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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:
In addition to the elements described in section 29, the plan should contain a timetable for:
(1) Every regional district should establish its own dispute resolution procedure for dealing with disputes arising during implementation of the plan. (2) The procedure should be limited to disputes involving
(1) Following approval of the plan in the manner chosen by the regional district, the regional district should submit the plan along with its request for approval of the plan to the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks and Minister Responsible for Human Rights and Multiculturalism, and should include the following documents with its letter of request:
(2) Immediately following its submission of a request for plan approval under (1), the regional district should deliver to the manager a copy of the package submitted under (1) together with the number of copies of the plan specified by the manager.
Following receipt of the minister's approval in writing of the plan and final adoption of the plan by the regional district, the regional district should begin or continue discussions with the manager regarding finalization of the operational certificates and their relationship with any waste stream management licenses, if applicable.
(1) Prior to submitting its plan to the minister for approval, every regional district should establish a plan monitoring advisory committee whose members reflect
(2) The regional district should provide terms of reference for the plan monitoring advisory committee, including:
(3) The regional district should submit its proposed terms of reference for the plan monitoring advisory committee for review by the public advisory committee and the technical advisory committee. (4) The regional district should submit the proposed terms of reference, including any changes resulting from the review under subsection (3), to the manager for review. (5) After reviewing the proposed terms of reference, the manager may recommend any changes that are necessary to ensure that the terms of reference are in accordance with the principles of an adequate public review and consultation process specified in section 8(2). (6) Following receipt of any recommendations from the manager under (5), the regional district should submit a copy of the final terms of reference to the manager. (7) The manager may approve an alternative mechanism requested by a regional district for involving the public in monitoring plan implementation and evaluating plan effectiveness, provided the manager is satisfied that the alternative mechanism will achieve the objectives of public involvement as well as or better than an advisory committee. (1) The regional district shall submit a report to the manager, on or before March 31 of each year, on the disposal of municipal solid waste in the regional district during the previous calendar year, and include in that report
(2) A review of plan effectiveness should be completed by the end of each five year period following approval of the plan by the minister. Within three months of the end of that period, the regional district should submit a report to the manager which should include
(1) A regional district that proposes to amend an approved plan shall notify the manager in writing of the proposed amendment and the reasons for the amendment. (2) A major amendment is an amendment which involves
(3) The manager may designate any other proposed amendment to a plan as a major amendment if the amendment involves
(4) With respect to a major amendment, every regional district should comply with sections 8, 9, and 10 and the relevant provisions of Part 3. (5) With respect to an amendment other than a major amendment, every regional district should comply with those provisions which are specified by the manager.
(1) Where a regional district has begun the development or amendment of a solid waste management plan prior to the approval of this part but has not received the minister's approval of its plan, the regional district may apply in writing to the manager,
(2) The manager may,
This part describes the procedural requirements to be met and the steps to be followed by regional districts in preparing and adopting a regional solid waste management plan or undertaking a major amendment to an existing plan, in accordance with Part 2. For the remainder of this part, "plan" will include a major plan amendment. The flow charts labelled Figures 1, 2 and 3 show the sequence of steps described in the sections which follow.
(1) The first step in the preparation of a plan occurs when the regional district formally resolves to initiate the planning process and defines the plan area. If a regional board committee dealing with solid waste management issues is not already in existence, the regional district is encouraged to establish such a committee and assign to it the role of Steering Committee for the RSWMP. (2) With two exceptions, the plan area should include the whole of the regional district, as required by Section 16(2) of the act. The first exception is specified in section 16(2) which allows one regional plan to include all or a portion of an adjacent regional district, with its agreement. (3) The second exception is where there is urgent need for
a solid waste management plan for a (4) In such cases, the minister may approve the plan, provided the sub-regional plan is in accordance with Part 2 of this guide; the regional district adopts the plan as its interim plan for the sub-region, to be in effect only until the regional plan is approved; and the regional district commits to preparation of the regional plan according to a schedule which is acceptable to the minister. Preparation of the sub-regional plan will not be directly eligible for the Solid Waste Management Planning Financial Assistance Program, but the sub-regional costs may be included in the subsequent application under that program for the regional plan. (5) It may also be desirable for a regional district to join with one or more neighbouring regional districts to take advantage of economies of scale for certain solid waste management facilities, programs or processing equipment. In particular, adjoining regional districts should consider setting up an inter-regional system for the collection, processing and marketing of recyclables. The two associations involving the Southern Interior and Vancouver Island regional districts are excellent examples of such cooperation, and the ministry encourages cooperative marketing programs in other regions of BC. The 1992 Discussion Paper, "Cooperative Marketing: A Strategy for British Columbia's Recyclables", is a useful starting point in the establishment of such an association.
