Land Remediation

Effective July 1, 2007, the requirement for a Summary of Site Condition
(SoSC) replaced Protocol 5 information requirements for all service applications submitted via the Approved Professional process.

The ministry now requests that applicants include a completed SoSC form with all service applications submitted for contaminated sites legal instruments and other services outlined in section 7.1 of the Contaminated Sites Regulation. Note that fees for review of the SoSC are not currently required for applications submitted for ministry review.

• Summary of Site Condition

Requirements for service applications requesting contaminated sites legal instruments and for ministry review include:

• a completed Contaminated Sites Services Application Form
• a completed Summary of Site Condition (SoSC) (electronic and hard copy)
• the site investigation checklists in Technical Guidance 10 and 11
• a complete package of the reports and plans relevant to the instrument requested
• a cheque for the full amount of fees payable to the Minister of Finance

Please note that if a section in the SoSC form is not applicable you should enter "n/a" in that section so the ministry will know that the section has been considered. Also note that Section 8.2 should not be completed by those submitting applications for ministry review.

Glenn Harris
Manager, Risk Assessment and Remediation
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

Protocol 8 "Security for Contaminated Sites" has been approved by the Director of Waste Management and released on our Land Remediation web site.

Security may be required by a Director under the Part 4 of the Environmental Management Act when a contaminated sites legal instrument such as an Approval in Principle or Certificate of Compliance is issued.

Protocol 8 expands on these legal provisions by providing security procedures to help ensure that significant risks to human health and the environment will be appropriately managed. Normally security would be required only for high risk sites and for sites where remediation is not being implemented effectively or if other controls are not in place.

In late 2003 the ministry consulted on a version of these procedures which included a "self guarantee" option. Stakeholders familiar with previous versions should note that the self guarantee option has not been adopted in the first version of this protocol but may be incorporated in future versions.

Please send your question and comments to us at site@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The Land Remediation Section has just added six new presentations to our web site. They were delivered by our staff between June and September this year covering topics such as the new Contaminated Sites Approved Professional (CSAP) Society, proposals for changing the way in which the ministry processes site profiles, and recent developments in our contaminated sites program.

If you have any comments or questions please send them to: site@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The ministry has recently revised the following documents related to the site profile system:

• Fact Sheet 19, The Site Profile System
• Administrative Guidance 1, Completing and Submitting Site Profiles
• Administrative Guidance 2, Site Profile Processing Requirements for Municipalities and Approving Officers

These documents answer frequently asked questions about the site profile system and provide comprehensive directions to proponents and local governments regarding site profile completion and submission requirements. Contact information for the Site Registrar and the Director is provided in the revised documents.

Please send any comments or questions regarding the revised documents or the site profile system to: siteprofiles@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The ministry has just released for public review and comment two new reports. The first is entitled "Off-site Migration of Contamination in British Columbia: Review and Recommendations" and was prepared by Braul Environmental Law and Franz Environmental Inc. The second report, " Institutional Controls in British Columbia: A Review of Current Practices and an Evaluation of Program Amendment Options" was written by DPRA Canada.

We are seeking stakeholder comments at this time to assist us in developing strategies to address a number of offsite contaminant migration and long-term contaminant stewardship issues.

The new reports are available on our web site here.

Please send your comments in MS Word format no later than December 14, 2007 to:

Dr. John E.H. Ward
E-mail: John.Ward@gov.bc.ca
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment
P.O. Box 9342 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9M1

The Director of Waste Management has approved a new analytical method under the Environmental Management Act for soluble barium. It came into effect on October 15, 2007 and may be used only for samples taken from sites where barite has been used.

The ministry recognizes that barite is relatively insoluble under most environmental conditions. This is responsible for the reduced toxicity of barium sulphate compared with many other barium compounds.

The ministry's current strong acid leachable metals (SALM) in soil analytical method can aggressively extract barium from barium sulphate in soil. This may lead to measured concentrations of barium which bear little relation to concentrations expected based on more environmentally relevant extraction methods. This overestimation is of particular concern at oil and gas well sites where large amounts of barite are used.

The new analytical method and the three reports describing the new method's development and validation are available on our web site here.

The ministry is preparing a protocol to authorize the use of the new barium analytical method for barite sites. Until the protocol is approved proponents may wish to characterize soil barium concentrations at their barite sites using both the new soluble barium and the SALM methods.

If you have any questions or comments please contact Glyn Fox at Glyn.Fox@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The Land Remediation Section has just released for public comment a number of documents related to draft environmental quality standards for barium and salt. The proposed standards were developed in conjunction with the Oil and Gas Commission, the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

The proposed standards, a description of their derivation and a detailed request for comments are provided on our web site here.

