Ministry 2003/04 Annual Service Plan Report - Government of British Columbia.
   

Performance Reporting

Goal 1: Protect the environment and human health and safety by ensuring clean and safe water, land and air.

Core Business Area: Environmental Protection

The following table summarizes the 2003 – 2004 operating expenses by objective.

Objective 2003-2004
Actual
($000) 		2003-2004 FTEs
1. Streamline standards and improve monitoring, reporting and compliance. 22,858 194
2. Limit air pollution and contribute to B.C.'s efforts to respond to climate change. 4,749 48
3. Ensure safe, high-quality drinking water and reduce discharges that threaten water quality. 4,922 42
4. Reduce/remove toxins and wastes that contaminate land. 10,882 44
5. Effective response to high-risk environmental emergencies. 4,300 —
Total Core Business Area 47,711 328
  For more information see Appendix D: Notes on Data Completeness, Reliability and Methodology.

Objective 1: Streamline standards and improve monitoring, reporting and compliance.

This objective addresses the ministry's shift from a prescriptive approach to environmental regulation to a results-based approach informed by science. To make progress toward attaining this objective, the ministry is simultaneously working to change some of its processes, clarify regulatory requirements and improve the use of science for informing decision-making. Key priorities include revising appropriate legislation and regulatory requirements to increase flexibility in methods used to achieve environmental standards; updating scientific information used to develop best practices, guidelines and standards for environmental protection; and improving systems used to monitor air and water quality.

Performance Measure:

Number of days to process approval requests for contaminated sites

Performance Measure 2003/04 Target 2003/04 Actual 2003/04 Variance
Number of days to process approval requests for contaminated sites. 30 days 100% of approval requests for low- and medium-risk sites were processed within 30 days when the rostered review process was used. Target met for low- and medium-risk sites.

Target does not apply to high-risk sites. Work is in progress to reduce processing time for all approval requests.
  Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.
  Benchmark Information: This measure was intended to refer only to approval requests regarding low- and medium-risk sites. The targets were based on expected timing of when legislative and regulatory changes would be made, which would enable the approvals process to be streamlined.

Rationale for the Performance Measure

The ministry is working to streamline standards and processes to remove unnecessary impediments to business and foster economic development. A key objective of the Waste Management Act review in 2002 was to make the legislative and regulatory changes needed to enable more timely decisions on applications from businesses. This performance measure was to demonstrate progress in streamlining the approval process for requests regarding contaminated sites.

Achievements and Key Issues

Considerable progress was made in 2003/04 to improve the regime for contaminated sites administration. Approval was received in the fall of 2003 for a first set of important legislative changes that are expected to come into effect in the summer of 2004. Additional legislative changes that will allow further streamlining of the ministry approval process are awaiting approval and implementation. The ministry's internal approval process was also streamlined.

Two key issues that affect the time required by the ministry to process approval requests are: (1) whether or not an approval request (for a low- or medium-risk site) has been reviewed by a rostered professional (i.e., someone selected from a list of government-recognized, private-sector environmental professionals) before it is submitted to the ministry; and (2) the backlog of applications. In 2003/04, all approval requests for low- and medium-risk sites that had been reviewed by a rostered professional prior to submission to the ministry were processed within 30 days, and often in less than two weeks. These approval requests represented 40% of new approval requests, and this percentage is expected to increase substantially as more people become aware that approval requests are processed much more quickly when this review process is used.

Using this approval process will also enable ministry staff to focus on high-risk sites and issues. For high-risk sites (which will continue to require ministry involvement at all stages) and for low- and medium-risk sites for which the rostered professional review process is not used, reducing the backlog will be critical for enabling ministry staff to handle new approval requests more quickly.

Regarding the level of ministry involvement in the clean-up of contaminated sites, 80% of all the contaminated sites cleaned up in 2003/04 were done independently or were reviewed by rostered professionals (i.e., with minimal or no ministry involvement), and 20% were overseen in detail by the ministry. The ministry monitored low- and medium-risk site remediation by undertaking audits of rostered-professional work and by carrying out follow-up checks regarding independent remediation, where warranted.

