British Columbia

"I have some patients whose symptoms I can’t explain," physician Ulrike Meyer said, describing nosebleeds, rare cancers, and respiratory illness among a dearth of data.

British Columbia is seeking to enhance its regulatory spill response regime across the province by way of a phased approach. Phase 2 is currently under way, and comments on this process are due by the end of April 2018.

The British Columbia government is moving forward with the second phase of spill regulations, announcing further stakeholder engagement on important elements such as spill response in sensitive areas and geographic response plans.

On 30 October 2017, the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy repealed and replaced the Spill Reporting Regulation. The new regulation expands the circumstances under which spill reports must be provided to the province and increases the information they must contain.

Some companies transporting certain petroleum-based products in British Columbia will have to comply with new spill preparedness and response requirements, after amendments made to the Environmental Management Act (EMA) came into force on 30 October.