Whereas the Province of British Columbia is pursuing regulations to restrict the transport of diluted bitumen until such time as adequate safeguards are in place to protect coastal communities and waterways from the harm caused by oil spills; And whereas the impacts of oil spills on local communities are severe, including: costs relating to emergency response, clean-up and recovery; damage and loss of enjoyment of shoreline areas; damage to biological diversity of plant and animal species; reduced property values; public health impacts; and economic losses in tourism, fishing and other sectors: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM endorse the efforts of the Province of British Columbia to introduce regulations that will safeguard coastal communities and waterways from harm caused by oil spills.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy The Province of British Columbia recognizes the unique challenges faced by local governments confronted with the direct risks and costs of spill incidents and their critical role in first response. The Province is committed to ensuring a collaborative approach to spill preparedness, response and recovery in developing effective and efficient rules for spill management throughout B.C. While the responsibility for marine spills rests with federal agencies, a spill of any significance will impact and involve all orders of government. The Province is encouraged by the work the Federal Government is undertaking to strengthen protection of B.C.s coastal and marine environments under the Oceans Protection Plan, a 1.5 billion investment over five years in coastal protections. In support of improving spill management in B.C., in 2017, the Province established improved standards for spill preparedness for liquid petroleum products across transportation sectors while requiring stringent response and environmental recovery actions from all spillers. Further policy review is underway on a variety of measures to ensure that concerns regarding response times, geographic response plans, loss of public and cultural use impacts and coastal protection are adequately addressed, with policy and regulations planned for 2019. Government has referred a jurisdictional question to the courts regarding B.C.s ability to regulate the impacts of heavy oil transportation. Court hearings on this case are expected in March 2019. B.C. will continue to engage with federal, local and Indigenous authorities as well as industry and other key stakeholders on spill management as B.C.s regulatory framework is strengthened.