Future Direction

As indicated in the Premier's letter to the Minister in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan, a priority for the ministry is to eliminate contaminated sites regulatory backlogs within 24 months. A new performance measure was developed and included in the new Service Plan that will monitor the reduction in the backlog of applications for low- and medium-risk contaminated sites.

Two other new measures were also introduced in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan for this objective. The average processing time for issuing permits compared to Alberta was introduced as a measure of progress in streamlining regulatory requirements perceived as an impediment to economic development and diversification of regional economies in British Columbia. A performance measure has also been added pertaining to streamlining approval processes for pesticide certification under the new Integrated Pest Management Act.

Objective 2: Limit air pollution and contribute to British Columbia's efforts to respond to climate change.

Protecting the quality of air in the province is a key part of the ministry's goal to protect the environment and human health. This objective addresses that component of the goal. Meeting the objective requires action in a number of areas to address air quality issues in the province and contribute to addressing the climate change issue worldwide. Key priorities of the ministry include undertaking area-based planning in order to consider all sources that contribute to air emissions that affect health and the environment, and encouraging incorporation of environmental technology and clean energy into government and other operations.

Performance Measures:

Percentage of monitored communities achieving the Canada-wide standard (CWS) quality objective of amount of fine particulates in the air under 2.5 microns per cubic metre (PM2.5)

Performance Measure 2003/04 Target 2003/04 Actual 2003/04 Variance
Percentage of monitored communities achieving the Canada-wide standard (CWS) quality objective of amount of fine particulates in the air under 2.5 microns per cubic metre (PM2.5). 100% of communities monitored achieve, or continue to achieve, the CWS for PM2.5 by 2005/06. 93% of communities (13 out of 14) achieve the CWS where PM2.5 is monitored and sufficient data are available to generate the statistic (based on 2003 data). On track.
  Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.
 

Benchmark Information: Comparable data for previous years are: 100% in 2000 (7 out of 7 communities), 90% in 2001 (9 out of 10 communities), and 91% in 2002 (10 out of 11 communities). (Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.)

Rationale for the Performance Measure

The outdoor air contaminant of most concern in British Columbia, from a human health perspective, is particulate matter (PM). Particles smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) are believed to pose the greatest health risk. The ministry collects PM2.5 data from approximately 40 air quality monitoring sites from over 25 communities across the province. The percentage of monitored communities achieving the Canada-wide standard (CWS) for PM2.5 has been selected as the performance measure. Use of this performance measure is designed to help the ministry determine how effectively it is achieving its air quality improvement targets.

Achievements and Key Issues

The results in the table refer to the percentage of monitored communities that achieve the specified air quality objective. It is important to note that the communities included in the sampling tend to be those that have experienced air quality problems related to particulate matter. When a community's air quality problems have been resolved, monitoring may be reduced, except in those communities where long-term regional trends are monitored. Trend results must therefore be interpreted carefully because they may not accurately reflect whether air quality has been improving in the monitored communities if the sample of communities being monitored has changed. Changes from 2001 to 2003 are largely a result of adding new monitoring sites (i.e., increasing the total number of communities represented). In each of these years, Prince George has been the only monitored site in British Columbia exceeding the CWS for PM2.5.

In 2003/04, the ministry continued to support several initiatives related to protecting or improving air quality in the province:

  • Funding and regional technical support was provided for airshed activities in Quesnel, Prince George, the Bulkley Valley-Lakes District, Kamloops, Golden, Creston Valley and the Sea-to-Sky airshed.
  • A number of technical studies were continued or initiated to better inform air management decisions at the provincial or airshed level. These studies looked at:
    • improved estimates of air emissions (e.g., Year 2000 Emission Inventory; provincial wood stove survey);
    • the health impacts of air pollution on human health in British Columbia; and
    • meteorology's role in degraded air quality.
  • Guidance documents are being developed to assist users of dispersion models and to assist local governments in airshed planning.

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Future Direction

The ministry is working closely with other jurisdictions through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) toward improved implementation of this standard. Cooperation with other jurisdictions is essential because air emissions and air quality are trans-boundary issues.

Efforts are ongoing to improve our understanding of PM2.5 sources and levels in British Columbia. For example, a pilot study under development in Golden will use the chemical composition of PM2.5 samples and other measures to estimate source contributions to ambient PM2.5 levels.

Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in British Columbia

Performance Measure 2003/04 Target 2003/04 Actual 2003/04 Variance
Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in British Columbia. No target was identified. 65.0 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (in 2001). Data not available.
  Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.
 

Benchmark Information: In 2001, British Columbia's total GHG emissions represented 9.0% of Canada's total GHG emissions. Since 1990, the province's total annual GHG emissions have increased by 12.1 million tonnes or 22.9% while population has increased by 24.6%. British Columbia currently ranks third after PEI and Quebec on the basis of GHG emissions per capita. (Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.)

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Elevated levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere are causing changes to global climate and in climate-sensitive physical and biological systems. Reducing emissions on a worldwide scale is expected to slow the rate of climate change, and thus the timing of its impacts. British Columbia participated with other jurisdictions in Canada to develop a national climate change strategy. The province's climate change efforts support B.C.'s broader drive for economic revitalization. This measure was selected because it is the estimate of total greenhouse gas emissions in British Columbia that reflects the extent of the province's contribution to total global emissions.

Achievements and Key Issues

The ministry is working with many partners, including other provincial ministries and levels of government, as well as other agencies, to reduce GHG emissions and to manage the risks associated with climate change impacts. While the ministry plays an important technical role in the development of policy options, industry sectors have a more direct role in business decisions that can contribute to the reduction of climate change. The ministry, together with BC Hydro, has been working to ensure that the national approach to climate change includes appropriate credit for renewable electricity supply, including energy efficiency resources. This work has resulted in draft federal policies being put forward that allow renewable supplies to offset greenhouse gas emissions from other industrial sectors. Other related ministry efforts in 2003/04 included:

  • completing a review of climate-related monitoring networks in British Columbia, sharing findings with relevant agencies, and working with the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management and the Meteorological Service of Canada to improve monitoring capabilities; and
  • participating in the production of a national report published in 2003 by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) entitled Climate, Nature, People: Indicators of Canada's Changing Climate, which documents climate-related trends during the 20th century.

Future Direction

The emission targets for this measure are not expected to be available in the near future. Therefore, to assess performance in contributing to addressing the climate change issue, in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan, the ministry replaced this measure with an outcome measure of per capita GHG emissions relative to other provinces. A per capita measure accounts for the largely unknown effects of future GHG commitments and clean technology development that are likely to apply to all provinces, and hence should reflect the effect of British Columbia's actions relative to other provinces. The target will be to maintain or improve on the per capita ranking relative to other provinces.

Total and per capita GHG emissions in British Columbia since 1990 are shown in Figure 3. The 2002 and 2003 data are not yet available from Environment Canada.

Figure 3. Total and per capita greenhouse gas emissions in British Columbia from 1990 to 2001

Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions in British Columbia.

Per Capita Greenhouse Gas Emissions in British Columbia.

Objective 3: Ensure safe, high-quality drinking water and reduce discharges that threaten water quality.

This objective addresses the component of Goal 1 that pertains to ensuring clean and safe water. The major priority is to work on activities that protect surface water and groundwater from health-threatening contamination by implementing groundwater regulations.

Performance Measures:

The trends in environmentally significant variables, such as metals and nutrients, that indicate the health of water for 30 water bodies monitored under federal/provincial agreement

Performance Measure 2003/04 Target 2003/04 Actual 2003/04 Variance
The trends in environmentally significant variables, such as metals and nutrients, that indicate the health of water for 30 water bodies monitored under federal/provincial agreement. Maintain or improve water quality trends for water bodies monitored under the federal/provincial agreement by 2005. 90% of the monitoring stations in the 30 water bodies have stable or improving water quality trends (in 2003/04). On track.
  Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.
 

Benchmark Information: In addition to the 30 stations funded under the Canada – BC Water Quality Monitoring Agreement, the ministry uses water quality data from approximately 150 other community-based stations. This number compares with Ontario's 200 stations for monitoring the water quality of streams and rivers, which is down from a peak of about 2,700 stations in the 1970s. (Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 2000. Research Branch. The Health of Our Water: Toward Sustainable Agriculture in Canada.)