(1) As part of the first step in the planning process, a copy of the regional district resolution referred to in Section 39 is to be sent to the manager, with copies and a covering letter also sent to the following:
(2) The cover letter letter should ask for confirmation of the wish to be involved in the planning process from each of the above agencies or persons, including membership on the technical advisory committee described in Section 10, and for any concerns or comments on the proposed plan area. The letter should ask for a response directly to the regional district within 60 days, with a copy to the manager. The letter should also request that any special considerations the recipient wishes to see addressed by the plan and any information which the recipient thinks may be useful in preparing the plan be sent to the regional district as soon as possible, with a copy to the manager.
(1) The second step in the planning process is to design the PRCP required by Section 16.2(1) of the Act. Subsection 16.2(2) specifies that the plan shall not be approved by the minister unless the minister is satisfied that there has been adequate public review and consultation. An adequate PRCP is defined as one which is substantially in accordance with the principles in 8(2), which are repeated below:
(2) manager will review the regional district's proposed PRCP and may recommend changes to ensure it is in compliance with the above requirements. (3) The intention of paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) is to avoid the negative reactions that are generated in people who perceive that important decisions have been made before they are allowed to be involved, and to ensure that there is a sense of ownership of the PRCP by the residents of the plan area. As well, certain members of the public may be able to contribute considerable public communication skills toward achieving a creative PRCP. While much of the public input on the design of the PRCP can be obtained from members of the public committee, the regional district should create the opportunity for other community voices to be heard. (4) The intention of paragraph (1)(c) is to avoid the situation where the planning process is side-tracked or even derailed at a late stage because an important group has been left out or feels left out of the process. It is especially important in this regard to include groups which may have views opposite or hostile to the regional district's position or the views of other stakeholders. While their inclusion does not guarantee consensus, their exclusion virtually guarantees future problems, and may result in the plan's approval being delayed if the minister believes that the excluded group represents an important element of the plan's stakeholders. (5) The intention of paragraph (1)(d) is to ensure that the advisory committees do not operate in isolation from each other and that recommendations or decisions are based on the best available information. (6) The intention of paragraphs (1)(e) and (f) is to ensure an open process and that the regional district is perceived by the public to be accessible and listening. A PRCP which merely accepts public responses and then consistently ignores them will quickly generate public frustration. The regional district should therefore establish early in the process a clear reporting format for public input which enables the public and advisory committees to see the acceptance, the consideration and the judgement of their responses. (7) The ministry believes that within the framework established by Section 8 hereof, each regional district will have the flexibility to determine the actual details of how the public is involved, according to the unique blend of population characteristics and information channels in the region. The ministry maintains that the approach outlined above will not only satisfy the requirements of the act but will promote broad acceptance of the plan. The PRCP described above is proactive rather than reactive and requires a flexible approach to plan development. If properly and sensitively undertaken, such an approach, in combination with an emphasis on the first 3Rs rather than on residual disposal, should reduce the Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) syndrome.
(1) As some regional districts have discovered, sending a letter of invitation or notice to a First Nations organization usually does not produce the same results as a corresponding letter sent to a community or non-profit group. (2) Before offering to consult with First Nations within or adjacent to the boundaries of the regional district, the appropriate person to contact should be determined. If a Native Liaison Officer is part of the ministry's regional staff, that person should be able to provide the names of all First Nations within the plan area as well as the appropriate contact person for each. It is important to realize that the list of contacts changes frequently. (3) An excellent resource to complement the regional Native Liaison Officers is the relevant Regional Coordinator in the Aboriginal Initiatives Branch, Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs. This office can also advise regional districts about the provincial approach and policy regarding the relationship between First Nations and the Province. (4) Once sent, the letter should be followed with a telephone call and an offer to meet with, or make a presentation to, the council or appropriate committee. (5) In the event of an issue involving a First Nation that cannot be resolved through consultation and negotiation at the regional district level, the regional district may request assistance through the manager and/or the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and through them, the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.
