WHEREAS on June 22, 2006, local governments were notified that key transport development initiatives in northern British Columbia will potentially result in a high level of risk for uncontrollable major spills resulting from the transport of hazardous goods; AND WHEREAS existing private hazardous material response resources are located far away from the North, causing actual deployment of qualified personnel to take days to reach the North in sufficient strength; AND WHEREAS the initial burden to respond to hazardous spill incidents rests with the local communities and minimal agency resources: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities urge the provincial and federal governments to take measures to improve the rural community response capacity in light of the potential increase in hazardous goods traffic.
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT Local governments are responsible for planning and preparing for the hazards and risks that face their communities. The Ministry of Environment Ministry currently supports local governments on hazardous materials issues and incidents, as required, through the regionally based Environmental Emergency Response Officers, and through two ministry Incident Management Teams. The Ministrys Environmental Emergencies Program has commenced a review of the existing Environmental Emergency Legislation and will be seeking comment on any proposed changes via a policy intentions paper. The creation of an industry funded response cooperative for hazardous material spills is one of the issues that has been flagged for consideration in the review.