Editorial, Times-Colonist, July 9, 2011

British Columbians count on the government to protect the environment when big developments - mines, resorts, power projects and the like - are proposed. And the government has maintained that its process is rigorous and effective.

That, it turns out, is not true. The government's environmental assessment process is seriously flawed and does not provide the protection that the public has been promised. The problems are serious and should have been evident to anyone in government paying attention.

Auditor general John Doyle delivered a scathing report on the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office this week.

The office reviews all major projects in B.C. It's currently overseeing the assessment of more than $30 billion worth of projects in the province, including the Raven coal mine proposed for Fanny Bay.

The office has only rejected one out of 204 projects it has reviewed since 1995.

When the office approves a project, it issues an environmental assessment certificate. Those certificates include commitments the developer is legally required to meet. The measures are intended to reduce environmental damage.

The auditor general's review focused on what happened after projects were approved.

The answer is not much. The audit found the Environmental Assessment Office doesn't know if the conditions it imposes in approving projects are "measurable and enforceable." The wording is weak and written in a way that makes it difficult to hold companies to account for their actions.

And, in any case, the office doesn't monitor the projects to see if the companies are meeting the conditions set out in the certificate, and doesn't check to see whether the environment is actually being protected.

A pilot program saw inspectors actually visit project sites to determine if the conditions were being met and determine whether they were achieving environmental goals. It was useful, but abandoned.

Instead, the office relies largely on voluntary compliance reporting by the companies or developers. But Doyle found some companies didn't submit the required reports and the office didn't formally track the responses.

The environmental assessment office also fails to proide enough information to the public to allow accountaility, the audit found.

These are serious failings. Major projects are important for the province. They provide economic growth and, in many cases, jobs. An effective, timely approval process is needed.

But governments have pledged to ensure that the benefits and costs would be considered before the projects were approved and that companies would be required to take the necessary steps to protect the environment. The government would stand up for the public interest.

It has not been doing an adequate job, according to the auditor general.

Environment Minister Terry Lake should respond quickly, and with a commitment for major reforms.

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