EnergyBC

Regulatory Responsibilities (more...)

Another challenge facing any potential oil and gas development is ensuring that operations are conducted safely, efficiently, and with sound environmental protection. A detailed regulatory framework must be established between governments and offshore developers. By examining the federal-provincial co-operation for East Coast offshore operations, we can see the foundation for a potential BC-Canada structure.

Primary Roles and Responsibilities	- federal offshore oil and gas interests are managed by the Frontier Lands Management Division (FLMD) which is part of Natural Resources Canada
	- crude oil and natural gas exports are managed by the National Energy Board (NEB)
	- BC has no offshore regulatory body at this point in time, but the BC Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) regulates all land-based activities
	- proposals to undertake any form of seismic surveys or exploratory drilling involve major reviews under both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the BC Environmental Assessment Act
	- the federal government has responsibility for structures, boating, marine pollution, etc., along the coast, while the provincial government has authority over the lands and natural resources within it (including oil and gas)
East Coast Management Regimes	- any rules and regulations designed to manage offshore oil and gas operations in BC will likely be built using examples from the East Coast as a starting point
Points of Contention	- there are numerous lessons to be learned from the experience in Atlantic Canada
	- recently (2001) Nova Scotia separated the job of industry promotion from the conflicting responsibilities of health, safety and environmental integrity
	- in Newfoundland, the agreement with the federal government is such that the revenue accrued by the province is negated by a reduction in equalization payments from the federal government; thus the province is not the beneficiary of offshore oil and gas development as was originally planned

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