Section 1 definition of "environmental legislation", paragraph (e) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 187/2023, effective September 1, 2023.
(e) the Oil and Gas Activities Act and the regulations under that Act.
Section 1 definition of "environmental legislation" BEFORE amended by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
"environmental legislation" means the following enactments:
(a) the Act and the regulations under the Act;
(b) the Environmental Management Act and the regulations under that Act;
(c) the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act and the regulations under that Act;
(d) the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Renewable and Low Carbon Fuel Requirements) Act and the regulations under that Act;
(e) the Energy Resource Activities Act and the regulations under that Act.
Section 2 BEFORE re-enacted by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
Prescribed contraventions
2 (1) For the purposes of section 25 (1) [imposed administrative penalties in relation to other matters] of the Act, the following contraventions are prescribed:
(a) a failure to submit an emission report, a verification statement or a supplementary report as required under section 3 [emission reports] of the Act;
(b) in the circumstances referred to in section 24 (1) (a) or (b) [imposed administrative penalties: inaccurate report or failure to report] of the Act, if the director is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the operator, for the purposes of that section, has a reasonable excuse, a failure to meet the operator's compliance obligation by the applicable date under section 6 (2) [compliance obligation] of the Act;
(c) a failure to submit a compliance report, a verification statement or a supplementary report as required under section 7 [compliance reports] of the Act;
(d) a failure to produce a record for examination by an inspector or provide an inspector with information as required under section 22 (5) [inspection and seizure powers] of the Act.
(2) The maximum monetary administrative penalty that may be imposed for each of the following contraventions is $50 000:
(a) a failure to submit, as required under section 3 of the Act,
(ii) a verification statement, or
(b) a failure to submit, as required under section 7 of the Act,
(ii) a verification statement, or
(c) a failure to, as required under section 22 (5) of the Act,
(i) produce a record for examination by an inspector, or
(ii) provide an inspector with information.
(3) The maximum number of compliance units, of the type specified by the director, that may be required to be made available for retirement for a contravention referred to in subsection (1) (b) is calculated in accordance with the following formula:
| 2 × (required compliance units – available compliance units) |
| where | ||
| required compliance units | = | the number of compliance units required to be retired for the regulated operation to meet the operator's compliance obligation for the compliance period; |
| available compliance units | = | the number of compliance units that were available in the operator's compliance account for the regulated operation to meet the operator's compliance obligation for the compliance period. |
Section 2 (10) (a) and (b) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 185/2024, effective July 8, 2024.
(a) in the case of an unmet compliance obligation that is an additional compliance obligation described in section 6.1 [greenhouse gas emission correction] of the Act, any amount of the additional compliance obligation that is not met by the date prescribed by section 41.16 (1) (a) (ii), (b) (ii) or (c) (ii) [emission correction] of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulation;
(b) in the case of an unmet compliance obligation that is an amount described in section 41.16 (2) (b) (i) or (ii) of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulation, any amount that is not met by the date prescribed by section 41.16 (3) of that regulation.
Section 3 (1) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
(1) The director must serve a person with a notice of intent to impose an administrative penalty before sending an administrative penalty notice to the person under section 24 (2) [imposed administrative penalties: inaccurate report or failure to report] or 25 (2) [imposed administrative penalties in relation to other matters] of the Act.
Section 3 (1) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 185/2024, effective July 8, 2024.
(1) The director must serve a person with a notice of intent to impose an administrative penalty before sending an administrative penalty notice to the person under 25 (2) [imposed administrative penalties in relation to other matters] of the Act.
Section 4 (3) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
(3) If a person fails to appear or provide materials to the director in accordance with subsection (2) (b), the director may proceed without further notice to serve the person with an administrative penalty notice under section 24 (2) [imposed administrative penalties: inaccurate report or failure to report] or 25 (2) [imposed administrative penalties in relation to other matters] of the Act.
Section 4 (4) BEFORE repealed by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
(4) If, after providing an opportunity to be heard, the director is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the operator has a reasonable excuse for the purposes of section 24 of the Act, the director must give the person written notice of that decision.
