QUARTERLY ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT SUMMARY 2nd Quarter 2008 (April 1 - June 30) Protecting the Splendor of our Natural Places Highlights The Quarterly Environmental Enforcement Summary for Q2 2008 outlines 8 orders 41 Administrative Sanctions, 463 Tickets, and 16 Court Convictions and for a combined total of almost $140,000 in penalties. Notable Highlights this Quarter: The Ministry of Environment introduced the Environmental (Species and Public Protection) Amendment Act which amends the Wildlife Act and the Environmental Management Act, allowing provisions for: - increasing (doubling, on average) maximum fines and penalties for all offences under the Wildlife Act; - filling in regulatory gaps for managing alien species and helping to protect both the public and native wildlife; - increasing Park Ranger's authority to monitor hunting and fishing activities; - clarifying the scope of the government’s authority concerning spill response and cost recovery, and; - improving general regulation-making powers for results-based regulations and minister’s codes of practice under the Environmental Management Act. As part of ongoing efforts to address damages to sensitive habitat areas, the following actions were reported out this quarter: Penticton resident Victor Fitzgerald pled guilty to two charges of removing soil from his property and placing it in Okanagan Lake resulting in a substantial silt plume. The court ordered him to pay a total of $20,000, with $19,000 of that going to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF). Fitzgerald's contractor – Wildstone Engineering and Construction Ltd. – also pled guilty to one count and was ordered to pay a fine of $500 plus $9,500 to the HCTF. The Conservation Officer Service (COS) has been working with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts and the Ministry of Forests and Range to raise public awareness about the damaging impacts that “mud-bogging” and other off- road activities can have on sensitive wetlands, grasslands, and subalpine areas. In 2007, new ticketing provisions were made available to the COS through section 46 (1.1) of the Forest and Range Practices Act. This summary highlights a total of 21 tickets issued by the COS as part of the cooperative compliance and enforcement strategy government is taking to support habitat protection. 2008 Quarter 2 Quarterly Environmental Enforcement Summary Table of Contents Table of Contents Orders .................................................................................... 1 Administrative Sanctions ....................................................... 3 Tickets .................................................................................... 7 Tickets – other provincial and federal statutes ..................... 14 Court Convictions ................................................................... 24 Cross Reference Guide ........................................................... 26 2008 Quarter 2 Quarterly Environmental Enforcement Summary Orders Issued To Location Act Reg. Section Description Henard Holdings Quesnel Environmental 77 Information Order Ltd. Management Act Information Order issued to prevent pollution from occurring due to a malfunctioning subsurface disposal field at the Park Village Trailer Park. The Order required the owner/operator to: (1) submit to the Ministry within 1 day an account of actions taken and further plans for immediately curtailing the discharge to the disposal field; and, (2) submit to MoE staff a report from a qualified professional assessing the cause of the disposal field malfunction and the effluent surfacing over the field, and a plan for remediation. Pope and Talbot Mackenzie Environmental 77 Information Order Ltd. - MacKenzie Management Act Information Order issued to prevent pollution to soil and groundwater from the mill's operations. MoE Pulp Operations staff ordered that Pope and Talbot submit all information in its possession relating to the substances used, stored, treated or introduced or caused or allowed to be introduced to the environment in the course of the mill's operation that can be used to assess the extent of contamination and/or impact on the site. Dekker, Pieter and Prince George Environmental 81 Pollution Prevention Order Teunie Management Act Pollution Prevention Order issued requiring the following conditions be met to prevent pollution from occurring at their sewage lagoon: (1) immediately lower and maintain the storage lagoon and stabilize lagoon freeboards to permitted levels; (2) provide a report to MoE staff describing the volume of effluent removed, date of removal, name of septic hauler hired, and name of the approved facility accepting the effluent; (3) install a meter to record daily lagoon freeboard levels and