In August 1996, the Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance (the Alliance), an advocacy group for water-users, filed a complaint with the Forest Practices Board about the district manager’s approvals of operational plans in the Arrow Forest District. The Alliance asserted that the district manager should not have approved operational plans for at least 10 watersheds that supply domestic water because there had been no participation by water licensees in watershed assessments. A watershed assessment is an analytical procedure that helps forest managers anticipate water-related problems that may exist in a watershed. It identifies possible hydrological implications of proposed forestry-related development in a watershed.
The Alliance maintained that water licensees should have had the opportunity to participate in watershed assessments, regardless of whether or not the watersheds were designated as "community watersheds" under the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act (the Act). The Board investigated the complaint and acknowledged that there was some basis for such an expectation. However, there was no legal requirement for water-user participation. Nevertheless, the Board concluded that the issue of protection of domestic water supplies remains important, so the Board decided to examine the opportunities available under the Act and related regulations (the Code) for domestic water-users to have input into operational planning. The Board's report deals specifically with the Nelson Forest Region, where the complaint arose.
In July 2000, the Board received a complaint from the Valhalla Wilderness Society - Forest Watch (the complainant) about a road being constructed within the riparian management area of a wetland. Slocan Forest Products Ltd. (the licensee) was constructing road to harvest timber in the Hasty Creek watershed. Hasty Creek supplies domestic water to about 50 residences. Area residents fear that forest practices will damage their water supply, especially if the area's wetlands are not protected.
This investigation is about the adequacy of the public review and comment opportunity for Pope and Talbot's (the licensee) 2001-2005 forest development plan (FDP) for Tree Farm Licence 8 and Forest Licence A18969, in the Boundary Forest District. The complainant asked the licensee to provide him with a printed copy of the FDP and maps. The licensee offered to e-mail the text of the plan to the complainant, and to provide copies of maps or a printed copy of the FDP for a nominal charge. The complainant did not consider that to be reasonable. The complainant said the plan and maps were essential to understand the FDP, the ministry's land and forest management agenda, and the subsequent incremental and cumulative impacts on the environment.
On April 5, 2001, the Board received a complaint about the construction of the BC Gas southern crossing pipeline across Barclay Creek, near Fruitvale, BC. The complainant was concerned that pipeline construction activities during the summer and fall of 2000 disturbed Barclay Creek and seriously impacted his water supply. The complainant also asserted that government enforcement was inappropriate because government permitted BC Gas to disturb Barclay Creek in contravention of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act. Finally, the complainant asserted that remediation activities had not been carried out.
This letter constitutes the Board's report of conclusions and reasons after an investigation into a complaint submitted by Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance on August 21, 1996. The complainant said that the Arrow Forest District had accepted and approved cutting permits and road building permits in at least ten consumptive use watersheds in the Slocan Valley. The complainant considered that to be inappropriate because water users had not been involved in planning and decision making through advisory committees in watershed assessments.
