Need for Enforceable and Clear Regulations
Presentation Abstract
The British Columbia Ministries of Environment and Agriculture are working with the Whatcom County staff to pilot a project for BC agriculture operators to do a manure application risk assessment for specific fields if they would like to spread manure during the winter season. This pilot project is based on a program developed by the Whatcom County in response to concerns about their dairy industry. There have been concerns for many years regarding the water quality issues in the Lower Fraser Valley on both sides of the Washington State and British Columbia (BC) border. Agricultural operations and activities appear to be a significant contributing factor to the contamination (nitrates, phosphorus, pathogens) in surface waters and groundwater. Winter spreading is generally not recommended as there is a high risk for runoff from fields into watercourses and leaching into groundwater. The BC Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and Health and the Canadian federal government departments, such as Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada have been cooperating and collaborating on these issues for many years, bringing what various resources they have to the issue. However, achieving compliance with requirements of the BC Ministry of Environment (ENV) Agricultural Waste Control Regulation (AWCR) has several challenges, including ambiguous and unspecific wording in the regulation. For example, in the current regulation, the emphasis on the phrase of “not causing pollution”, or prohibiting an activity “if it causes pollution” is problematic because it is not protective of the environment or human health — in actuality, it authorizes discharges up to a pollution threshold, does not consider cumulative impacts, and is proving resource intensive with respect to securing adequate evidence. Other jurisdictions appear to be ahead of BC in addressing these problems. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Washington State’s Environmental Agency have expressed concerns regarding international water quality issues (e.g., nitrates in Abbotsford-Sumas aquifer and surface waters migrating south), which need to be addressed. As well, the Agricultural Waste Control Regulation (AWCR) has not had a comprehensive review since it came into force in 1992. For these and other reasons, the AWCR was identified as a priority for review and updating to deal with the adverse impacts to the environment and human health from agricultural operations and activities in a more efficient and effective manner. The main challenge is to find appropriate and innovative ways to protect human health and the environment, provide regulatory certainty and ensure a sustainable and economically robust agricultural industry in BC.
Session Title
Cross-Border Local Leadership Exchange I: Water Quality in Border Areas'
Conference Track
Policy and Management
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Water--Pollution--Law and legislation--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Best management practices (Pollution prevention)--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Farm manure--Environmental aspects--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
British Columbia. Ministry of Environment; British Columbia. Ministry of Agriculture
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Need for Enforceable and Clear Regulations
2016SSEC
The British Columbia Ministries of Environment and Agriculture are working with the Whatcom County staff to pilot a project for BC agriculture operators to do a manure application risk assessment for specific fields if they would like to spread manure during the winter season. This pilot project is based on a program developed by the Whatcom County in response to concerns about their dairy industry. There have been concerns for many years regarding the water quality issues in the Lower Fraser Valley on both sides of the Washington State and British Columbia (BC) border. Agricultural operations and activities appear to be a significant contributing factor to the contamination (nitrates, phosphorus, pathogens) in surface waters and groundwater. Winter spreading is generally not recommended as there is a high risk for runoff from fields into watercourses and leaching into groundwater. The BC Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and Health and the Canadian federal government departments, such as Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada have been cooperating and collaborating on these issues for many years, bringing what various resources they have to the issue. However, achieving compliance with requirements of the BC Ministry of Environment (ENV) Agricultural Waste Control Regulation (AWCR) has several challenges, including ambiguous and unspecific wording in the regulation. For example, in the current regulation, the emphasis on the phrase of “not causing pollution”, or prohibiting an activity “if it causes pollution” is problematic because it is not protective of the environment or human health — in actuality, it authorizes discharges up to a pollution threshold, does not consider cumulative impacts, and is proving resource intensive with respect to securing adequate evidence. Other jurisdictions appear to be ahead of BC in addressing these problems. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Washington State’s Environmental Agency have expressed concerns regarding international water quality issues (e.g., nitrates in Abbotsford-Sumas aquifer and surface waters migrating south), which need to be addressed. As well, the Agricultural Waste Control Regulation (AWCR) has not had a comprehensive review since it came into force in 1992. For these and other reasons, the AWCR was identified as a priority for review and updating to deal with the adverse impacts to the environment and human health from agricultural operations and activities in a more efficient and effective manner. The main challenge is to find appropriate and innovative ways to protect human health and the environment, provide regulatory certainty and ensure a sustainable and economically robust agricultural industry in BC.
