Partnership Committee
on Agriculture and the Environment

10 POINT ACTION PLAN

British Columbia's farmers continue to make significant strides on environmental sustainability, and are committed to stewardship and peer review processes to achieve compliance with environmental guidelines and regulations.

The ministers of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and of Environment, Lands and Parks and the B.C. Agriculture Council will work together to find solutions which serve the interests of agriculture and the environment, and which recognize and support the vital contributions the agriculture industry makes to the province of British Columbia.

Therefore, we are committed to the following action points to help resolve farmers' concerns about the environmental requirements that fall under provincial authority:

1. Current consultations with farmers on environmental issues will be consolidated and accomplished through a single-window process.
2. The consultations will be coordinated by a joint working committee of staff from Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Ministry of Environment and the B.C. Agriculture Council. Other levels of government will also be encouraged to participate in this process.
3. B.C. government staff will prepare a summary of existing environmental regulations and guidelines which affect farmers, for review by the working committee.
4. B.C. government staff will also prepare a complete list of current environmental issues that impact on agriculture and a clear statement of government's objectives on each issue. The joint working committee will develop a consultation process for these initiatives.
5. The Province will consider the financial impact of future environmental initiatives which affect agriculture.
6. The Province is committed to reducing red tape and to streamlining processes and will ask the joint working committee to identify areas where environmental processes can be reduced or eliminated while still protecting the environment.
7. B.C. government staff will prepare draft guidelines on ditch maintenance by the end of April for discussion with BCAC and with other levels of government. These guidelines will balance farmers' needs for irrigation and drainage with the the need to maintain fish habitat.
8. The two ministries will develop a memorandum of understanding that will result in Ministry of Agriculture and Lands staff providing technical policy support to Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks enforcement staff on agriculture issues, to be in place by the end of May.
9. The ministers will bring farmers' environmental concerns to the Cabinet Committee on Fisheries meeting this spring.
10. The Province and industry will work together toward resolving outstanding environmental issues in a timely manner and not later than October 1998 and will report to the ministers at that time.

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