Crown Land Restoration Branch
Provincial Contaminated Sites Committee
The Provincial Contaminated Sites Committee (PCSC) was established to help identify candidate contaminated sites and determine priorities based on risks to human health and the environment. The PCSC provides a forum for identifying program issues, developing policy, setting priorities, ensuring a coordinated approach, contributing to development of the Crown Contaminated Sites Database and ensuring a consistent approach to reporting of financial liabilities.
The PCSC is comprised of representatives appointed from a number of government agencies with ownership and management responsibilities for provincial lands, and those with a related central agency role. Committee members include:
- Ministry of Labour and Citizens’ Services
- Ministry of Attorney General
- Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
- Ministry of Finance – Risk Management Branch
- Ministry of Finance – Treasury Board Staff
- Ministry of Forests and Range
- Ministry of Transportation
- Office of the Comptroller General
- Crown Agencies Secretariat
- Oil and Gas Commission
- Ministry of Agriculture and Lands – Crown Land Restoration Branch
- Integrated Land Management Bureau
PCSC Agency Profiles – Ongoing Management Activities
Ministry of Forest and Range
Division: Corporate Services Division
Branch: Finance and Management Services – Technical Services Section Branch Contact: Robert Millard
Summary
The ministry has developed a database to track issues relating to properties it has administrative responsibility for or it occupies for program use. The ministry is actively participating on the Provincial Contaminated Sites Committee and will be working with regions to up-date the good house keeping policies and guidelines it has established for the district office operations and will be developing monitoring guidelines as part of this review. Work has started on updating the database.
Major Accomplishments:
The ministry has funded projects to clean up the Fort St. James and Revelstoke District Office sites, the stabilization of the Stony Lake site and monitoring of issues on other district offices. Planning is underway for dealing with contamination on several other sites.
Ministry of Transportation
Division: Highways Department
Branch: Engineering Branch
Branch Contact: Paul Savinkoff
Summary:
1) General Responsibilities of our Salt Management Program:
- Develop, implement and administer a “Salt Management Plan” as required by Environment Canada which entails;
- Producing and updating the BC Ministry of Transportation (MoT) umbrella “Salt Management Plan.”
- Ensuring compliance with the “Best Practices for the Management of Road Salts” as described by the Transportation Association of Canada.
- Reporting to Environment Canada on salt usage by MoT and its contractors in BC
- Identifying and protecting environmentally sensitive areas
- Monitoring and remediating areas known to be contaminated by road salts or potentially at risk (sensitive areas) from contamination by use of road salts (salt storage sites, sites impacted by or have the potential to be impacted by salt usage etc.)
- Initiate, undertake and evaluate background environmental readings with respect to “salts” during project evaluation, construction and post construction phases to determine the effects of project implementation on downstream environmental conditions.
2) We have developed protocols and sampling methods for Metal Leaching and/or Acid Rock Drainage as it pertains to our dealings with excavated, blasted, or quarried bedrock and non-mining projects such as highways, dams, pipelines, and other construction works where significant excavation of rock routinely occurs.
3) We don’t actively look for contaminated sites but we do have an effective reporting system in place (established lines of communication) to address any contaminated issues when recognized during construction/rehabilitation projects on our roads and highways and work on adjacent pipeline or utility right-of-ways, or when reported by other agencies/the public. We will investigate (Stage 1 and 2) and remediate these sites as required (particularly prior to the sale of MoT property).
4) We undertake, evaluate, and assess background environmental readings during project pre-construction, construction, and post construction phases to determine the effects of project implementation on downstream environmental conditions.
Major Accomplishments for 2006:
1) Manage and operate salt storage areas that are sited within MoT gravel pits including;
- Construction of new covered salt sheds including (e.g. Surprise Creek);
- Identifying, costing and creating a prioritized list of potential candidates for construction
- Walls
- Fabric roofing structures
- Hard surfaced floors
- Salt traps and liners
- Annual inspection of structures detailing;
- Maintenance requirements
- Rehabilitation requirements
- Rehabilitation of covered salt storage area’s with respect to roof replacements etc.
- Salt storage sheds and annual maintenance requirements including;
- Cleaning and maintenance of salt traps and liners
- Cleaning (power washing) of fabric roofs and roof truss systems
- Repair of any tears to fabric roof system or replacement of any required roof truss system components.
2) We are presently managing and monitoring seven yard sites for Accommodation and Real Estate Services (Formerly BCBC) including:
- Hagensborg
- Wells
- Jaffray
- Allison Pass
- Honeymoon Creek
- Crawford Bay
- Burns Lake
3) We are presently managing and monitoring groundwater sampling programs at Mathews Road, Mapes Pit, and the Dease Lake landfill. We are also managing and monitoring a potable water sampling program at Blackwater Road.
4) We have secured an environmental consultant to remove UST’s at two cable ropeway sites on Highway. This includes the sampling/removal of any contaminated soils at these locations as a result of leakage.
Integrated Land Management Bureau
Division: Regional Client Services
Branch: Southern Interior Region
Branch Contact: Lorraine Schmidt
Summary:
Crown contaminated sites managed by the Kootenay Regional office of the Integrated Land Management Bureau (ILMB) have been limited to properties forfeited under the Taxation (Rural Area) Act. To date, this has been specific to one industrial property located in the Cranbrook area, occupied by Kootenay Wood Preservers Ltd. (KWP). Operations occurring on the land are related to pressure treatment of wood products, using chromated copper arsenate in the process.
Major Accomplishments:
A Stage 1 Preliminary Site Investigation has been completed and reviewed by the Crown Land Restoration Branch. ILMB is currently working with KWP to establish a short-term tenure for occupation of the site, which will remain in place until the property is redeemed/revested through the Property Tax program.
Other properties will be dealt with on a case by case basis, with the support of the Crown Land Restoration Branch.