Please send your comments in MS Word format no later than December 14, 2007 to:

Dr. Glyn R. Fox
E-mail: Glyn.Fox@gov.bc.ca
Environmental Management Branch
Environmental Protection Division
Ministry of Environment
P.O. Box 9342 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9M1

The Society of Contaminated Sites Approved Professionals (CSAP) and the Roster Steering Committee (RSC) invite all Roster members and the public to an open meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to provide CSAP development and Ministry updates. Details are as follows:

Date: Wednesday, October 31st, 2007
Venue: UBC Robson Square Theatre (Room C300), 800 Robson St., Vancouver BC
Open Session: 9:00am to 12:00noon

Please refer to the CSAP website for more details.

Vincent Hanemayer
Senior Contaminated Sites Officer
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

Earlier this summer a new version of Protocol 6 "Eligibility of Applications for Review by Approved Professionals" was released on our web site in advance of its effective date. It came into effect on September 1, 2007. Now all contaminated sites service applications submitted to the ministry will be administered according to the provisions of this updated document.

The Protocol establishes which types of contaminated sites service applications must be submitted to the ministry with the recommendation of an Approved Professional. This latest version delegates responsibility to Approved Professionals for a wider range of non-high risk sites. A key change is to require Approved Professionals to make recommendations to the ministry for certain sites being remediated to the risk-based standards of the Contaminated Sites Regulation.

The new version is located on our web site.

For further information please contact us at site@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The Land Remediation Section's web site has recently been expanded to include a new key topic on brownfields and brownfield redevelopment. It includes a new fact sheet as well as internet links to brownfield-related resources and programs in Canada and internationally. We encourage you to review this new information.

In addition, the site has a section devoted to profiling brownfield redevelopment success stories. An initial example profile, Joey's Restaurant, is on the site now and more will be added shortly. We would like to invite brownfield redevelopment stakeholders to tell us about the projects they have worked on so that we may consider them for posting on our site. Please contact Alan McCammon for further information and to obtain a copy of our latest project profile template.

Please contact us at site@gov.bc.ca if you have any comments or questions.

Alan McCammon
Manager, Brownfields/Olympics
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund (GMF) will offer financing to municipal governments and their partners to implement specific brownfield remediation capital projects.

GMF provides low-interest loans and grants, builds capacity, and shares knowledge to support municipal governments and their partners in developing communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. To ensure the greatest possible impact, GMF invests in the best examples of municipal leadership in sustainable development - examples that can be replicated in other communities.

The Fund issues Requests for Proposals (RFPs) annually in five sectors of municipal operation: energy, transportation, waste, water, and brownfield remediation. A limited amount of funding is available for each RFP and as a result only the best applications will receive funding.

The RFP for brownfield remediation projects will open on August 22, 2007. The 2007 Brownfields RFP seeks to fund brownfield remediation projects undertaken as a first step to site redevelopment. Municipal governments are eligible to apply for funding for the remediation of a site owned by the municipality. Redevelopment plans must include either conservation of heritage buildings or construction of new buildings to at least a LEED Silver rating. GMF will award a total of up to $20 million in loans under the 2007 Brownfields RFP. Maximum funding to be provided per project is 80% of the total project cost, to an upset limit of $10 million.

After August 22, the GMF Intent to Apply forms, along with details of the RFP requirements and processes, will be available on-line from the FCM Centre for Sustainable Community Development at www.sustainablecommunities.fcm.ca or by contacting the Application Coordinator named below.

The deadline to submit an Intent to Apply for this RFP is September 19, 2007.

Applicants will be notified if their Intent to Apply is accepted and asked to submit a detailed proposal that will be reviewed by a team of independent, third-party experts.
The RFP will close October 31, 2007. Final decisions on funding will be available in March 2008.

For questions on the 2007 Brownfields RFP:

Nathalie Lapointe, Application Coordinator
GMF FCM Centre for Sustainable Community Development
24 Clarence Street, Ottawa, Ont. K1N 5P3
Phone: 613-907-6261; Fax: 613-244-1515
E-mail: brownfields.rfp@fcm.ca
www.sustainablecommunities.fcm.ca/GMF/Brownfields_RFP_2007.asp

If you have any questions about the ministry's involvement with brownfields, please send them to Alan.McCammon@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

During the last few years changes in terminology and several administrative items relating to the Roster have occurred, resulting in the need to update the above Procedure document.

