On June 22, British Columbia’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources proposed a series of changes to the province’s Mines Act aimed at streamlining the permitting process and increasing the government’s ability to hold mines accountable for not following regulations.

The changes proposed by the ministry are based on recommendations from the Mining Jobs Task Force – a review of the industry established by the government in February 2018 – as well as recommendations from a report by B.C.’s Office of the Auditor General released almost two years after the August 2014 Mount Polley tailings dam disaster, which resulted in an estimated 10 million cubic metres of slurry spilling into the Cariboo region of B.C., causing severe damage to the local environment, and which saw no charges laid

Chief among these changes is the creation of the chief permitting officer position, which would be distinct from the chief inspector of mines. Previously, the responsibility for permitting and safety concerns would fall to one person.

“The idea within the ministry is to separate the statutory accountability for permitting from health and safety,” Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Bruce Ralston told CIM Magazine. “The chief inspector will focus on health, safety and enforcement accountabilities and the chief permitting officer will be responsible for permitting decisions on the Mines Act.”

According to Ralston, under the current system there can be potential conflicts between permitting and health and safety, where safety concerns might be given a backseat to the pressure of obtaining the permits needed to begin work on a site. “The feeling in the Auditor General’s report and the recognition of the Mining Jobs Task Force was that this was a good way to achieve that separation of functions so that there’s an inherent tension between the two,” he said.

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From the industry perspective, the creation of the chief permitting officer has potential to improve efficiency in the sector. Permitting is often a slow and arduous process for miners, so according to Mining Association of B.C. (MABC) president Michael Goehring, this change will allow for a timelier and less complex regulatory regime.

“From our perspective, it’s our hope that this will be a good thing,” Goehring said. “You’ll have someone who’s solely responsible for all permits being issued, [and] they’ll still go out to the site. But we see this as holding potential to support annual efforts on efficiency and effectiveness –  for there to be one decision maker who will push efficiency and effectiveness in permitting, which from our perspective in the sector is very important.”

In addition to the creation of the chief permitting officer, the new legislation will also “strengthen the government’s investigation authorities [and] clarify offence provisions” as well as increase the limitation period from three to five years in both the Mines Act and the Environmental Management Act, which essentially allows more time for the chief inspector to apply penalties for failing to comply with the act. The government will also create a mines audits and effectiveness unit which will be tasked with ensuring that mining regulation in the province matches global best practices.

“I think that as a result of the Mount Polley Investigation, there was a feeling that the investigative powers and resources within the ministry were not as effective as they could be,” Ralston said. “So generally, the focus is on strengthening regulation, but the concern is to make it as effective, [and] as functional as possible and not create unnecessary regulatory barriers.”

While Ralston said that there was the possibility of some pushback from the industry regarding regulatory red tape, there has been no opposition to the changes in the B.C. legislature, where the vote on the amendments’ second reading passed unanimously.

“That would suggest to me that it’s not overly controversial,” Ralston said.

According to Goehring, the government has been consulting with MABC on the changes to the act over the past year, and, from an industry perspective, the revisions have improved  from when they began. Additionaly, Goehring said, B.C.’s mining industry appreciates the oversight.

“B.C.’s mining industry already operates to some of the world’s toughest regulatory standards,” Goehring said. “This legislation really formalizes changes within the ministry that have been in play for some time. [In] B.C.’s mining sector we support high standards, we support accountability, and we support an efficient regulatory process that engenders public confidence. And the amendments in the Mines Act as it’s tabled formalize changes that the ministry has taken over the last year to support those goals.”