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Guide to the Preparation of Regional Solid Waste Management Plans by Regional Districts —Part I Revised Edition December 1994
STAGE 1: WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM and OPTIONS
STAGE 3: PLAN PREPARATION and ADOPTION The Waste Management Act (now Environmental Management Act) was amended in 1989 to require that all regional districts submit a solid waste management plan on or before December 31, 1995. On September 13, 1989, Cabinet endorsed a municipal solid waste (MSW) management strategy which called for reducing the amount of municipal solid waste requiring disposal by 50 percent by the year 2000. The essential part of the strategy is the sequential hierarchy of the 3 R's — reduce, reuse, recycle, plus recovery and residual management. Implementation of this strategy is the mandate of the Municipal Waste Reduction Branch, Environmental Protection Department, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (now called Ministry of Environment) and Ministry Responsible for Human Rights and Multiculturalism. The 1992 amendments to the Waste Management Act (now Environmental Management Act)
The MSW Task Force was established in August 1992 to explore the implications of the amendments for all stakeholders and to determine any further action required by the ministry or others to facilitate the development and implementation of regional MSW management plans. One of the main topics of discussion at the Task Force meetings was whether or not regional districts had sufficient plan implementation authority, particularly in terms of controlling the flow of recyclable material and municipal solid waste, under either the Waste Management Act or the Municipal Act. As a result of the discussions, and despite recent amendments to the Municipal Act, the ministry realized that regional districts require additional authority to implement approved plans. This authority will be achieved through legislation as soon as the ministry is authorized to proceed. Regional districts that wish to exercise full authority in the meantime should contact staff at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. The provincial solid waste management strategy includes the following main elements:
As part of the third element, funding assistance is available for the preparation of the regional solid waste management plans (RSWMPs) required by Section 24 of the Environmental Management Act. An underlying purpose of this guide is to assist regional districts and municipalities in deriving maximum benefit from the planning assistance contribution program. The Ministry of Environment wants to work with local governments to restructure the way municipal solid waste is generated and managed, in order to create a sustainable, integrated waste management system. The ministry is therefore prepared to assist local governments in preparing, adopting and implementing RSWMPs. (1) This guide is intended to assist regional districts in preparing or amending RSWMPs. It is also intended to provide guidance to the ministry's regional staff in providing direction to local governments as well as reviewing and approving the plan at various stages. In effect, the guide is a blueprint for reducing the generation of msw requiring disposal in each regional district, thereby helping the province to achieve its 50% reduction goal by the year 2000. (2) The balance of Part 1 provides definitions of certain words and phrases which have specific meaning in the context of the guide, a more detailed interpretation of legislative requirements and authority, a discussion of planning roles and jurisdiction, and a brief description of available financial assistance programs. (3) Part 2 contains the ministry's requirements for development and content of RSWMPs. The requirements in this part are both guidance for and a constraint on managers in their direction to regional districts. Plans prepared in accordance with these requirements should receive approval by the minister. This part of the guide has been signed under Section 5 of the Environmental Management Act by the Executive Director, Environmental Protection Department, as official ministry policy. (4) Part 3 describes the recommended steps and procedures for the planning process from initiation to adoption and implementation of a plan or plan amendment. (5) Part 4 of the Guide includes recommendations on the scope and detail of planning studies associated with the first two stages of plan preparation, and on the content of the plan itself. Plans prepared in accordance with these recommendations should satisfy the requirements in Part 2. For the purpose of this guide, "approved plan" means a plan approved under section 16 (8) of the act; "Act" means the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C. 