Oil and gas operators pass Wildfire Act audit

VICTORIA – An audit of Venturion Oil Limited, ARC Resources Ltd. and Tervita found the companies complied with requirements of the Wildfire Act in the Lower Beaton landscape unit, within the Peace District. Audited activities included mechanical land clearing for facility sites and right of ways, portable wood chipping, and maintenance of right of ways.

“The board randomly selected the Peace District for an audit and decided to look at oil and gas activities, as they are the primary resource operators on the land in this part of the province,” said board chair Tim Ryan.

“We were pleased to find these operators met most legal requirements related to preventing wildfires. We did note some improvement is required in assessing fire hazards, but since the hazards were all addressed on the ground, it was not considered significant. Following our audit, all three companies committed to document hazard assessments in the future.”

The Lower Beatton landscape unit covers 500,000 hectares around the city of Fort St. John. The area is bounded by the Halfway River to the west, the Blueberry River to the north, the Peace River to the south and the Alberta border to the east. These three companies had the only active operations during the audit period.

The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board audits forest and range practices on public lands and appropriateness of government enforcement. It can also make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.

More information can be obtained by contacting:

Darlene Oman
Communications
Forest Practices Board
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899