The latest version changes "professional expert" to "Approved Professional", uses the new ministry name, and adds members of the College of Applied Biologists to the definition of Approved Professional. A number of other minor corrections and updates have also been made. View this new version of the Procedures for the Roster of Approved Professionals.

If you have any questions, please direct them to Vincent.Hanemayer@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

If you have a new, innovative technology that helps address climate change or promotes clean water, land or air, then Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) wants to hear from you.

SDTC is accepting Statements of Interest for funding from September 5 to October 24, 2007. SDTC supports late-stage development and pre-commercial demonstration of clean technologies by Canadian companies.

The Statement of Interest (SOI) is an initial application used for preliminary screening and is subject to a competitive review process by SDTC and a panel of independent experts. Applications are evaluated on the basis of their fit with SDTC's mandate, adherence to selection criteria, and the quality of technology, marketing and business capabilities.

IMPORTANT- Prior to submitting an application and to ensure a good fit:

First review the "Application Advice" section and subsections on SDTC's web site, starting at http://www.sdtc.ca/en/funding/advice/index.htm

Then discuss your proposed project with one of our Applications Managers:

Sebastien Prince-Richard at 613 234-6313 ext. 232 or s.prince-richard@sdtc.ca
Zoltan Tompa at 613 234-6313 ext. 234 or z.tompa@sdtc.ca

The following message has been forwarded to CS e-Link subscribers on request by the Contaminated Sites Approved Professionals Society:

Please be reminded that the October 2007 Roster Examination Application Deadline is August 7, 2007.

The Roster Steering Committee will offer an October 2007 sitting of the Approved Professionals examination. You can refer to the Important Announcements section on the CSAP Society homepage for details and required application materials.

Vincent C. Hanemayer
Senior Contaminated Sites Officer
vincent.hanemayer@gov.bc.ca
604 582-5377; Fax 604 582-5334

To assist contaminated sites stakeholders who track changes in the documents on our Land Remediation Section web site, here is a list of documents which have been added, amended or deleted since July1:

• Protocol 5 - rescinded
• Protocol 6 - revised effective September 1, 2007

• Administrative Guidance 3 - revised
• Administrative Guidance 5 - revised

• Technical Guidance 7
• Technical Guidance 18 - revised

• Form - Contaminated Sites Services Application - revised
• Form - Site Information Request Application - revised
• Form - File Contents Retrieval Application - revised
• Form - Notification of Offsite Migration
• Form - Summary of Site Condition

• Fact Sheet 22 - revised
• Fact Sheet 25 - revised
• Fact Sheet 28 - revised

• Update June 26, 2007 - revised

• Procedure - Tracking Time and Expenses

If you have any questions about these changes, please contact us at site@gov.bc.ca

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

Last December the Land Remediation Section released seven draft documents for public review and comment. These documents are intended to support the Section's increasing shift to focusing its efforts on high risk sites as directed by the Ministry's Service Plan. The draft documents were the subject of two public consultation meetings and final comments were received on February 16, 2007. The documents include:

• Protocol 12. Classifying Site Risk Levels (draft)
• Protocol 13. Screening Level Risk Assessment (draft)
• Director's Interim Criteria. Air Concentration Criteria (draft)
• Technical Guidance 4. Soil Vapour Investigations (draft)
• Technical Guidance 7. Supplemental Guidance for Risk Assessments (draft)
• Procedure. Procedures for Processing Site Profiles (draft)
• Procedure. Establishing the Boundaries of a Site (draft)

This CS e-Link message is to update stakeholders on our progress in finalizing these documents.

The Ministry wishes to extend its appreciation for the efforts made on the part of industry, local and federal governments and practitioners in participating in the February workshops and in providing comments on these documents. The comments received were compiled by staff to assist in the analysis and redrafting of the documents. We expect to be posting all stakeholders' comments (without specifying the commenting party) accompanied with remarks from the ministry indicating how each comment had been addressed in the subsequent draft document

In the cases of draft Protocol 12 and the draft Procedures for Processing Site Profiles we received numerous and sometimes divergent comments. To help finalize these documents we have hired lawyer Frank Falzon to facilitate discussions within two new working groups. These working groups are composed of representatives from key stakeholder groups including the BC Business Council, the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Roster of Approved Professionals and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.

The comments on draft Protocol 13 "Screening Level Risk Assessment,"
draft Technical Guidance 4 "Soil Vapour Investigations" and the draft Director's Interim Air Concentration Criteria were largely editorial and of a technical nature, these have been reviewed internally and the documents are being finalized. We expect that they will come into effect this fall.

