Crown Land Restoration Branch
Branch Summary
Branch Objectives
Key objectives of the CLRB include:
- Contaminated sites that are the responsibility of the Province are managed to eliminate human health risks, enhance environmental sustainability and foster economic development;
- Accurate recording of financial liabilities related to provincial contaminated sites;
- Increase the flow of economic and social benefits to British Columbians that may result from the restoration of Crown land; and,
- Increase reporting and accountability of the management of provincial contaminated sites.
Key strategies of the CLRB include:
- Identify, prioritize, and assess potential contaminated sites using a scientifically valid cross-government risk-based approach;
- Direct and fund remediation of priority contaminated sites that pose the greatest risk to human health and the environment;
- Manage other contaminated sites to address provincial obligations;
- Develop and maintain appropriate policies and procedures for effective Program delivery;
- Identify contingent and actual financial liabilities relating to the Crown Land Restoration Branch;
- Identify opportunities for partnerships in the remediation and development of contaminated sites;
- Develop a strategy to address sites that represent broad liabilities (e.g. legal, financial and public safety) for the Province but are not necessarily contaminated;
- Develop and maintain the Crown Contaminated Sites Database for provincial contaminated sites;
- Undertake regular updates of the Crown Land Restoration Branch website;
- Develop and publish the Crown Contaminated Sites Program Biennial Report; and,
- Promote excellence and accountability for the procurement and management of contracted services.
Remediation Process
The first step in the remediation process of any site is to determine if the parties responsible for the contamination can be identified. MAL supports the principle of "polluter pays" and will undertake thorough research to identify the responsible parties. It is only when the responsible party can not be found, the contamination is on provincial lands and it poses a risk to human health or the environment, that the province may assume responsibility for cleanup.
Under the administration of the Ministry of Environment, the Environmental Management Act and Contaminated Sites Regulation provide a five-part process for managing contaminated sites. The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands uses this process as a guide for the assessment and remediation of Crown contaminated sites. The five-part process is outlined by the Ministry of Environment as follows:
- Site identification and assessment;
- Site investigations (preliminary and detailed) to determine potential contamination;
- Planning appropriate remediation strategies using a risk management approach;
- Implementing site management, monitoring and site remediation activities; and
- Remediation completion and evaluation/monitoring for future action.
Crown Contaminated Sites Database
The Crown Land Restoration Branch initiated the development of a Crown Contaminated Sites Database in 2004. The design of the database is complete and work has begun to populate it with information on provincial contaminated sites. The initial data loaded onto the database include information from the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. The Crown Contaminated Sites Database contains 845 sites and more sites will be added in subsequent years.
The database ensures there is a central province-wide repository of information on all Crown contaminated sites in the province and allows for informed decision-making in determining priority sites and allocating resources.
Work on the Crown Contaminated Sites Database is ongoing and will include tasks such as defining the operational requirements for agencies that contribute information to the database to ensure that it is a useful tool for the general user.
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