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Volume 63, No. 16

216/2020

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

August 25, 2020

B.C. Reg. 216/2020 , deposited August 14, 2020, under the OIL AND GAS ACTIVITIES ACT [sections 106, 111 and 112]. Regulation of the board of the Oil and Gas Commission, dated August 14, 2020.

The board of the Oil and Gas Commission orders that the Oil and Gas Road Regulation, B.C. Reg. 56/2013, is amended as set out in the attached Schedule.

— F. MIHLAR, Chair, Board of Directors .

Schedule

Section 1 of the Oil and Gas Road Regulation, B.C. Reg. 56/2013, is amended

(

a) by adding the following

definitions:

"affected permit holder" , in relation to an oil and gas road, means a permit holder whose rights under the permit might be affected by construction of the road;

"affected rights holder" , in relation to an oil and gas road, means a "rights holder" as defined in

section 1 of the Consultation and Notification Regulation whose rights under the applicable instrument might be affected by construction of the road;

"engineered retaining wall" means a retaining wall greater than 1.5 m in height;

"local Indigenous nation" , in relation to an oil and gas road, means an Indigenous nation that is identified for the road in a manner specified by the commission; ,

(

b) in the definition of "maintain" by striking out "

Part 4 " and substituting " the provisions of

Part 3 respecting maintenance or restoration ",

(

c) by adding the following definition:

"protection measures" means sections 11 and 12 of the Environmental Protection and Management Regulation; ,

(

d) by repealing the definition of "rights holder" , and

(

e) by adding the following

definitions:

"roadwork area" , in relation to an oil and gas road, means any of the following:

(

a) the road right of way;

(

b) an area that is adjacent to the road right of way and has been used for construction, operation or maintenance of the road under a permit or authorization held by the road permit holder;

"stream channel" has the same meaning as in the Environmental Protection and Management Regulation; .

Section 2 is repealed and the following substituted:

Oil and gas roads prescribed

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the following are prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (

f) of the definition of "oil and gas activity" in

section 1 (2) of the Act:

(

a) a road or portion of a road that is constructed or maintained to facilitate the carrying out of a primary activity;

(

b) a road or portion of a road that was constructed before June 3, 2013 under the Land Act , the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act or the Pipeline Act and has been used to facilitate the carrying out of a primary activity.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a road that

(

a) has been deactivated, or

(

b) is required to be maintained under an enactment other than

(

i) this regulation, and

(ii)

an Act referred to in subsection (1) (b).

Section 4 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out " notify the commission, affected land owners and affected rights holders of the construction of an oil and gas road " and substituting " notify the commission, local Indigenous nations, affected land owners, affected permit holders and affected rights holders of the construction of the oil and gas road ", and

(

b) by adding the following subsection:

(3) A notice under subsection (1) to a local Indigenous nation must be provided in the form and manner that are identified for the nation in a manner specified by the commission, if a manner is specified.

4 The heading to

Part 3 is repealed and the following substituted:

Part 3 – Construction and Maintenance .

5 The following

section is added to

Part 3:

Use of qualified person

4.1

(1) A road permit holder who constructs an oil and gas road must ensure that the design and construction of the road are carried out under the supervision of a qualified person.

(2) A road permit holder who maintains an oil and gas road must ensure that maintenance of the road is carried out under the supervision of a qualified person.

Section 5 is amended

(

a) by striking out " not less than the width necessary to ensure " and substituting " wide enough to ensure ",

(

b) in paragraph (

e) by adding " at least " after " considering ",

(

c) in paragraph (e) (

i) by striking out " pits " and substituting " borrow pits ",

(

d) by repealing paragraph (e) (ii) and substituting the following:

(ii) the storage of material and equipment as authorized under

section 19.1 (2) or (3); , and

(

e) in paragraph (

e) by adding the following subparagraph:

(vi) the need to maintain sight lines, including, without limitation, at

(

A) curves and hills,

(

B) locations where the road crosses a road or railway, and

(

C) locations where the road crosses a bridge or major culvert.

