher
environmental impacts than is considered acceptable. To address
potential risks, the ministry is taking action to broaden the
scope of the policy advice it receives. It is doing this by using
advisory panels (e.g., the Advisory Panel on Contaminated Sites
and the Recreation Stewardship Panel) and by conducting regulatory
reviews (e.g., the Waste Management Act review).
- During the past decade, the ministry's technological infrastructure
was not kept up-to-date. This has presented risks to the ministry's
capacity to serve its clients. The ministry is working to
identify and implement a cost-effective technology infrastructure
that will enable the collection, management and communication
of data and provide public access to information and services.
- A key challenge for the ministry is to manage staff development
and capacity issues while undergoing major organizational and
staffing changes. The ministry's ability to handle the risks associated
with this challenge will have an impact on how well it can fulfill
its mandate. To assist in addressing these issues, each employee
will create an Employee Performance and Development Plan (EPDP).
These plans will indicate how employees' tasks are linked to ministry
priorities and will identify the level of staff development required
to meet the ministry's human resource needs.
- The ministry has revised its fees for outdoor recreation opportunities
following the recommendations of the Recreation Stewardship Panel.
The ministry will be allowed to retain the revenue generated from
these fees to fund outdoor recreation programs. However, if revenues
are not as high as expected, the ministry must be able to respond
to this situation within its allocated budget. To address this
risk, the ministry will track revenues carefully and regularly
analyze the demand for the outdoor recreation opportunities that
it provides.
More information about these external and internal risk factors,
and the ministry's response to them, is provided in Appendix C.
Strategic Shifts and Significant Changes in Policy Direction
In last year's annual report, the ministry set out the strategic
shifts identified during the Core Review process and reported on
its initial progress toward their achievement. These shifts
were also incorporated into the ministry's 2002/2003 – 2004/2005
Service Plan. During 2002/03, the ministry continued to make
significant progress in making these shifts, as well as in delivering
on the government's New Era commitments and focusing on government
priorities. (See the "Update on New Era Commitments" section.)
Although challenges remain in completing the transition, the table
below shows some of the initiatives the ministry has undertaken
to achieve continuous improvement in managing its resources, streamlining
regulations, and establishing standards to ensure effective stewardship
of the province's environmental resources.
| From |
To |
Key Initiatives |
| Ministry as sole protector of the environment. |
Shared stewardship — sharing responsibility
for the environment with others as appropriate and emphasizing
a ministry staff culture of client service. |
Wildlife-Human Conflict Prevention Strategy
Living Rivers Strategy
Climate Change Action Plan
Airshed Protection Plans
Recreation Stewardship review
|
| Prescriptive approaches using prohibitions
and controls. |
Setting appropriate environmental standards,
and ensuring standards are met. |
Streamside Protection regulations
Floodplain Management Review
Environmental standards and best practices for the Forest
and Range Practices Act
|
| Unclear accountability for environmental
results. |
Clear roles for ministry, industry and other
stakeholders in the gathering and reporting of environmental
information and achieving environmental objectives. |
Compliance Strategy
Monitoring and Reporting strategies
Groundwater regulations
Air and water quality monitoring and information network
|
| Well-developed but single-focus ministry
initiatives. |
Integrated ministry program delivery based
on best available science and an ecosystem-based approach. |
Biodiversity Strategy
Species at Risk Strategy
Ministry Interdivision and Science Committees
|
| Constraints on economic development. |
Economic development based on clear, reasonable
environmental outcomes, with discretion as to how to achieve
these outcomes. |
Contaminated Sites regulation revision
Waste Management Act revisions
Pesticide Control Act regulations revisions
|
| Proprietary information belonging to government. |
Public information made available in a transparent,
timely and accessible manner. |
Web-Information Project |
Update on New Era Commitments and Key Projects
The New Era document contained many far-reaching policy
objectives. The ministry has made considerable progress in achieving
the key commitments the government made in that document. The ministry
has also made progress towards completing other key projects as
directed to the Minister. Many initiatives have been completely
addressed, whereas others are multi-year in scope. The status of
each commitment and project is indicated below, and for the sake
of completeness, a complete list of initiatives is provided.
| Prohibit logging or mining in provincial
parks |
|
• The government has publicly re-confirmed this legislation
and policy.
|
| Lift grizzly bear moratorium |
|
• The Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection lifted
the blanket moratorium on July 16, 2001, and replaced it with
regional moratoriums where specific conservation concerns
were identified.
