Section 41 of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act (the Act) governs the approval of operational plans to effect forest operations on Crown land. An operational plan in the Act means a forest development plan, logging plan, range use plan, silviculture prescription, stand management prescription and site plan. Section 41(1)(a) states that district managers may only approve an operational plan if it has been prepared according to the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and related regulations (the Code). It also states in section 41(1)(b) that district managers must be satisfied that the plan will “adequately manage and conserve” forest resources in the area of the plan. Section 41 was to be informed by strategic planning as provided for in Part 2 of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act. Without a completed Code, there has been a greater need for discretion in the section 41 decisions by statutory decision-makers.
Forest Practices Code Penalties and Environmental Damage
Section 41 of the Forest Practices Code – Adequate Management and Conservation of Forest Resources
Bridge Maintenance Not Up to Code – Forest Practices Code non-compliances in bridge inspections and maintenance
Bridge Maintenance Not Up to Code – Forest Practices Code non-compliances in bridge inspections and maintenance
The Forest Practices Code has requirements in place to ensure that bridges along logging roads are built, maintained and removed safely and don’t cause harm to the environment or to the people using them. However, bridge maintenance problems are showing up more frequently in the Board’s recent audits.
Over half of all bridges audited by the Forest Practices Board for maintenance obligations in the past two years were not in compliance with the regulations of the Forest Practices Code. In this period alone, three audits have turned up instances of significant non-compliance in the bridge maintenance programs of licensees in British Columbia’s public forests.
A Review of the Forest Development Planning Process in British Columbia
The Forest Development Planning Special Project is a broad-based review of the current status of forest development planning throughout BC. The purpose of the project is to provide a public report about the state of forest development planning and the resulting forest development plans (FDPs) in the province.
Eighteen forest development plans were randomly selected for review: one FDP from each of three forest districts within each of the six forest regions in the province. Included in the three FDPs from each region is one Small Business Forest Enterprise Program (SBFEP) plan. The plans were all approved or in effect during 1999. Data were collected through review of the FDP content and review and comment input contained in the FDPs, as well as from interviews. The project did not include field inspection or verification.
The project methods included:
- comparison of each of the 18 FDPs to an FDP content checklist to assess the degree of Code compliance;
- interviews with 361 individuals including the FDP preparers, legislated FDP approvers, review agencies, First Nations, licensed users, interested parties and the public; and
- review of findings from other Board work (compliance audits, investigations, and reviews) related to forest development planning.
A Review of the Forest Development Planning Process in British Columbia
Enhancing the Board’s Ability to Appeal FDP Approvals
Enhancing the Board’s Ability to Appeal Forest Development Plan Approvals:
- A special report on the need to amend Section 40 of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act and Section 2 of the Administrative Review And Appeal Regulation.
- The Forest Practices Code empowers the Forest Practices Board to appeal certain government decisions to administrative review panels. Among other things, the Board is the only body that can appeal the approval of a forest development plan (FDP).
- This allows the Board to act when it appears that an FDP has been prepared in contravention of the Forest Practices Code. At the request of concerned citizens, or acting of its own accord, the Board can represent the public interest by appealing the approval of the FDP.
- The Board’s ability to appeal FDP approvals is an important safeguard that helps assure the public that FDPs—the highest level of operational plan, which sets the direction for future logging and road construction in a particular area—will meet Code requirements.
Enhancing the Board’s Ability to Appeal FDP Approvals
An Audit of the Government of BC’s Framework for Enforcement of the Forest Practices Code
During development of British Columbia’s Forest Practices Code (the Code), there was public concern about whether forest companies would follow the Code and whether government would enforce it. As a result, the provincial government created the Forest Practices Board to act as an independent watchdog.
In order to audit the appropriateness of government’s enforcement activities, the Board first had to develop an understanding of how government goes about enforcing the Code – what is the infrastructure and what are the processes government has put in place to carry out this responsibility? Accordingly, the Board embarked upon this audit of government’s framework for enforcement of the Code.
This audit consisted of two parts, first a review of the current infrastructure government ministries have in place for enforcement and second, extensive interviews with people involved in Code enforcement, both in the field and at headquarters.