Section 5 BEFORE repealed by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
Calculating administrative penalties under sections 23 and 24 of Act
5 The number of compliance units, of the type specified by the director, required to be made available for retirement under section 23 [automatic administrative penalties: failure to meet compliance obligation] or 24 [imposed administrative penalties: inaccurate report or failure to report] of the Act is calculated in accordance with the following formula:
| 3 × (required compliance units – available compliance units) |
| where | ||
| required compliance units | = | the number of compliance units required to be retired for the regulated operation to meet the operator's compliance obligation for the compliance period; |
| available compliance units | = | the number of compliance units that were available in the operator's compliance account for the regulated operation to meet the operator's compliance obligation for the compliance period. |
Section 7 (part) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
Administrative penalty notice
7 In addition to the information required under sections 24 (2) [imposed administrative penalties: inaccurate report or failure to report] and 25 (2) [imposed administrative penalties in relation to other matters] of the Act, an administrative penalty notice must include all the following information:
Section 8 BEFORE amended by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
Continuing contraventions or failures
8 If a contravention under section 25 [imposed administrative penalties in relation to other matters] of the Act continues for more than one day, separate administrative penalties, each not exceeding the maximum administrative penalty for the contravention, may be imposed for each day the contravention continues.
Section 9 (1) and (2) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
(1) In the case of an administrative penalty under section 23 [automatic administrative penalties: failure to meet compliance obligation], 24 [imposed administrative penalties: inaccurate report or failure to report] or 25 [imposed administrative penalties in relation to other matters] of the Act that is an obligation to make compliance units available for retirement, sufficient compliance units to satisfy the administrative penalty must be deposited into the operator's compliance account within 30 days after the date the operator is subject to the administrative penalty in accordance with section 23 (1) or 26 (1) [when administrative penalty is imposed and must be satisfied] of the Act, as applicable.
(2) In the case of an administrative penalty under section 25 of the Act that is a monetary amount, the administrative penalty must be paid to the government within 30 days after the date the person is subject to the administrative penalty in accordance with section 26 (1) of the Act.
Section 10 (1) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
(1) If all or a portion of an administrative penalty that is a monetary amount is not paid when it is due, an additional penalty of up to 10% of the outstanding balance may be imposed for each 30-day period that the outstanding balance remains unpaid.
Section 10 (2) BEFORE repealed by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
(2) If all or a portion of an administrative penalty that is an obligation to make compliance units available for retirement is not satisfied when it is due, an additional penalty of up to 10% of the outstanding balance may be imposed for each 30-day period that the outstanding balance remains unsatisfied.
Section 11 (1) (part) and (2) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
(1) The minister may publish, including by electronic means, all the following information in respect of a person on whom an administrative penalty has been imposed under section 23 [automatic administrative penalties: failure to meet compliance obligation], 24 [imposed administrative penalties: inaccurate report or failure to report] or 25 [imposed administrative penalties in relation to other matters] of the Act:
(2) Publication under subsection (1) in relation to an administrative penalty under section 24 or 25 of the Act may not occur until the person is subject to the administrative penalty in accordance with section 26 (1) [when administrative penalty is imposed and must be satisfied] of the Act.
Section 12 (1), (2) and (3) BEFORE amended by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.
(1) Decisions made under the following sections of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulation are prescribed for the purposes of section 40 (1) (c) [what decisions may be appealed] of the Act:
(a) section 16 (2) (a) or (3) (a) [choice between direct measurement and mass balanced-based methodology];
(b) section 26 (3) (b) [verification bodies].
(2) Decisions made under the following sections of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Control Regulation are prescribed for the purposes of section 40 (1) (c) of the Act:
(a) section 10 (1), (3) or (4) [suspension or cancellation of accounts];
(b) section 13 (4) (b) [validation bodies and verification bodies];
(c) section 17 (2) [acceptance of project plan];
(d) section 23 (2) [issuance of offset units].
(3) After making a decision referred to in subsection (1) or (2), the director must serve notice of the decision in accordance with section 41 [notice and service under this Act] of the Act.
Section 12 (2.1) and (2.2) were added by BC Reg 24/2024, effective February 16, 2024.