• An independent Grizzly Bear Scientific Panel (charged
with reviewing methods and issues considered significant to
grizzly bear conservation in British Columbia) submitted its
report in March 2003. The report confirmed that the ministry's
management of grizzly bears is effective and that sound population
estimates are being used.
|
| Ensure decisions on new parks are made in
public |
|
• Approval for parks (such as a new Gulf Islands national
park and new provincial park at Wakes Cove on Valdes Island)
was granted by open cabinet.
|
| Acquire and protect Burns Bog |
|
• The province recognizes that Burns Bog is a globally
unique ecosystem, and remains committed to its purchase and
preservation. The ministry continues to work with the Ministry
of Finance to acquire this property for the citizens of British Columbia
at fair-market value, but the price must be affordable to
the province.
|
| Implement an improvement plan for threatened
airsheds |
|
• The ministry is developing the science and a framework
for working with communities to improve air quality.
|
| Oppose Sumas II power project |
|
• The ministry continues to represent British Columbia's
interests by participating in National Energy Board (NEB)
hearings, supporting an expanded role for the NEB and filing
an appeal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
|
| Maintain ban on bulk water exports |
|
• The government maintains its commitment to the legislation
establishing the ban.
|
| Introduce comprehensive groundwater legislation
to improve the quality of drinking water |
|
• The government passed amendments to the Drinking
Water Protection Act to strengthen accountability for
the management and delivery of drinking water, and established
an advisory board to assist with development of groundwater
regulations.
|
| Review the contaminated sites legislation |
|
• The ministry received, and is responding to, the
report of the Advisory Panel on Contaminated Sites.
• The recommendations of the panel will be used to
develop a new legislative, regulatory and policy framework
for contaminated sites in the province.
|
| Use science-based standards to protect the
environment |
|
• The Environmental Trends in British Columbia 2002
report was released, which summarizes scientific research
on a set of environmental indicators.
|
| Consider the appointment of a Chief Scientist
who will advise government from time to time |
|
• The ministry has established an internal committee
to provide advice on the acquisition and use of science.
• The ministry has established panels of scientific
experts to provide advice on specific issues (e.g., the Grizzly
Bear Scientific Panel and the AOX Panel).
|
| Enact new or revise legislation to deliver
on New Era directions |
|
• The ministry is working with partners to update the
provincial regulation protecting urban streams and strengthen
the role of science professionals.
• The government has harmonized its vehicle and diesel
regulations with those regulations under the Canadian Environmental
Protection Act that meet U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency standards.
|
| |
|
• The government has passed the Aquaculture Waste Control
Regulation to limit waste accumulation on the ocean floor.
• The ministry is reviewing the Wildlife Act and
Park Act in order to update legislation in 2005.
• The government introduced the Organic Matter Recycling
Regulation, which made British Columbia the first jurisdiction
in North America to limit the use of recycled organic material
in drinking-water watersheds.
• In May 2002, amendments to the Environment Management
Act were introduced to streamline the ministry's process
for entering into partnership agreements with government and
non-government organizations. The amendments contributed to
the development of two agreements: a mutual assistance agreement
between the ministry's Conservation Officer Service and the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Conservation and Protection
Service; and the Intergovernmental Mutual Aid Agreement for
Problem Wildlife Incidents signed between the ministry and
Parks Canada in July 2002.
|
| Promote shared stewardship for the delivery
of recreational services |
|
• The Recreation Stewardship Panel has delivered its
recommendations for a new model to support fish, wildlife
and park recreation. Implementation of the panel's recommendations
began in spring 2003 and will be completed by 2005/06.
• Preparation to transfer provincial freshwater fish
hatcheries to a new non-profit society was completed in March
2003.
|
| Develop a Living Rivers Strategy |
|
• The ministry is working with the Ministry of Sustainable
Resource Management and others to develop a strategy by 2004
to improve the province's waterways.
• The government has set up a $2-million trust fund
to assist in protecting and restoring British Columbia's rivers.
|
| Deliver a results-based Forest Practices
Code |
|
• The ministry has worked with the Ministry of Forests
and the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management on the
Forest and Range Practices Act and regulations. The
ministry will continue to work with its private and public
sector partners to develop environmental standards and best
practices.
|
| Create a trust for private land donations |
|
• The ministry is working with the Ministry of Sustainable
Resource Management on developing an approach for establishing
this trust.
|
| Encourage a strong private-sector economy
that maintains high environmental standards |
|
• The ministry is exploring ways to expand investment
in species-at-risk protection and recovery by 2005/06.
• A new AOX Regulation was enacted in July 2002 to
appropriately limit discharges of adsorbable organic halides
(AOX). A new comprehensive pulp mill standard is part of Phase
II of the Waste Management Act revision (2004/05).
• The ministry's review of the Waste Management
Act is expected to result in significant amendments to
modernize environmental management: Phase I (2003/04), Phase
II (2004/05), Phase III (2005/06).
• The ministry drafted the Integrated Pest Management
Act for the spring 2003 legislative session to replace
existing legislation.
• New guidelines were introduced for coal-fired power
boiler emissions, setting target limits that are comparable
to neighbouring jurisdictions and are consistent with the
province's energy policy.
|
Ministry Structure
The ministry has organized its operations and functions into "core
business areas." In 2002/03, there were three core business
areas: Environmental Protection, Environmental Stewardship, and
Park and Wildlife Recreation.1,2 (These are described
in the "Performance Reporting" section of this report.)
