Enviromental Appeals Board 10th anniversary report 1993 -2003 Enviromental Appeals Board Suite 306, Peace Hills Trust Tower | 10011 - 109 Street | Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3S8 ISSN #1206-8063 Printed in Canada design: schroeder design group | 780 487 7537 | www.schroederdesign.ca Enviromental10th anniversary report Appeals| 1993 -2003Board Table of Contents 4 Transmittal Letter 5 Introduction 7 Message from the Chair 10 Background 13 Deference to the Board 15 Board Membership 21 Board Staff 23 Board Accommodations 25 Mission Statement 26 Operating Principles 27 Core Business 29 General Objectives 31 Strategies 32 Acts/Regulations 33 Rules of Practice 35 Appeal Process 36 Public Documents 38 Public Presentations 46 Board Accomplishments 49 Statistics 53 Finances 54 Mediation 55 Directly Affected 57 Partnership Conference 61 Costs 62 Key Environmental Challenges 65 APPENDIX A 68 APPENDIX B 75 APPENDIX C Enviromental Appeals Board Introduction September 1, 2003, marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Environmental Appeals Board. In recognition of this, the Board has prepared this document entitled Alberta Environmental Appeals Board 10th Anniversary Report 1993 2003, which summarizing our work and accomplishments. The report contains a description of the development, purpose, structure, and function of the Environmental Appeals Board. It includes an explanation of the appeal process, statistics on the appeals filed, and a summary of the Board's finances. It also discusses the Board's operating principles, objectives, and strategies. Finally, the report includes a number of brief essays on practice before the Board and a summary of the Board's decisions. From September 1, 1993 to September 1, 2003, the Board received 1,129 appeals. In processing these appeals, the Board has worked diligently to advance the protection, enhancement and wise use of Alberta's environment by providing fair, impartial and efficient resolution of all matters before it. note to readers In the fall of 2003, the Board changed its name from the Environmental Appeal Board to the Environmental Appeals Board. This change took place to reflect the Board's ability to deal with many different types of appeals, as well as to clearly communicate to the public that the Board can combine appeals under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and Water Act. The ability to combine appeals will not only increase efficiency and effectiveness, but decrease costs the Board may incur. On January 1, 2002, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, R.S.A. 2000, c.E-12, replaced the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, S.A. 1992, c. E-13.3. On January 1, 2002, the Water Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. W-3, replaced the Water Act, S.A. 1996, c.W-3.5. On January 1, 2002, the Government Organization Act, R.S.A. 2000, replaced the c.G-10, Government Organization Act, S.A. 1994, c.G-8.5 10th anniversary report | 1993 -2003 5 Enviromental Appeals Board Message from the Chair It has been a great pleasure and honour to serve the people of Alberta as Chair of the Environmental Appeals Board for the first ten years of its existence. It has been a challenging and rewarding experience. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who have made this possible. First and foremost, I want to thank my wife, Sandra, and my children for all of their support. Without them, none of this would be possible. Second, I want to thank all of the Board Members who have served on the Board throughout the years. I am grateful for their support, their expert skill, and their sound judgment. In particular, I want to thank Dr. John Ogilive, the Board's Vice Chair until his retirement in 2002. John has been, and remains, a great source of inspiration and practical advice. Third, I want to thank the Board's staff members for every- thing that they do. They epitomize teamwork, and their dedication and commitment never cease to amaze me. I can think of no greater testament to the Board's staff than the comments I receive from parties appearing before the Board, that they have been treated fairly and respectfully. I also want to thank the Government of Alberta and all of the various Ministers that I have worked with throughout the years for their support of the Board. Starting with Premier Klein who, as Minister of Environment, provided the leadership and vision to enact the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and establish the Environmental Appeals Board. Following Premier Klein, was the Honourable Brian Evans, the Honourable Ty Lund, the Honourable Gary Mar, and the Honourable Halvar Johnson. Each provided steadfast support for the Board. Most recently, it has been my great pleasure to work with the Honourable Dr. Lorne Taylor. Dr. Taylor has been a great champion of the environment and continues to provide us with a clear vision and strong leadership. creation and growth of the board The Board was created in 1993 when the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act was proclaimed. The Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, which replaced and consolidated nine statues, was developed through an extensive public consultation process. It was through this consultation process that the government, members of the public, business, and industry called for the establishment of the Board, with specialized expertise and technical competence, to provide for an independent review of decisions made by Alberta Environment. As Premier Klein stated when he 10th anniversary report | 1993 -2003 7 introduced the legislation, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act includes "…opportu- nities for appeals for parties directly affected by decisions through the creation of an environmental appeal board. The board will provide an independent review of the decisions made by directors and other people within the department to provide a system of checks and balances on those decisions." (Hansard, June 4, 1992, page 1184.) In 1993, when we began, we received six appeals. At the time, it seemed like a lot. Since then, our workload has continued to grow and the issues that we are dealing with have become more complex. We initially heard only appeals under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. However, in 1996 we were assigned to hear appeals under the environmental provisions of the Government Organization Act and in 1999 we were assigned to hear appeals under the new Water Act. I am grateful to the Legislature for their vote of confidence in us and I have no doubt the expanded jurisdiction that we were granted was the result of the hard work by the Board's members and staff. With the additional jurisdiction assigned to us, last year (fiscal 2002/2003), we received 152 appeals and in the first six months of this year, we received 122 appeals, with almost 200 appeals anticipated by years end (fiscal 2003/2004). In total, between September 1, 1993 and September 1, 2003, we have received a total of 1,129 appeals. When I look back over the last ten years, at all the things we have accomplished, I am confident that the Board has met and exceeded the expectations of the Government and the citizens of Alberta. innovation and the future One of the key reasons that we have been able to meet and exceed these expectations is that we are always looking for a better way to do things. One of these "better ways" is our mediation program. Shortly after I was appointed to the Board, I was asked how I was going to deal with the appeals that came before the Board. At the top of my list was the use of mediation. As I was examining ways to incorporate mediation into the Board's appeal process, I was referred to Dr. Larry Susskind, President of the Consensus Building Institute and Director of the MIT/Harvard Public Disputes Resolution Program at Harvard Law School. It took me some time to get in contact with Dr. Susskind, but eventually I had the opportunity meet with him and discuss my ideas about mediation. I will always be grateful for his assistance. With Dr. Susskind's guidance, and through a lot of hard work by the Board members and Board staff, we have been able to develop a very successful and first of its kind mediation program at the Board. We have never looked back. Mediation provides an opportunity for the parties to resolve their own dispute without the necessity of the Board's hearing process. It is a quick and cost efficient process that gives the parties greater control over the outcome of their appeals. Our mediation program currently has an 81% success rate, and we continue to look for ways to improve and expand the program. In keeping with the Board's commitment to mediation and coming up with better ways to do things, the Board has held two conferences in conjunction with the Consensus Building Institute, Indian and Enviromental Appeals Board Northern Affairs Canada, Alberta Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, and the Alberta Solicitor General Aboriginal Justice Initiatives Unit. The purpose of these conferences was to provide opportunities for stakeholders to develop a better understanding of mediation and to provide opportunities to build relationships aimed at the better resolution of disputes, particularly those involving First Nations. These conferences have been an outstanding success and the Board is com- mitted to holding further conferences to further these goals. The Board has found a number of other better ways to improve our ability to carry out our mandate. Our decisions are widely reported in several leading legal reporting series, as well as available on the internet through the Board's website and commercial on-line sources. We have recently completed renovations to our hearing room to allow for state of the art multimedia presentations.