(1) The next step in the planning process is the creation of the advisory committee structure specified in Part 2, representing the various interest groups, geographic areas and stakeholders in the community, plus those provincial agencies and First Nations who have indicated a desire to be involved in the planning process. This step should be taken in time to enable at least the public advisory committee to take part in designing the PRCP. Part 2 calls in most cases for the establishment of two committees - the public advisory committee emphasizing community and non-profit interests and the technical advisory committee emphasizing government interests. Both committees should have representation from large waste generators and the waste management industry to complement the primary influence. (2) In some regional districts, a single committee, with or without subcommittees, may be most suitable, subject to approval of the manager. What is important is the creation of an advisory committee structure which satisfies section 8(2), is functional and allows for efficient and expeditious review and response. (3) The intent of Part 2 is the creation of advisory committees which are independent from the regional district, with both committees reporting to the regional board or its steering committee. Section 14 provides for no more than one director on each committee, in order to ensure liaison with the political process without turning the advisory committee into a de facto committee of the regional board. The ministry does not intend that the advisory committees control the planning process, nor does Part 2 or the act eliminate the authority of the regional district to make decisions on public recommendations. In this respect, a regional district's public involvement process will be considered adequate if the regional district has sincerely sought and reflected upon public opinion, has made its decision on the public response known to the person or group providing the response and its decision-making was open and did not unfairly and consistently discriminate against specific stakeholders. (4) This guide has already commented on the need for the regional district to establish clear mechanisms for referring matters to and receiving reports from the advisory committees. Part 2 also recommends that strong linkages be provided between the two committees to avoid feelings or perceptions of isolation and to minimize the potential of one committee submitting a report which in part or whole is unacceptable to the other. (1) The public advisory committee (PAC), primarily representing community, labour and non-profit interests, is a key component of the public review and consultation process. The ministry is aware that even with a well-designed PRCP, it may be difficult to generate significant interest in the general public, especially in the early stages of the planning process before there is definite information available. That makes it even more important that the PAC be composed of a wide range of public and private interest groups. (2) Since the essence of the eventual solid waste management plan is a change in the attitudes and daily practices of ordinary people, the membership of the committee should reflect the character of the community in terms of gender, race, age, and income/education level. The membership should also include technical expertise in the form of the waste management and planning staff of the regional district and member municipalities. The ministry is aware that the number of committee members should normally not exceed about 15 in order to ensure effective functioning. A creative solution is required to strike an appropriate balance between this need and the need to provide wide representation. One possibility is the creation of a PAC for each of several sub-regions of the plan area. (3) The purpose of the PAC is to provide recommendations and advice to regional district staff and consultants on policy issues, including identification of options to be considered by the planning studies and design of the PRCP. It will also provide review at various stages and of various elements/outputs of the planning process, including environmental guiding principles, draft terms of reference, stage reports and the plan itself. (4) In some cases, such as reviewing minor amendments to a PRCP, stage report or plan, the requirement for public review may be satisfied by PAC review, if the manager concurs.
(1) The technical advisory committee (TAC) should be established early in the planning process, primarily to reflect local government, provincial government and First Nation interests. The purpose of this committee is to provide technical evaluation and advice to regional district staff and consultants, including identification of options to be considered, and review of the same elements and outputs of the planning process as the PAC. (2) The intent of Section 11(2) in Part 2 is to ensure that the output of both the PAC and the TAC is regarded with equal weight by the regional district. In other planning matters, the equivalent to the TAC usually has and is perceived by the public to have much greater influence on the regional district's decision making. In solid waste management planning, non-technical issues are probably more important than technical issues, as reflected in the first 2Rs of the hierarchy where attitudinal change is the essential element.
(1) Immediately following the creation of the advisory committees, the environmental guiding principles for the plan are to be developed and finalized in consultation with the advisory committees. The purpose of these principles is to provide a framework for development of plan policies and strategies and to act as a guide in the implementation and amendment of the plan. As noted in section 27, every plan policy and strategy should be in accordance with at least one, and should not contravene any, of the principles specified in section 16. (2) Once the principles are reviewed by the public and approved by the regional district and the ministry at the end of Stage 1 of the planning process, ministry staff as well as all those at the regional district level will be both inspired and constrained by the principles. For its part, the ministry has offered the principles described in section 16 as ones it can support for the solid waste management planning process, and expects each regional district to adopt environmental guiding principles which are essentially similar to those listed in section 16.
The next step in the planning process is to prepare the terms of reference (ToR) for the planning studies to be undertaken by regional district staff and/or consultants in accordance with the two stage process specified in Part 2. Part 4 of this guide provides direction on the level of detail and analysis to be included in these planning studies. The regional district may choose to prepare one set of ToR, and select one consultant to undertake the various planning studies and preparation of the plan itself, or it may wish to call for proposals for each stage of the process. It may also have the staff resources to undertake part or all of a planning study itself. In either of the first two cases, and with appropriate modification for the latter case, the procedure is as follows:
Whether regional district staff will prepare the plan or the regional district selects a consultant to do the work, the regional district should make an application to the manager for financial assistance under the Solid Waste Management Planning Financial Assistance Program, once a detailed work plan for the planning studies is available.