The ministry's structure supports the services, programs, regulatory
reform and other initiatives carried out in each core business area.
Figure 1 shows the ministry's organizational chart and the main
responsibilities of each division.
As Figure 1 shows, two divisions within the ministry are closely
aligned with the core business areas. The Environmental Protection
Division has primary responsibility for delivery of programs and
services in the Environmental Protection core business area. The Environmental
Stewardship Division has primary responsibility for delivery in
both the Environmental Stewardship and Park and Wildlife Recreation
core business areas. The other divisions and ministry committees
collaborate closely with these two in pursuing the ministry's goals.
In 2002/03, the Planning, Innovation and Enforcement Division and
the Corporate Services Division delivered cross-ministry services
and internal administration in support of all three core business
areas. Their work was guided by the Executive Committee and Senior
Management Committee. Service delivery was the responsibility of
regional staff.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee provides strategic leadership for the ministry.
The Deputy Minister is accountable for all aspects of the ministry's
mandate, including management, response to ministerial decisions,
stakeholder relations, correspondence management and communications.
The Assistant Deputy Ministers (ADMs) are the operational heads
of their divisions. They are accountable for the operational delivery
of their division's entire mandate, from policy and program development
to regional delivery. They are also responsible for ensuring that
cross-division and interministry cooperation takes place on areas
of shared concern in environmental management.
Senior Management Committee
The Senior Management Committee, which is made up of branch directors,
is the functional strategic planning forum for the ministry and
a central vehicle for corporate leadership and management. Senior
Management Committee is responsible for policy- and decision-making
and organizational development ministry-wide and oversees the Interdivision
Committees.
Environmental Protection Division
The Environmental Protection Division works to protect the environment
and human health and safety by ensuring clean and safe water, land
and air. Through its three branches — Environmental Management,
Water, Air and Climate Change, and Environmental Protection Regional
Operations — it develops and enacts science-based policies,
laws and environmental contracts and covenants to monitor industrial
and community development and ensure compliance with established
provincial standards. As well, the division sets standards for ambient
quality and for discharges and emissions to air, land and water;
directs the acceptable remediation (clean-up) of contaminated sites;
and acts as key liaison in initiatives focused on response readiness
to environmental and human health and safety emergencies.
Environmental Stewardship Division
The Environmental Stewardship Division works to maintain and restore
the natural diversity of ecosystems, and fish and wildlife species
and their habitats. It also works to provide and enhance park, fish
and wildlife recreational services and opportunities.
The division works towards these goals through its four branches
— Biodiversity, Parks and Protected Areas, Fish and Wildlife
Recreation and Allocation, and Regional Operations. It applies a
science-based approach to promote the effective management of fish,
wildlife, habitat and park resources and to develop standards for
governing the use and allocation of living resources. It also monitors
and reports on selected species and habitats, develops protected
area management plans, and establishes legislation, partnerships,
policies and procedures for park, fish and wildlife recreation.
Planning, Innovation and Enforcement Division
The Planning, Innovation and Enforcement Division shares responsibility
for providing effective and efficient planning, support and enforcement
to assist core business areas in achieving their goals and objectives.
In particular, this division focuses on developing and integrating
efficient and effective planning, monitoring and reporting (e.g.,
State of the Environment reports), and enforces compliance with
legislation through the Conservation Officer Service. As well, the
division assists the ministry in maintaining relationships and building
capacity with partners (such as other government agencies, businesses,
industries and non-governmental organizations). It is also responsible
for helping the ministry accomplish its strategic shifts and deliver
on its commitment to provide improved planning and accountability.
Corporate Services Division
The Corporate Services Division is responsible for financial planning
and reporting, human resource planning and development, records
and Freedom of Information functions, information technology, and
internal communications and support services for the clients it
serves. The division manages client accounts, develops ways to monitor
and report on service delivery, and develops Corporate Services
Division service level agreements and customer surveys in consultation
with the Corporate Services Partnership Board.
The division uses a shared-services model to provide the above
services to the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, the
Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, the British Columbia
Assets and Land Corporation, the Environmental Assessment Office,
and the Land Reserve Commission. Its role continues to evolve as
the province moves to a government-wide shared services model with
the establishment of the BC Public Service Agency and the Ministry
of Management Services.
Regional Staff
Most of the ministry's staff is located in nine regions of the
province: Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, Thompson, Okanagan,
Kootenay, Cariboo, Skeena, Omineca and Peace. Regional staff in
the Environmental Protection, Environmental Stewardship and Planning,
Innovation and Enforcement divisions work together in regional offices
to encourage teamwork and efficiency. Smaller area offices are located
throughout the province to provide a visible presence, enforcement
and park operations capacity in local areas.
The map below indicates the location of ministry
offices.
|
|