submit a monthly report of these levels to MoE staff; (4) provide a contingency plan prepared by a qualified professional for preventing any further unauthorized discharges and for meeting permit requirements; and, (5) no effluent may be discharged by spray irrigation until all permit requirements are met. Leo Steiner and Atlin Environmental 81 Pollution Prevention Order Klondike Heliskiing Management Act Pollution Prevention Order issued requiring the following conditions be met to prevent pollution from Ltd. occurring at various sites within the heliskiing operation's tenure, including on top of frozen lakes. Inspections revealed that improper handling and storage of fuel drums that could contaminate various lakes and associated water bodies. The company was ordered to: (1) locate all fuel drums and other materials from the lakes and land on which they currently reside and remove them in a manner whereby fuel is not allowed to escape to the environment; (2) collect and remove the barrels and any other materials associated with the operation in the following manner: (i) remove all drums and litter located atop or immediately adjacent to lakes, streams, wetlands or other water bodies within 14 days; (ii) remove all drums and litter located on land within 30 days; (iii) all drums and litter collected and removed must be deposited or stored properly in authorized locations; and, (3) submit to MoE staff within 45 days written documentation regarding the current spill response and notification procedures established by Klondike Heliskiing. Donald Engelsjord, Prince George Environmental 83 Pollution Abatement Order Michael Perry, Management Act Pollution Abatement Order was issued requiring that the following conditions be met to stop pollution Christopher Perry from occurring at the warehousing site: (1) within 4 business days, submit a detailed plan, prepared and Interior by a qualified professional, outlining measures implemented to prevent the spread of contaminants off Warehousing Ltd. the property and a remediation plan for the removal of hazardous substances from the property and identifying facilities to which the material will be delivered; (2) within the 4 days, a meeting must be held with Ministry of Environment staff to discuss the plan; (3) within 1 business day after the initial meeting with MoE staff initiate site remediation as per the plan developed; and, (4) submit a final report detailing the remediation of the site including analytical results of sampled materials within 30 days upon completion. 2008 Quarter 2 Quarterly Environmental Enforcement Summary Page 1 Orders Issued To Location Act Reg. Section Description Brewer, Thomas Burns Lake Water Act 88 Water Act Order Engineer's Order issued to the property owner for the unauthorized alteration of a swamp connected to Francois Lake. The Order required property owner to: (1) cease and discontinue any further works that may cause or allow further erosion into Francois Lake; (2) cease and discontinue any further works within the swamp adjacent to Francois Lake; and, (3) submit to MoE staff a Site Remediation Plan prepared by a Qualified Professional Engineer and/or Qualified Environmental Professional within 6 weeks. The Site Remediation Plan must contain: (i) immediate application of measures to close the connecting ditch between the swamp and Francois Lake; (ii) salvage of fish and fry that have entered the swamp from the lake; (iii) immediate application of measures required to protect the site from further surface erosion, eliminate further soil movement to the lake, and stabilize the slopes from continued failure; (iv) all measures required to re-establish riparian vegetation for stream function and habitat values; (v) all measures to promote ongoing soil and slope stability; and, (vi) advise MoE staff upon completion of this project. McConaghy, Prince George Water Act 88 Water Act Order James and Engineer's Order issued to the property owner for substantial unauthorized alteration of a dam in Margaret Bertuschi Creek, which is causing risk to the dam structure and detrimental downstream watershed conditions due to an increased sediment load. The Order required the property owners to: (1) cease and discontinue any further works that may cause damage to Bertuschi Creek Dam or allow further erosion into Bertuschi Creek; (2) lower the level of the reservoir so that no water is entering or leaving the spillway; (3) remove all debris from the entrance of the spillway; (4) immediately apply measures to protect the site from further surface erosion, eliminate further soil movement to the creek channel, and stabilize the slopes from continued failure; and, (5) submit to MoE staff a Site Remediation Plan prepared by a Qualified Professional Engineer and/or Qualified Environmental