Section 6 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) (

a) by striking out " designed and fabricated " and substituting " designed, fabricated and installed ",

(

b) by repealing subsection (1) (b) (

i) and substituting the following:

(

i) in compliance with whichever of the following, as amended from time to time, is applicable:

(

A) Canadian Standards Association standard CAN/CSA G401, Corrugated Steel Pipe Products;

(

B) section B182.8 of Canadian Standards Association standard CSA B1800, Plastic Nonpressure Pipe Compendium, or ,

(

c) in subsection (2) by adding " and " at the end of paragraph (a), by striking out " and " at the end of paragraph (

b) and by repealing paragraph (c),

(

d) in subsection (3) by adding " and " at the end of paragraph (c), by striking out " and " at the end of paragraph (

d) and by repealing paragraph (e), and

(

e) by adding the following subsection:

(3.1) A road permit holder must remove the following structures from the oil and gas road before any period of high flow begins:

(

a) a bridge referred to in subsection (2), or the components of the bridge that are vulnerable to damage by high flow;

(

b) a culvert referred to in subsection (3).

Section 7 is repealed and the following substituted:

Structural defects or deficiencies in a bridge, culvert or engineered retaining wall

(1) This

section applies in relation to the following structures:

(

a) a bridge;

(

b) a culvert;

(

c) an engineered retaining wall.

(2) A road permit holder who knows of a structural defect or structural deficiency on a structure associated with the oil and gas road must

(

a) ensure that a qualified person carries out an inspection of the structure and recommends that one or more actions be taken under paragraph (c),

(

b) make a record of the inspection and recommendations, and

(

c) take one or more of the following actions as recommended by, and under the supervision of, the qualified person:

(

i) correct the defect or deficiency;

(ii) remove or replace the structure;

(iii) restrict traffic loads to a safe level;

(iv) close the road, or a portion of the road, under

section

Section 8 is repealed and the following substituted:

Signs and markers for bridges

(1) A road permit holder must, for each bridge associated with the oil and gas road, place and maintain

(

a) a reflective marker on each corner of the bridge,

(

b) a sign that indicates there is a narrow structure ahead, and

(

c) if the road permit holder knows of a structural defect or deficiency on the bridge, a sign that states the maximum load capacity of the bridge.

(2) A sign required under this

section must be placed at a distance from the bridge sufficient to enable users of the road to stop safely before reaching the bridge.

(3) A sign or marker required under this

section must be designed and maintained in accordance with any requirements specified by the commission.

Section 9 is amended

(

a) by adding the following subsection:

(0.1) This

section applies in relation to the following structures:

(

a) a bridge;

(

b) a major culvert;

(

c) an engineered retaining wall. ,

(

b) in subsections (1) and (2) by striking out " bridge or major culvert " wherever it appears and substituting " structure ",

(

c) in subsection (1) (

b) by striking out " as-built drawings " and substituting " record drawings ",

(

d) in subsection (1) (

c) by adding " and records " after " information ",

(

e) in subsections (1) (c) (

i) and (2) (b) (

i) by striking out " declaration " and substituting " signed statement ",

(

f) in subsection (2) by striking out " visual inspections carried out under

section 14 (1) and detailed inspections carried out under

section 14 (2) of " and substituting " inspections and recommendations under

section 7 (2) or 14 (1) or (2) that relate to ", and

(

g) by adding the following subsection:

(4) The records required to be retained under subsections (1) (

c) and (2) are prescribed for the purposes of

section 38 (1) (

a) of the Act.

Section 10 (1) is amended by striking out " a road permit holder " and substituting " the road permit holder ".

12 The heading to

Part 4 is repealed.

