Domestic Water-User Input in Forest Development Planning in the Nelson Forest Region
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.
Domestic Water-User Input in Forest Development Planning in the Nelson Forest Region
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
Administrative Review Procedures
Section 189(3) of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act allows the Forest Practices Board to report to government and the public on matters related to Board duties. In considering whether or not to issue such a report, the Board considers a number of factors, including whether a report would serve the public interest by:
- helping to improve forest management
- helping to sustain public confidence in forest management
- encouraging fair and consistent application of the Forest Practices Code, and/or
- clarifying the interpretation or application of the Code.
The aim of the following report is to suggest changes to reform in the way that some administrative reviews are conducted, in order to enhance public confidence in the new forest practices regulatory system.