2003, c 53 "composting" means the controlled biological decomposition of municipal solid waste to a condition sufficiently stable for nuisance-free storage and for safe land application; "disposal" means the introduction of waste into the environment for the purpose of final burial, destruction or placement for future recovery, and does not include reuse or recycling; "hauler license" means a license issued by a regional district, under a bylaw adopted pursuant to an approved plan, to the owner or operator of a vehicle used to pick up, haul or deliver recyclable material or msw within or through the regional district, for the purpose of establishing operating and administrative requirements for the hauler; "household hazardous product" means a substance and any product used to contain it which is explosive, corrosive, flammable, reactive and/or toxic and which originates from residential, commercial, or institutional sources in quantities which are exempted from the application of the Special Waste Regulation by Section 2(6) thereof; "manage"means to handle, dispose of, transport, store, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, treat, process or destroy any substance; "manager" means the Regional Waste Manager in the regional office of the Ministry of Environment in whose jurisdiction the plan area is located; "municipality" means, for purposes of this guide, a municipality other than a regional district; "official plan" includes official community plans and implementing bylaws adopted pursuant to the Municipal Act, and comprehensive development plans; "open burning" means the combustion of any material or solid waste without:
"processing" means any activity necessary for preparing a component of the solid waste stream for reuse, recycling, recovery or residual management; "public advisory committee" means the public solid waste advisory committee established pursuant to section 9; "recovery" means reclaiming of recyclable components and/or energy from the post-collection solid waste stream by various methods including but not limited to manual or mechanical sorting, incineration, distillation, gasification or biological conversion other than composting; "reduction" means decreasing the volume, weight or toxicity of municipal solid waste generated at source, and includes activities which result in more efficient reuse or recycling of primary products or materials, but does not include only compacting or otherwise densifying the waste; "recycler license" means a license issued by a regional district, under a bylaw adopted pursuant to an approved plan, to the owner or operator of a site or facility involved in the management of recyclable material, for the purpose of establishing operating and administrative requirements for the site or facility; "recyclable" refers to a product or substance, after it is no longer usable in its present form, that can be diverted from the solid waste stream through a widely available and economically viable collection, processing and marketing system, and used in the manufacture of a new product; note that "recyclable material" has a more specific definition in the act; "recycling" means the collection, transportation and processing of products that are no longer useful in their present form and the subsequent use, including composting, of their material content in the manufacture of new products for which there is a market, and refers,
"regional district" means a jurisdiction created under Section 767 of the Municipal Act and includes the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District; "regional director" means the regional director of the BC Environment regional office which is responsible for the plan area; "plan" means a waste management plan for the management of recyclable material and MSW required under Section 16(2) of the act; "residual management" means the disposal in accordance with the act of what remains in the solid waste stream following reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery activities; "reuse" means at least one further use of a product in the same form but not necessarily for the same purpose; "solid waste stream" means the aggregate of all municipal solid waste components and recyclable materials, and the process through which they move from generation to utilization or disposal; "technical advisory committee" means the technical solid waste advisory committee established pursuant to section 10; and "waste stream management license" means a license issued by a regional district, under a bylaw adopted pursuant to an approved plan, to the owner or operator of a site or facility involved in the management of municipal solid waste and incidental recyclable material, for the purpose of establishing operating and administrative requirements for the site, facility.