(1) Stage 1 analysis involves the description of the existing solid waste management system, including the organizing and evaluating of available information and the identification of information gaps to be addressed at Stage 2. It also involves identifying various solid waste management options and recommending those which should be subjected to detailed evaluation in Stage 2. Part 4 of this Guide provides direction on the type and level of analysis required and the identification and evaluation of options. (2) Stage 1 begins with a regional district resolution authorizing staff and/or a consultant to conduct the necessary planning study or studies. The subsequent process is similar to that in Section 47 with the addition of public review, as follows:
(3) Where an agency invited to participate in the planning process under section 40 has not done so, the regional district, in consultation with the manager, should now write to those agencies and advise of any potential impacts on their mandate or interests which have been identified in the Stage 1 Report. The letter should stress the importance of receiving input from the agency as soon as possible, because of the difficulty of dealing with a required change in a policy or strategy once considerable work and public consultation has taken place.
(1) Stage 2 is entered following successful completion of Stage 1 by a resolution of the regional district which directs its staff and/or consultant to prepare detailed evaluations of the solid waste management options recommended in Stage 1. If a new consultant is involved, or if major amendments are necessary to the terms of reference established earlier in the process (see Section 47), the resolution will direct the preparation of new draft ToR, followed by the same procedure described in Section 47. The procedure for conducting the Stage 2 study and obtaining approval of the Stage 2 Report is exactly the same as for Stage 1, with the final step being a resolution to proceed to Stage 3. (2) The Stage 2 report will recommend a set of strategies which are in keeping with Part 2, and identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of those strategies. The report will also recommend plan implementation measures. These may include bylaws, together with recycler, hauler and/or waste stream management licenses, if desired, which set fees as well as administration and operating requirements for waste haulers and for specified sites and facilities. The report should recommend the general operating requirements that will form the core of the operational certificates (OCs) for those private and public facilities that manage municipal solid waste.
(1) The resolution initiating Stage 3 will direct staff and/or a consultant to prepare a plan which complies with Part 2, particularly sections 29-32, including the provisions for implementing the various parts of the plan and monitoring its effectiveness in achieving its stated reduction goals. (2) Once prepared, the draft plan will be reviewed by the advisory committees, then by the manager, and the final draft, incorporating any changes, prepared for review by the public. After incorporating any changes resulting from this phase of the public review process, the regional district will approve the plan in principle and submit it to the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks in accordance with section 33. A copy of that package along with five (or the number specified by the manager) copies of the plan is to be sent to the manager. Following a request from the minister, the manager will forward the final review and recommendation for consideration by the minister. (3) If the minister is satisfied that the plan is in accord with the act and Part 2 hereof, the submitted plan will be approved by the minister. The approval letter will also direct the regional district to consult with the manager regarding the issuance of operational certificates for specified sites or facilities in accordance with the approved plan. (1) Following final adoption of the plan, the regional district and its member municipalities will proceed with the implementation measures contained in the plan. The 1992 amendment to Section 16(10) of the act eliminated the need for a regional district with an approved plan to obtain the consent of the electors in the plan area for a plan implementation by-law, including a by-law which raises funds or allocates cost. As noted earlier, the ministry believes that this provision also applies to a municipal bylaw intended to implement a regional plan. (2) Under the 1989 amendments to the Municipal Act, letters patent are no longer necessary for the preparation of solid waste management plans or providing solid waste management services. The cost of preparing solid waste management plans may be recovered through the general service provisions of section 787(d). General services do not require an establishing bylaw or voter consent, but the costs should be apportioned among all municipalities and electoral areas in accordance with section 808(3). (3) To raise funds for implementing an approved plan, a regional district could adopt one or more local service establishment bylaws under section 788(1)(c.1) of the Municipal Act for the area covered by the regional plan. In the absence of an approved solid waste management plan, local service establishment bylaws should receive some form of assent of the electors. The minimum requirement is proper notification and no more than 5% of the electors petitioning against the bylaw. If the plan were approved under the act, the bylaw would still require the approval of the Inspector of Municipalities, but would no longer require the assent of the electors. (4) A regional district wishing to exercise the power conferred by section 16(10) of the act should identify its intention of doing so in the latest version of the plan which has been reviewed by the public. As a minimum, the plan should identify the sites which will be subject to a license or other control and the rationale and formula for any fees which will be charged. (5) If, as a result of the ministerial approval or final regional district approval, substantive changes are required to any operational certificate, preparation of the final operational certificate should include review by the TAC and PAC, or by their successor, the plan monitoring committee established in accordance with section 35 hereof. Figure 1: Stage 1: Waste Management System / Options Figure 2: Stage 2: Evaluation of Options Figure 3: Stage 3: Plan Preparation and Adoption
Guide
to the Preparation of Regional Solid Waste Management Plans
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