The draft Procedures on "Establishing the Boundaries of a Site" will also be revised this fall. A number of substantive comments have been received and additional scenarios have come to light which will result in significant amendments. A revised version is expected to be released for comment this fall.

Technical Guidance 7 "Supplemental Guidance for Risk Assessments" has now been finalized and appears on our web site here.

The Land Remediation Section is planning to hold a consultation workshop later this year to allow stakeholders to review progress in finalizing these documents. We expect that three revised drafts will be posted on our web site and comments requested from stakeholders.

If you have any questions, please contact the Section staff member assigned to finalizing each document as follows:

• Protocol 12 (Peggy.Evans@gov.bc.ca)
• Protocol 13 (George.Szefer@gov.bc.ca)
• Director's Interim Air Criteria (Glyn.Fox@gov.bc.ca)
• Technical Guidance 4 (Colm.Condon@gov.bc.ca)
• Technical Guidance 7 (Mike.Macfarlane@gov.bc.ca)
• Procedure. Procedures for Processing Site Profiles (Vincent.Hanemayer@gov.bc.ca)
• Procedure. Establishing the Boundaries of a Site (John.Ward@gov.bc.ca)

We expect to communicate with stakeholders again about these documents in September.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The latest version of Protocol 6, "Eligibility of Applications for Review by Approved Professionals" has been signed by the Director of Waste Management with an effective date of September 1, 2007. The document establishes which types of contaminated sites service applications must be submitted to the ministry with the recommendation of an Approved Professional.

The key change in this version is to require Approved Professionals to make recommendations to the ministry for certain sites being cleaned up to the risk-based standards of the Contaminated Sites Regulation. This delegates responsibility to Approved Professionals for a wider range of non-high risk sites. Currently ministry staff review service applications for all sites managed by the risk-based approach.

To assist Approved Professionals in carrying these new duties, the ministry has finalized Technical Guidance 7. "Supplemental Guidance for Risk Assessments". Approved Professionals are welcome to start using this guidance immediately.

For further information please contact us at site@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

We have just updated our Land Remediation Section's web site with a new form for notifications of potential and actual offsite migration of substances.

Also, we have created a new web link to information on offsite migration under the "Key Topics" heading on our Section's Internet home page. You can quickly link to the notification form, fact sheet 34 on offsite migration, and the sections of the Contaminated Sites Regulation dealing with that topic.

Please contact us at site@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions or comments.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The recent Stage 5 amendments to the Contaminated Sites Regulation have necessitated updating a number of the application forms used by our clients to request specific contaminated sites services. We would appreciate your using the latest versions of the following forms:

1) Contaminated Sites Services Application
2) Site Information Request Application
3) File Contents Retrieval Application

All forms are available on our web site at: www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/remediation/forms/.

If you have any questions, please contact our Client Information Officer (1st form) or our Site Information Advisor (2nd and 3rd forms) for advice at csp_cio@Victoria1.gov.bc.ca or Advisor.SiteInformation@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The Stage 5 amendments to the Contaminated Sites Regulation came into effect on July 1, 2007. They have resulted in a number of changes to our contaminated sites services application process. For service applications for contaminated sites legal instruments submitted with the recommendation of an Approved Professional, the following requirements should be noted.

Please do not submit:

• Protocol 5 summaries of site investigations and remediation plans (now
  repealed)
• An Approved Professional's recommendation letter (requirement
  repealed)
• Your application package to the CSAP Society

Please do submit:

• Your application package to the ministry
• A completed Contaminated Sites Services Application Form
• A completed Summary of Site Condition (SoSC) (electronic and hard
  copy)
• A draft contaminated sites legal instrument (electronic and hard copy)
• A draft covering letter for the instrument (electronic and hard copy)
• The site investigation checklists in Technical Guidance 10 and 11
• A complete package of the reports and plans relevant to the instrument
• A cheque for the full amount of fees payable to the Minister of Finance

Note that if a section in the SoSC form is not applicable you should enter "n/a" in that section so the ministry will know that the section has been considered.

Administrative Guidance 5, "Approved Professional Recommendations Relating to Low and Moderate Risk Sites" has been amended by adding new information about the requirements for preparing draft contaminated sites legal instruments. The text about required Approved Professional statements has been deleted since that function is now addressed by the Summary of Site Condition.

The fees payable with contaminated sites legal instrument applications generally include fees for the instrument, a SoSC and GST. In some cases hourly fees may also apply.

If you have any questions please contact Dave Lockhart.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

Today our Land Remediation Section's web site home page was migrated to the new government standard design. The new template is based on fundamental web usability principles and offers improved architecture and navigation of the content, so users (regardless of their knowledge-base) can more quickly and easily find the information they are looking for.

