Regulatory Responsibilities
| Primary Roles and Responsibilities (SFU, 2004)
The Frontier Lands Management Division (FLMD), part of Natural Resources Canada, manages federal offshore oil and gas interests. This includes joint federal-provincial management regimes that have been established for Atlantic Canada by the negotiation of the Atlantic Accords. These accords are discussed below and it is expected that a similar accord would be negotiated for British Columbia. FLMD oversees rights issuance, oil and gas engineering, environmental assessment, resource assessment, industrial benefits, joint management concepts and commercial loan facilities. The National Energy Board (NEB) regulates crude oil and natural gas exports and both interprovincial and international pipelines. Due to the existing moratorium, BC does not have a regulatory process in place for managing offshore oil and gas projects. The BC Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) regulates land-based oil and gas activity. The OGC works in assisting in developing the oil and gas industry, while regulating and monitoring its activities for transgressions including adverse environmental or social impacts. OGC establishes guidelines that oil and gas companies must comply with during all stages of operations, and outlines standards that a company is expected to maintain. It is likely that the provincial government would create a similar offshore regulatory body before offshore activity would be permitted. Proposals to undertake seismic surveys or exploratory drilling involve a reviews under both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and also under the BC Environmental Assessment Act. The BC Environmental Assessment Office coordinates environmental reviews of major projects. In regards to pollution prevention, the federal government regulates all environmental protection legislation that companies must comply with. Although the federal government sets monitoring requirements, some monitoring duties will be delegated to provincial agencies, especially if the provincial government drafts its own legislation to regulate parts of the process. SFU (2004) adds that in regards to other regulatory responsibilities, the federal government has legislative authority over “navigation and shipping”, “beacons, buoys and lighthouses” and presumably other structures or platforms, fisheries, and aspects of marine pollution. At the same time, the provincial government has legislative authority over all lands and mineral resources “in the province” and, more generally, through “property and civil rights”, all activities that take place in the province. Such authorities would be exercised simultaneously by both governments in all areas being considered for potential offshore development. East Coast Management Regimes (SFU, 2004) As mentioned, any management framework designed to oversee offshore oil and gas operations in BC will use the examples from the East Coast as a starting point. The Atlantic Accords were signed in 1985 and 1986 between the federal and provincial governments of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia respectively. Their primary goals were to establish a joint management regime to regulate all aspects of offshore petroleum development and to establish a revenue sharing agreement. The approvals process for offshore oil and gas exploration in Atlantic Canada is regulated through the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NSOPB), the Canada Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NOPB), the National Energy Board, and/or provisions of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. C-NSOPB and C-NOPB are independent joint agencies responsible for management of the hydrocarbon resources (including regulation and safe practices) in the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland offshore areas. C-NSOPB was established in 1987; C-NOPB in 1985. C-NSOPB’s principal responsibilities include (JWEL 2001):
C-NOPB’s responsibilities include (JWEL 2001):
C-NSOPB/C-NOPB often place conditions upon offshore development in matters pertaining to environmental protection such as requiring an environmental protection plan for each phase of a project. Environmental monitoring and worker safety (requirements for safety plans, concept safety analyses) also fall within the domain of the offshore boards. In addition to placing conditions on planning processes, C-NSOPB/C-NOPB can require commitments or establish conditions regarding the design parameters of a project (e.g., specific safety measures such as double-hulled tanker vessels). Points of Contention In negotiating a Pacific Accord there are some other lessons to be learned from the experience in Atlantic Canada. In 2001 the Government of Nova Scotia introduced legislation to separate the industry promotion responsibilities from the C-NSOPB to avoid potentially conflicting responsibilities for health, safety and environmental integrity. Second, regarding revenue sharing agreements, it is necessary to conduct a thorough review of the workings of the Federal Equalization Program. Former Fisheries Minister and Newfoundland MP John Crosbie published a review in March 2003 of the Atlantic Accord negotiated between the federal government and Newfoundland almost 20 years ago. In it he is quite critical of the revenue sharing agreement negotiated, especially as much of the royalty revenue accrued by the province is negated by the reduction in equalization payments from the federal government. Although the province was intended to be the primary beneficiary of offshore oil and gas development, Crosbie argues the Accord must be adjusted so that the original intention is met. Some credit from above text to Review of Offshore Oil and Gas Development by Simon Fraser University, 2004. |
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