(1) The authority for regional districts to undertake solid waste management planning derives from section 16(2) of the act, which requires that every regional district, on or before December 31, 1995 or a date specified by the minister under section 16(4), submit for approval by the minister a waste management plan for the storage of recyclable material and management of MSW that is for the benefit of the total area of the regional district. The legislative amendment mentioned in sub-clause (4) will clarify that the scope of the plan is the "management of recyclable material and municipal solid waste". (2) Section 16.1 of the act enables a regional district with an approved plan to specify operating requirements and set and collect fees from the owner or operator of a privately- or municipally-owned site or facility storing recyclable material or managing municipal solid waste. As a minimum, the plan will likely require that the amount and kind of material accepted and the tipping fee charged is in accordance with the goals and objectives of the plan. (3) As a result of the 1993 amendment to the Municipal Act (MA), "the regulation, storage and management of municipal solid waste and recyclable material, including the regulation of facilities and commercial vehicles used in relation to these matters" was added as a new paragraph (1)(c.1) of section 788. (4) Despite the wording of section 16.1 of the act and section 788(1)(c.1) of the MA, there remains some doubt about the authority for regional districts to implement approved plans by bylaw, and the authority for the bylaw to prohibit, license or differentiate is almost certainly lacking. The Ministries of Environment, Lands and Parks and Municipal Affairs propose that this situation be resolved through legislative changes sponsored by BC Environment at the first opportunity. (5) In the interim period, regional districts that have an approved plan which calls for exercising full bylaw authority in implementing the plan, may apply for such authority to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs under section 790.01 of the Municipal Act. By virtue of their omission from section 16(2) of the act, municipalities do not have authority to prepare solid waste management plans. Nevertheless, they are given authority under the Municipal Act to make bylaws dealing with waste collection, and are closer to most generators of solid waste than any other level of government. For several reasons, therefore, they should participate fully in the preparation of RSWMPs, and more importantly, play a vital role in the implementation of RSWMPs. In the ministry's opinion, Section 16(10) of the act enables a municipality as well as a regional district to use its bylaw authority to adopt bylaws implementing an RSWMP without requiring the assent of the electors.
(1) As part of the ministry's provincial mandate, the Vision Statement of the Environmental Protection Department is as follows: "We will serve British Columbians by providing leadership to protect, restore and sustain the environment for present and future generations. Our goal is zero pollution. We will work in partnership with others to prevent, minimize and control the release of substances and clean up existing contamination to realize our vision of a healthy, diverse environment." (2) Within the department, the mission of the Solid Waste Unit of the Municipal Waste Reduction Branch is to develop and implement an effective 3R strategy to achieve a 50% reduction in the MSW stream by the year 2000, and to protect the environment by ensuring that municipal solid wastes are managed and disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. The principal legislative authority for carrying out this mandate is the Environmental Management Act.
(1) While the preparation of solid waste management plans in British Columbia is the responsibility of regional districts, the purpose of this section is to outline an approach for a cooperative planning process that recognizes the role of the Ministry of Environment. (2) The objective toward which the ministry is working with its MSW management strategy is that all MSW sites, facilities and programs, whether owned by the regional district, private firms or municipalities, operate in accordance with an approved plan. The plan itself may authorize the operation and/or administration of a site, facility or program by a municipality, other local government entity, company, group or person under bylaw, contract, licence or some other authorization. (3) While the ministry provides overall direction and support for solid waste management planning, ministry staff at the regional level are responsible for ensuring compliance with plans, operational certificates, permits and regulations, and for providing assistance to local governments and the public throughout the waste management planning process. (4) If both local and provincial planning are to be successful, it should be recognized that while both provincial agencies and regional districts have a clear responsibility to plan in certain areas, each is dependent on the other. Regional districts require provincial policy decisions on financial assistance, market development and incentives to support recycling, as well as legislative and regulatory support. The Province relies on local governments to prepare plans and administer and operate solid waste management programs and facilities that are instrumental in achieving the provincial goals. Given such interdependence, a cooperative approach to solid waste management planning is essential. (5) The ministry prefers a cooperative solid waste management planning process which
(1) As part of the Partnership with Local Government element of the provincial strategy, financial assistance is available to regional districts, municipalities and registered, non-profit community groups. This facilitates their participation in achieving the provincial goal of 50% reduction in the amount of MSW requiring disposal by the year 2000. (2) The Applicant's Guide to Financial Assistance Programs provides greater detail and the most up-to-date information on each of the above programs, as well as application procedures. Copies of the Applicant's Guide and further information can be obtained by contacting the BC Government Publications Index. (3) In addition to these programs, financial assistance may be available through the federal Environmental Partners Fund, administered by Environment Canada, Pacific and Yukon Region, #700, 1200 W. 73rd Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V6P 6H9.