Some other key features of the new site:

• expandable/collapsible menus
• a right-hand column to highlight new items
• improved search functionality
• a 'printer version' option
• a 'text sizer' at the top right
• a new, shorter Internet address: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/remediation/
• a new list defining acronyms

Over the next few days subscribers to our CS e-Link service will be informed about a number of changes to documents on our site.

Please contact us at site@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions or comments.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The Order-in-Council component creating the Stage 5 amendments to the Contaminated Sites Regulation activates provisions for Summaries of Site Condition. These provisions were originally passed as part of the Environmental Management Amendment Act, 2004 (Bill 13) but were not brought into force when the Bill was passed. They will become part of the Environmental Management Act on July 1, 2007.

The first version of the Summary of Site Condition form has now been finalized and is available here.

As of July 1, service requests for contaminated sites legal instruments (such as Approvals in Principle and Certificates of Compliance) required to be submitted with the recommendation of an Approved Professional must be accompanied with a satisfactorily completed Summary of Site Condition. A complete list of the circumstances where a Summary of Site Condition is required is provided in section 7.1 of the Contaminated Sites Regulation (which appears in the Minister's Order component of the Stage 5 amendments to the Regulation).

A ministry fee of $2,000 will also be required for our review of each Summary of Site Condition, however ministry fees for supporting documents such as detailed site investigation reports and remediation plans will no longer be charged for submissions with Approved Professional recommendations.

If you have any questions about the Summary of Site Condition form, please contact Dave Lockhart.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section

For contaminated sites regulatory purposes the equivalency of extractable petroleum hydrocarbon (EPH) data with light extractable petroleum hydrocarbon (LEPH) and heavy extractable petroleum hydrocarbon (HEPH) data has been extended to July 1, 2008 by the Director, Environmental Management Act.

This extension will provide time for the ministry to consider the results of the recent review of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Canada Wide Standards for Petroleum Hydrocarbons related to the assessment and chemical analysis of petroleum hydrocarbons, and to prepare and consult on any needed amendments to the petroleum hydrocarbon standards of the Contaminated Sites Regulation.

Ministry guidance on this matter is contained in our May 23, 2003 update clarifying hydrocarbon analytical methods and standards.

If you have any questions, please direct them to Glyn.Fox@gov.bc.ca.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

On July 1 Stage 5 amendments to the Contaminated Sites Regulation will come into effect.

Key changes involve simplification of the fees regime signalling a further shift in the ministry's focus towards high risk sites and paving the way for Approved Professionals to take on greater responsibilities in administering and managing contaminated sites in B.C. The amendments bring into force provisions for Summaries of Site Condition which will be required with all service applications submitted to the ministry through the Approved Professional process. As well, the Site Registrar has been authorized to add new types of information to the Site Registry, the Director of Waste Management has been authorized to publish two new types of protocols, and the environmental quality standards of the Contaminated Sites Regulation have been amended to align them with recent changes in water quality guidelines.

For a brief summary of the amendments, please review our Update "Stage 5 Amendments to the Contaminated Sites Regulation".

In early July several changes will be made to our Land Remediation web site to reflect these amendments. New service application forms will be released, a number of fact sheets and guidance documents will be updated, and the form for the new Summary of Site Condition will be made available. Over the next few weeks we will be communicating with CS e-Link subscribers to explain the changes and provide links to updated documentation and forms.

If you have any questions, please contact us at site@gov.bc.ca

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management Unit
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

Effective July 1, 2007, we will require payment for the full amount of fees including GST for all Land Remediation Section services requested at the time of application. Cheques should be attached to the current application form and made payable to the "Minister of Finance". This includes Contaminated Sites Service applications, Site Information Request applications and File Content Retrieval applications. New versions of those forms will be posted on our web site on Tuesday July 3 and we request that you switch to the new forms at that time.

Applications which are submitted without full payment in advance will be held until payment is received or returned, as is requested by the applicant.

We appreciate your co-operation with this change in policy. For further information please contact our Client Information Officer regarding Contaminated Sites Service applications and our Site Information Advisor regarding Site Information Request and File Information Retrieval applications.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management Unit
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The ministry has just released a new contaminated sites fact sheet on our Land Remediation web site. Fact Sheet 37, "Site Profile Freeze and Release Provisions" describes how to obtain a "release" of a local government application that has been "frozen" through the site profile process.

We also recently revised our Administrative Guidance document 6, "Independent Remediation Where Local Government Permits are Required". This revised guidance describes a mechanism for releasing municipal permit applications when an applicant wishes to use independent remediation for a proposed site upgrade or redevelopment.