Rationale for the Performance Measure

British Columbia has 25% of the flowing freshwater resources in Canada. Ongoing monitoring, protection and management of these water resources are of critical importance. This performance measure is an outcome measure of surface water quality in 30 water bodies monitored under a federal/provincial agreement. The measure monitors trends based on the presence of environmentally significant variables, such as metals and nutrients, which will indicate the cumulative effect of multi-agency land use activities and resource management activities in source watersheds.

Achievements and Key Issues

The target is now for water quality trends in the monitored water bodies to be maintained or improved by 2006. In 2003/04, 90% of the monitoring stations in the 30 water bodies had stable or improving water quality trends, which is consistent with the results from the previous year.

Data is collected and reviewed annually for each of the 30 water bodies to assess whether there has been a significant variance from the trend, and each water body is subjected to statistical analysis approximately every five years. Variances from the trend are usually the result of a significant event or issue and are reviewed further to determine the nature of the event or issue and the action, if required, to mitigate the potential risks to the water body.

Future Direction

Efforts are ongoing to improve our understanding of water quality and explore opportunities to expand our water quality monitoring network in partnership with others.

Number of aquifers identified and classified

Performance Measure 2003/04 Target 2003/04 Actual 2003/04 Variance
Number of aquifers identified and classified. 643 (identify and classify an additional 50 aquifers.) 675 Target exceeded.
  Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.
 

Benchmark Information: Significant aquifer mapping programs are found in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Other provinces and the Yukon do not have programs. (Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.)

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Most usable groundwater comes from aquifers, natural water-bearing geologic formations or subsurface reservoirs. There are approximately 1,000 developed aquifers in the province. A classification system is being used to characterize an aquifer based on the development of its groundwater resource (i.e., the availability of its water supply relative to the demand placed on it) and on the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination. This output measure indicates ministry progress in collecting this critical information for determining protection requirements, setting groundwater management priorities, and implementing management initiatives in individual aquifers, particularly for drinking water supplies.

Achievements and Key Issues

The Office of the Auditor General recommended in its 1998/99 report, Protecting Drinking Water Sources, that the province establish a comprehensive and coordinated aquifer mapping and inventory program. The ministry is now a leader in aquifer mapping.

In 2003/04, 82 aquifers were identified and classified, bringing the total number of identified and classified aquifers to 675. Partnerships, which allowed leveraging of resources, enabled the ministry to exceed the target of identifying and classifying an additional 50 aquifers. In recent years, the ministry's target has been to identify and classify approximately 50 aquifers per year. The progress that is made depends on the number of wells in the areas being addressed, the geological information at hand and the number of qualified contractors available to assist in the work.

Future Direction

This measure is not included in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan. The ministry is attempting to reduce its performance measures to focus on a smaller number of key outcome measures. This output measure will continue to be used for internal management purposes.

However, British Columbia has recently formed a partnership with the federal government to conduct aquifer characterization mapping in the Okanagan Valley.

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Objective 4: Reduce/remove toxins and wastes that contaminate land.

This objective addresses the component of Goal 1 that pertains to ensuring clean and safe land. Critical to attaining the objective will be the creation of 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.

Performance Measure:

Number of product categories with industry-led product stewardship

Performance Measure 2003/04 Target 2003/04 Actual 2003/04 Variance
Number of product categories with industry-led product stewardship. 1 additional product category (total of 7). 1 additional product category (used oil products). Target met.
  Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.
 

Benchmark Information: British Columbia is a recognized leader in industry-led product stewardship with seven product categories (paint, used oil products, beverage containers and four other post-consumer residuals). Many other provinces have only one or two products managed through industry-led product stewardship. (Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.)

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Many provincial and international jurisdictions are encouraging development of industry-led product stewardship programs in order to expand producer responsibility for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products. Efforts tend to focus on reducing waste from product categories that pose relatively high risks to the environment. Hence, this measure of the number of product categories with industry-led product stewardship should be a reasonable indicator of success in attaining the objective. In time, the ministry may move to an outcome-based measure, such as product recovery rate.

Achievements and Key Issues

The ministry is responsible for the approval of the initial product stewardship plans developed by industry groups and the review of annual performance results.