The requirements contained in the following part have been developed and approved pursuant to the provisions of section 5 of the Environmental Management Act. They are to be utilized, in accordance with the policies and procedures of the ministry, by ministry staff in giving direction and advice to local governments in the preparation and implementation of regional solid waste management plans and recommending on the approval of such plans by the minister under section 24 of the Environmental Management Act. Thomas Gunton January 27, 1995
8. The Public Review and Consultation Process (1) The regional district should submit its design for the public review and consultation process (PRCP) required under Sections 27 (1) and (2) of the Act, including terms of reference for the public advisory committee described in section 9 and the technical advisory committee described in section 10, for review by the manager as soon as practical after initiating the solid waste management planning process. (2) After reviewing the proposed design of the PRCP, the manager may recommend any changes that are necessary to ensure that the design is in accordance with the following principles of an adequate public review and consultation process:
(3) Following receipt of any recommendations from the manager under (2) and preparation of the final design by the regional district, a copy of the final design of the PRCP should be submitted to the manager. (4) Except as noted in (5), a regional district which wishes to amend a PRCP submitted to the manager under (3) should
(5) Where the manager is of the opinion that a minor amendment proposed to a PRCP will not result in limiting or otherwise negatively altering public access to the process with respect to the principles specified in (2), the regional district may submit the proposed amendment only to the public advisory committee for review and recommendation, and submit a copy of the amended process design, together with the report from the public advisory committee, to the manager. (6) After reviewing the proposed amendment to the PRCP, the manager may recommend any changes that are necessary to ensure that the amended process will be in accordance with the principles specified in subsection (2). (7) Following receipt of any recommendations from the manager under (6) and preparation of the final design by the regional district, a copy of the amended PRCP should be submitted to the manager. (8) The regional district should keep a record of its efforts to ensure adequate public review and consultation during the planning process, including a record of
(1) A public advisory committee should be established as early in the planning process as possible, certainly before the design of the PRCP is completed. (2) In order to ensure that the public advisory committee primarily reflects community interests, the regional district should seek and invite representation on the public advisory committee from each of the following sectors or groups which exist in the regional community:
(1) A technical advisory committee should be established concurrently with establishment of the public advisory committee. (2) In order to ensure that the technical advisory committee primarily reflects government interests, the regional district should seek and invite representation on the technical advisory committee from the following agencies and organizations:
(1) With the approval of the manager, a single advisory committee may be established to fulfil the role of the public and the technical advisory committees, where a single committee better reflects the demographic or geographic nature of the regional district than dual committees. (2) Prior to approving the establishment of a single committee, the manager should be satisfied that a single committee is an appropriate response to the situation in the regional district, that reasonable efforts have been made to seek and invite representation from all stakeholder groups identified in subsection (2) of sections 9 and 10, and that a balance between technical and non-technical members has been achieved.
(1) The regional district should provide a committee established under section 9,10 or 11 with terms of reference and a mandate to advise the regional district on matters pertaining to MSW management planning at all stages of the planning process, including but not limited to the development of environmental guiding principles, terms of reference for any planning studies, the design and implementation of the PRCP identified in Section 8, review of stage reports and the plan and terms of reference for the plan monitoring advisory committee established pursuant to section 34. (2) The regional district should establish a reporting structure for each advisory committee that ensures its reports and recommendations are given open consideration by the regional district, except where confidential material is involved. The regional director should invite the manager or designate to be a member of every committee established under section 9, 10 or 11.
A regional district may appoint an employee of the regional district to a committee established under section 9, 10 or 11, and there should be no more than one director of the regional district on an advisory committee to provide liaison with the regional board. The chairperson of a committee established under section 9, 10 or 11 should be elected by the members of the committee.