Please send any questions regarding the revised guidance document and new fact sheet to: siteprofiles@gov.bc.ca

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

In December 2002 we announced a number of new procedures to streamline the processing of applications for contaminated sites services. A key change was to stop requiring payment for services in advance. Since that time an invoice has been mailed to our clients once an initial quality assurance review is complete.

Our experience over the last five years has shown that this system is difficult to administer and resulted in a significant number of unpaid invoices. As a result our Corporate Services Division has strongly recommended that we revert to the old policy as this would eliminate overdue accounts receivable.

Effective July 1, 2007, we will require payment for the full amount of fees for contaminated sites services requested of the ministry at the time of application for those services. Cheques should be attached to the Contaminated Sites Services Application Form and made payable to the "Minister of Finance". Applications which are submitted without full payment in advance will be held until payment is received or returned, as is requested by the applicant.

We appreciate your co-operation with this change in policy. Please contact our Client Information Officer for further information.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The widespread heavy snow conditions in many regions of British Columbia has resulted in the significant potential for widespread and potentially major flooding in May and June, as the snow melts.

Over the coming months, flooding is anticipated in many areas, including the Upper Fraser, Mid Fraser, Nechako, Skeena, Bulkley and Peace River basins. Whether or not major flooding on large rivers occurs will depend primarily on the weather during snowmelt in May and June.

To assist site owners and operators in addressing this situation, the Land Remediation Section has prepared fact sheet 36 entitled "Increased Flood Risk Environmental Protection Measures". It describes procedures that should be taken for contaminated sites located in floodplains subject to an increased risk of flooding and can be viewed here.

Please consult the ministry's most recent Snow Survey Bulletin and the Internet site of the Provincial Emergency Program for additional information.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The Canadian Brownfields 2007 Conference will be held at the Palais des Congres de Montreal, Quebec on October, 18-19 2007. This year's event, in partnership with the Montreal Centre of Excellence in Brownfield Rehabilitation, will focus on building sustainable cities and will highlight the potential of achieving economic and cultural growth through the redevelopment of brownfields. Themes will include political and technological innovation, municipal and private sector partnerships and international experiences to revitalize communities and restore urban cores. The event will also include the annual general meeting of the Canadian Brownfield Network and presentation of the Canadian Urban Institute Brownie Awards for 2007.

An initial call for papers for Canadian Brownfields 2007 has been issued. If you have an interesting case study, technology, application or opinion related to brownfield redevelopment and city building, then the conference organizers want to hear from you. The 2007 Organizing Committee is reaching out to professionals in every region from all sectors of the brownfields industry to create a practical, powerful and informative program.

Submissions should be emailed to Shah Hosein at Canadian Urban Institute, by May 16, 2007 and be limited to 250 words with emphasis on how your presentation will advance our understanding of brownfields redevelopment and city building.

More information about Canadian Brownfields 2007 may be found at http://www.canadianbrownfields.ca.

Alan McCammon
Land Remediation Section
BC Ministry of Environment

Since the ministry's contaminated sites legal regime came into effect in 1997 there have been provisions for clients to request the use of external reviewers under contract to the ministry. Using these contractors expedites the review of various reports and plans under fixed timelines for an additional fee.

The ministry has just updated contracts with the external contract reviewers, and the fees for these services have changed. We have updated fact sheet 22 "External Contract Review Option: Summary of Fees and Time Schedule" to reflect these changes.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

We have just updated our Land Remediation Section's web site with a new form to be used to report to the ministry the commencement and completion of independent remediation. As of today, if you are sending us a notification of independent remediation please use the new form.

Also, we have created a new web link to information on independent remediation under the "Key Topics" heading on our Section home page. You can quickly link to the notification form, fact sheet 21 on independent remediation, and the sections of the Environmental Management Act and Contaminated Sites Regulation dealing with that topic.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

On February 7 and 8, 2007, the Land Remediation Section held consultation meetings in Vancouver to provide an overview of seven draft documents released for public comment and to provide an update regarding the development of the Contaminated Sites Approved Professionals Society. These presentations are now available on our web site under the heading "Consultation Presentations".

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The ministry has just released two new contaminated sites fact sheets to our Land Remediation Section's web site.

Fact sheet 34, "Requirements for Responding to Offsite Contaminant Migration," describes the notification requirements, legal responsibilities, and ministry's expectations where substances have or likely have migrated to neighbouring properties.