In July 2003, an industry-led product stewardship program for recycling used oil was launched. The BC Used Oil Management Association is now accountable for used oil, used filters and empty oil containers, which can be returned to more than 400 approved collection depots located across the province. From July 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004, the estimated volumes of used oil materials collected are nearly 26 million litres of oil, nearly 2.5 million oil filters and nearly 0.5 million kilograms of empty oil containers.

This performance measure is easy to monitor at minimal cost. One limitation, though, is that the ministry is not solely responsible for attaining the targets related to this measure, and so cannot be totally accountable for its achievement. Performance targets are based on the expected lead time for industry-led product stewardship programs to be developed for additional product categories.

Future Direction

Governments and industry across Canada are working together to seek common solutions for dealing with electronic waste. It is estimated that more than 2,150 tractor-trailer loads of computers, monitors, printers, TVs, stereos and other equipment are now sent to urban landfills in the province each year. After lead-acid batteries, electronic waste is the second biggest source of heavy metals in landfills, posing new challenges to municipalities.

British Columbia is leading a task group through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) toward the development of a common set of guiding principles for the development of an electronic product stewardship program. These principles may provide greater certainty to industries as they move to develop this new initiative. In tandem with Alberta's e-recycling initiative, British Columbia and Alberta have been working closely to explore the feasibility of developing a common set of product listings, fees and vendor qualifications for electronic waste processing standards.

Objective 5: Effective response to high-risk environmental emergencies.

Responding to environmental emergencies is an area in which the ministry is implementing its shift to focusing on high-risk issues. Like Objective 1 above, this objective pertains to all components of Goal 1, encompassing air, water and land. The ministry is undertaking a range of strategies to achieve this objective, including clarifying roles and responsibilities for flood hazard management; working with others to respond effectively to high-risk environmental emergencies; expanding industry responsibility for spill response and clean-up; and testing emergency response plans.

Performance Measure:

Percentage of high-risk environmental emergencies responded to effectively

Performance Measure 2003/04 Target 2003/04 Actual 2003/04 Variance
Percentage of high-risk environmental emergencies responded to effectively. 100% 100% Target met.
  Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.
 

Benchmark Information: The proportion of spills responded to by the ministry has declined from nearly 20% before the ministry's transition to focusing on high-risk spills to less than 10% currently. (Source: Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.)

Rationale for the Performance Measure

The shift to focusing on high-risk issues is being achieved by increasing the use of partnerships and expanding industry responsibility for responding to low- and medium-risk spills. This outcome measure was introduced in the 2003/04 – 2005/06 Service Plan to monitor the ministry's effectiveness in attaining the objective of responding effectively to high-risk environmental spills, for which it has responsibility to respond. Due to the importance of responding effectively to high-risk spills, the performance target was set at 100%.

Achievements and Key Issues

During the past two years, the ministry made considerable progress toward shifting the responsibility for low- and medium-risk spills to industry, local governments and other partners. The responsible party addressing a low- or medium-risk spill will report how impacts were mitigated to enable further monitoring and evaluation. In 2003/04, an important area of focus was to clarify what spills are "high risk" and should therefore be responded to by the ministry. In June 2003, a Risk-Based Spill Assessment Model was implemented for identifying high-risk spills. From July 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004, there were 2,633 reports of hazardous materials spills, and the ministry responded to all 162 high-risk spills.

Future Direction

This performance measure was introduced to assess ministry performance in addressing high-risk environmental spills during a time of major transition in the program area. The transition has been done in such a way that the ministry is able to contract for the resources required to respond effectively to high-risk spills and bill the costs to the responsible parties. While still relevant, this measure may be more appropriate as an operating measure and may not be included in future Service Plans.

The ministry is monitoring the use of the new Risk-Based Spill Assessment Model to ensure that it is accurately identifying the high-risk spills. The ministry is also working with local governments, industry, emergency response organizations (such as the Canadian Coast Guard), and other partners to improve the effectiveness of the response to all spills. In addition, preparation of the Flood Hazard Area Land Use Management Guidelines is nearing completion. The guidelines support the new flood hazard management framework.

 

  
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