(1) Environmental guiding principles such as those in (2) should be adopted following completion of the PRCP design. These principles should be specified in the plan, underlie all plan policies and strategies and act as a guide and common base for making day-to-day decisions by public servants and others involved in implementation or amendment of the plan. (2) The ministry believes that the following principles, derived from other sections of this guide as well as other ministry documents, provide the minimum set of principles which will generate the policies and strategies the ministry expects to see in regional solid waste management plans:
(3) Regional districts may add other principles and change the wording of the above principles in a manner which preserves their intent, but a list similar to the above should be included in the Stage 1 Report reviewed by the public, and in the eventual plan. (4) A statement of regional objectives identified during the planning process should be specified in the plan and reflected in the specific policies or strategies of the plan.
17. Stage 1: Analysis of Existing System For the purpose of developing solid waste management strategies under section 18, a Stage 1 Report should be prepared, including:
For the purpose of developing the final contents of the plan, a Stage 2 Report should be prepared, containing the following elements:
Following preparation of each of the reports described in section 17 and 18, the regional district should
20. Strategies for Waste Stream Components (1) Strategies should be developed for management of the components of the existing municipal solid waste stream, according to type, class or source as identified in Appendix 1, in accordance with the sequential hierarchy of reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery or residual management. (2) Without limiting the generality of (1), strategies addressing the following issues or objectives, where applicable, should be developed for inclusion in the plan:
(3) Decisions on which waste stream components are to be diverted from the waste stream should be based on variable disposal costs related to the actual impact of the component on total disposal costs.
Operating strategies and specifications addressing the following issues should be developed for inclusion in the plan:
(1) Financial strategies and specifications addressing the following issues should be developed for inclusion in the plan:
(2) In the development of financial and other strategies to be included in the plan,
The plan should specify the promotion and education programs that will be implemented to support the management strategies developed under sections 20, 21 and 22.
Every regional district should
Every regional district should consult with an adjacent regional district in the development of any strategies which might affect the adjacent regional district, and document its efforts in this regard. (1) Every regional district should, in developing its strategies under section 20, 21 and 22, consider the municipal solid waste management needs of the regional district for a period of at least 10 years from the date of plan implementation. (2) Where a major disposal site or processing facility recognized in the plan has a life span or amortization period which extends beyond the 10 year period, the regional district should consider that further time period in developing its strategies.
Each element of every strategy developed under sections 20, 21 and 22 should be in accordance with at least one environmental principle adopted pursuant to section 16.
(1) For disputes involving any aspect of the plan development or amendment process, including the content of a stage report or draft plan, the dispute resolution procedure described in this section is available for disputes between the regional district and one or more of its member municipalities or a First Nation, where the parties themselves have made all reasonable efforts to resolve the dispute within the planning process. (2) Disputes described in (1) may be referred by either party to the regional director for mediation, through an application containing documentation of the dispute and efforts to resolve it through the planning process. (3) Where a municipality or First Nation has received a request from a regional district for the letter referred to in section 33(c)(ii) and intends to proceed under subsection (2), the municipality or First Nation should give notice of such action to the regional district within 30 days of receiving the request and provide documentation of the notice in its application under (2). (4) The person referring a dispute for resolution under subsection (2) should send a copy of the referral application to the other party or parties to the dispute. (5) Where the regional director believes that a dispute cannot be resolved through the mediation process described in (2), the regional director will submit a report on the dispute to the minister, including a recommendation on how the dispute should be resolved. 6) Where all parties to a dispute concur on the need for further mediation and on how the mediation costs will be shared, the minister may appoint a mediator at the expense of the parties to resolve the dispute, or in the event the dispute cannot be resolved, to submit a report to the minister and to the parties within 6 weeks after completion of the mediation. (7) The minister, after receiving the report referred to in (5) or after receiving the report referred to in (6), may make an order which is binding on the parties involved in the dispute. (8) Prior to making an order under (7), the minister may consult with the appropriate persons in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, in the case of a dispute involving a municipality, or in the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, in the case of a dispute involving a First Nation.
The plan should contain the following elements:
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