Fact sheet 35, "Requirements for the Environmental Cleanup of Illegal Drug Manufacturing Sites," discusses the risks posed by these sites, who is responsible for their cleanup, and how spills and offsite migration of associated substances should be addressed.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The Roster Steering Committee and CSAP Interim Board of Directors invite you to apply for either the Executive Director or Administrator positions with the new CSAP Society. Brief job descriptions are available here. For detailed descriptions of the positions and for application directions please proceed to ***Important Announcements*** at the following link: www.csapsociety.bc.ca.

The application deadline is March 28, 2007. Please forward your resume quoting the Executive Director or Administrator position, to:

Project Manager - CSAP Development
200 - 4010 Regent Street
Burnaby, BC V5C 6N2
Fax: 604-430-8085
E-mail: rsc@apeg.bc.ca

The following message has been sent on behalf of Environment Canada's Federal Contaminated Sites Unit:

The next (and final) NATO pilot study meeting will be held in Slovenia from June 17-22 and will focus on management of contaminated sediments.

All country representatives are required to submit abstracts from their country by March 7. A committee will then select speakers from each country based on the area of focus and number of submissions. As the country representative for Canada, Lisa Keller, Head, Federal Contaminated Sites Unit, is issuing a Call for Abstracts for Canadian papers for this international meeting. Travel grants may be considered for experts who can demonstrate that they do not have the means to fund travel (i.e. University professors). All other speakers are expected to pay for their own travel expenses.

If you represent high Canadian standards of expertise in this field, please email Lisa.Keller@ec.gc.ca.

Related links: www.nato.int/science, www.cluin.org/romania, www.cluin.org/ottawa, and www.cluin.org/athens

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

The Contaminated Sites Approved Professionals Society (CSAP Society) is scheduled to be activated on April 1st, 2007. The Roster Steering Committee invites you to participate in a meeting to discuss the progress and plans.

Please follow the web link http://www.csapsociety.bc.ca/index.htm and proceed to ***Important Announcements*** for more detail.

John ter Borg
A/ Project Manager, CSAP Development/RSC Coordinator

200 - 4010 Regent Street
Burnaby, BC V5C 6N2
www.csapsociety.bc.ca

(T) 604.412.4876
(F) 604.430.8085
(e-mail) rsc@apeg.bc.ca

As indicated in my January 29, 2007 CS e-Link message, please note that Sessions 1 and 2 of the upcoming Land Remediation Section consultation meetings have been consolidated into a single session. If you were previously registered for either session 1 or 2, please plan on attending the Wednesday February 7 meeting. Presentations will run from 09:00 to 15:30, with coffee to be served at 08:30 and a one hour discussion session from 15:30 - 16:30.

Those previously registered for Session 3 should plan on attending the Thursday February 8 meeting. That meeting will also run from 09:00 to 15:30, with coffee to be served at 08:30 and a one hour discussion session from 15:30 - 16:30.

Please note that we will not be providing paper copies of the draft documents at the meetings.

We look forward to meeting you later this week.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

Please view the agenda for the Land Remediation Section's consultation meetings on February 7 and 8, 2007. As indicated in our CS e-link message dated January 16, 2007, those meetings will provide an overview of new draft documents recently released by the ministry and an update regarding the development of the Contaminated Sites Approved Professionals Society.

PLEASE NOTE. There have been some changes to the meeting times.
Sessions 1 and 2 have been consolidated into a single session on Wednesday February 7. This change is based on the lower number of registrants for those sessions, and to provide more time for questions and discussion. If you are currently registered for either session 1 or session 2, please attend the Wednesday February 7 meeting. The session on Thursday February 8 will take place as previously planned. On both days, the meetings will run from 08:30 to 16:30, and will include a morning and an afternoon coffee break.

If you have still not registered and are interested in attending, please register by sending an e-mail message to michele.parker@gov.bc.ca. That message must contain your name, title, organization and the date you wish to attend (February 7 or February 8, 2007).

Finally, you are encouraged to provide any comments on the draft documents to the author(s) prior to the meetings. The documents are available on our web site here. Any early feedback or comments will be appreciated and will allow for more informed discussions at those meetings.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

Sustainable Technologies Development Canada (SDTC) has recently launched its next call for funding applications (Statements of Interest) from soil and water solution developers.

Since its inception, SDTC has actively supported the development and demonstration of technologies with potential to improve air quality and reduce the effects of climate change. In 2004, the Federal government expanded the Foundation's mandate to include soil and water technologies including those designed to prevent, treat or contain contamination that exceeds standards and to enhance land use and increase land value (e.g., through brownfield redevelopment).

