British Columbia's preparedness for hazardous spills is inadequate, with outdated response plans and insufficient compliance oversight, an audit finds.
The audit highlighted that B.C.'s spill response plans are not current, there's a lack of procedures for identifying non-compliance, and First Nations are not consistently informed of spills.
Nearly $14 million in costs from spills remains unrecovered, mainly from the bankrupt Neucel pulp mill, with the government only recovering a fraction of non-Neucel related costs.
The Ministry of Environment has accepted nine recommendations from the audit, aiming to improve the province's management of hazardous spills.
Key quote:
"The program is designed for there to be consequences, but those responsible for spills don’t comply with the law."
An EPA report details incidents of toxic spills into groundwater, rivers, or lakes used for drinking water. The data from 2010-2019 provides the most comprehensive report to date on such spills.
