WHEREAS the provincial Environmental Management Branch has been responsible for a wide array of environmental management regulatory programs, including environmental emergency response and spill reporting, but is now limiting their spill response to local governments based on resources available and sensitivity of the spill; AND WHEREAS local governments do not have the in-house expertise or financial resources necessary to respond to and evaluate the hazards associated with spills that occur on public or private property within the local government boundaries: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province allocate adequate funding for the provincial Environmental Management Branch that will ensure that all spills that occur in the province can be evaluated for hazards and environmental impact by the Environmental Management Branch and be responded to by the trained professionals at the Environmental Management Branch including any remediation necessary, rather than relying on local governments to take the lead.
Ministry of Environment Under the Emergency Program Act, local authorities must prepare or cause to be prepared local emergency plans respecting preparation for, response to and recovery from emergencies and disasters. Ministry of Environment is designated under the Emergency Management Program Regulation as the lead ministry for hazardous material spills and is to provide professional and technical advice and direction at hazardous material or pollution spills. The Ministrys Environmental Emergency Program EEP receives reports of spills in the province and determines the level of response required based on an initial risk assessment. The EEP provides regulatory oversight, technical assistance, and may take over the management of a spill response if the responsible party i.e. the spiller is unable, unwilling, unidentified or is deemed not to be providing the appropriate level of response required. The program has undertaken a review of existing environmental emergency legislation and is currently evaluating options that could address the issues raised in this resolution. Local governments continue to have a role to play in spill response within their communities to ensure public safety, protect municipal infrastructure and mitigate the effects of spills wherever possible example: fire department and public works until the responsible party or ministry-directed spill response contractors can arrive on-scene. EEP staff will continue to assist local governments as requested and ensure appropriate actions are undertaken by the responsible party to address the spill incident. Where no responsible party exists, EEP staff will fulfill their role in ensuring appropriate response occurs either directly or through the use of spill response contractors.