Support provided by SDTC can help bridge funding gaps in the innovation chain and help prepare clean technologies for adoption in later-stage programs such as the Green Municipal Fund of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

The deadline for submission of applications is March 14, 2007.

For further information visit http://www.sdtc.ca/en/soilandwater.htm.

Alan McCammon
Manager, Brownfields / Olympics
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment

We recently revised our former draft technical guidance document #4, "Site Investigations and Remediation and the Local Government Permit Process", dated November 26, 1997. It is now entitled Administrative Guidance #6, "Independent Remediation Where Local Government Permits are Required", dated September 2006. It is available on our Land Remediation web site here.

This updated guidance describes a mechanism for releasing municipal permit applications (listed in the site profiles section of the Environmental Management Act) when a company wishes to use independent remediation for a proposed site upgrade. Any questions regarding the guidance document should be sent to: siteprofiles@gov.bc.ca.

Please note that a draft ministry site profile processing procedure has been posted on our Land Remediation web site for public comment.

If it is adopted, we expect that the administrative guidance #6 process would no longer be used.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Environmental Management Branch
Ministry of Environment

We recently created an e-mail address specifically for site profile inquiries. Any questions or comments regarding the site profile process, including Schedules 1 and 2 of the Contaminated Sites Regulation, should be sent to siteprofiles@gov.bc.ca.

By using this new e-mail address your questions and comments will be directed to the most appropriate ministry staff for a timely response.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Environmental Management Branch

The Land Remediation Section will be hosting a series of consultation meetings on February 7 and 8, 2007. The sessions will provide an overview of new documents recently released by the ministry and an update regarding the development of the Contaminated Sites Approved Professional Society.

TOPICS
The new draft documents were released by the ministry on December 21, 2006, and include the following:

• A procedure for processing site profiles
• A procedure for defining the boundaries of a site
• Supplemental guidance for risk assessments
• A protocol for classifying sites according to risk
• A protocol for screening level risk assessment
• Air concentration criteria
• Guidance on soil vapour investigations

These proposed documents are currently available for public comment (comment period ends on February 16, 2007) on our website.

An update on the implementation of the Contaminated Sites Approved Professional Society will also be provided by the Roster Steering Committee.

LOCATION
The meetings will be held at the Fletcher Challenge Canada Theatre at Simon Fraser University Harbour Center, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. More information about the venue is available here.

SESSIONS
There will be a total of three sessions taking place between February 7 and 8, 2007. All sessions will be free of charge and coffee and muffins will be provided. The same material will be presented within all three sessions. However, the last session (#3) includes an additional two hours of time for questions and an open discussion period. Lunch will not be provided.

• #1 February 7, 2007 08:00-12:00 B.C. Business Council
  and industry
• #2 February 7, 2007 13:00-17:00 Government and NGOs
• #3 February 8, 2007 09:00-16:00 Practitioners and others

REGISTRATION
If you are interested in attending, please register by sending an e-mail message to michele.parker@gov.bc.ca. That message must contain the following information:

Your name -
Your job title -
Your organization -
Session you wish to attend (# 1, 2 or 3) -

Please note that each session is limited to 200 attendees, and space may become limited. Registration will be confirmed on a first-come first-serve basis.

DETAILED AGENDA
Once finalized, a more detailed agenda for the meetings will be posted on the ministry's web site.

QUESTIONS
If you have any questions about the consultation meetings, please contact Michele Parker.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Environmental Management Branch

We recently added a new fact sheet to our Land Remediation web site about information you can obtain on sites in our SWIS, WASTE and COORS databases. Respectively, these databases deal with hazardous waste, waste discharges, and convictions under the Environmental Management Act related to pollution and contamination.

The fact sheet describes the types of information contained in each database, how you can request the information, what you will receive, and how long it will take for us to process your application. You can
view this publication here on our web site at:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/remediation/fact_sheets/index.htm.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Environmental Management Branch

Since 1997 the Contaminated Sites Regulation has provided a system where external contract reviewers were available to review contaminated sites reports and plans under fixed time limits. The existing contracts with environmental consultants who provide this service will expire on March 31, 2007.

The Land Remediation Section has just issued a Request for Qualifications to persons on the Roster of Approved Professionals (and their firms). This Request is expected to result in a list of qualified suppliers, and then to contracts to continue the external contract review process.

The request for qualifications is entitled "External Contract Reviewers Contaminated Sites RFQ" and is available here.

Please click on "Browse" in the "Browse for Bid Opportunities or Bid Results" link to find the listing under the Ministry of Environment heading.

We welcome your response by January 31, 2007 at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.

John Ward
Manager, Operations Management
Land Remediation Section
Ministry of Environment