13 The following sections are added:

Ongoing restoration – disturbed areas

11.1 A road permit holder who is not using a roadwork area for the oil and gas road for the construction, operation or maintenance of the road must restore the roadwork area, as soon as weather and ground conditions permit, by

(

a) revegetating the area, using ecologically suitable species, so as to maintain bank and slope stability, and

(

b) implementing measures in the area, until the vegetation referred to in paragraph (

a) is established, to

(

i) conserve soil in the area, and

(ii) prevent erosion, and sediment transport, from the area into streams and bodies of water.

Ongoing restoration – invasive plants

11.2

(1) A road permit holder must ensure that invasive plants do not

(

a) become established in the roadwork areas for the oil and gas road, or

(

b) spread from a roadwork area for the oil and gas road into areas that are immediately adjacent to the roadwork area.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a road permit holder must

(

a) make reasonable efforts to ensure that seed, plant parts and propagules of invasive plants are not transported into the road-work areas for the oil and gas road, and

(

b) promptly remove invasive plants from

(

i) the roadwork areas for the oil and gas road, and

(ii) any immediately adjacent areas referred to in subsection (1) (

b) into which invasive plants have spread from a roadwork area for the oil and gas road.

14 The following

section is added:

Maintenance and deactivation of borrow pits

13.1

(1) A road permit holder who holds an authorization for a borrow pit that the road permit holder has used for construction, maintenance or deactivation of the oil and gas road must ensure that the cut slopes of the borrow pit are

(

a) stable, and

(

b) graded to a resting angle that

(

i) facilitates reasonable egress by wildlife and livestock, and

(ii) does not exceed a grade of 2:1.

(2) A road permit holder who holds an authorization for a borrow pit described in subsection (1) that the road permit holder is not using for construction, maintenance or deactivation of the oil and gas road must deactivate the borrow pit, as soon as weather and ground conditions permit, by

(

a) spreading topsoil evenly around the perimeter and edges of the borrow pit, and

(

b) revegetating the perimeter and edges of the borrow pit with ecologically suitable species.

Section 14 is amended

(

a) by adding the following subsection:

(0.1) This

section applies in relation to the following structures:

(

a) a bridge;

(

b) a major culvert;

(

c) an engineered retaining wall. ,

(

b) in subsections (1) (a), (2) (

a) and (b) (

i) and (3) (

a) by striking out " bridge or major culvert " wherever it appears and substituting " structure ", and

(

c) in subsection (3) (b) (

i) by striking out " declaration " and substituting " signed statement ".

16 The following

Part is added:

Part 4 – Streams and Stream Crossings

Streams and stream crossings

15.1

(1) A permit holder who constructs, operates, maintains or deactivates an oil and gas road must comply with the protection measures, whether the road right of way is on Crown land or land other than Crown land.

(2) A permit holder who uses an oil and gas road must comply with the protection measures, whether the road right of way is on Crown land or on land other than Crown land, as though that use were an oil and gas activity.

(3) A road permit holder must not construct or place at a stream crossing for the oil and gas road anything except a bridge, culvert, ice bridge or snow fill.

(4) A road permit holder must ensure that

(

a) any abutments, footings and scour protection of bridges and culverts associated with the oil and gas road are located outside stream channels, and

(

b) equipment used for the construction, operation, maintenance or deactivation of the oil and gas road is not located in a stream channel unless

(

i) the stream channel is dry, or

(ii) the stream is frozen to the bottom.

Spring freshet

15.2 A road permit holder must remove the following stream crossings from the oil and gas road before the spring freshet:

(

a) snow fills;

(

b) culverts used in snow fills or ice bridges.

17 The following

section is added to

Part 5:

Use of oil and gas road

15.3

(1) A permit holder must not use an oil and gas road unless the road is safe for the intended use.

(2) A permit holder must not use an oil and gas road if

(

a) there is no road permit holder for the road,

(

b) the road is causing damage to the environment, or

(

c) the intended use will damage the road or the environment.

18 The following

section is added:

Storage and disposal in right of way

19.1

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a permit holder must not store or dispose of material, equipment, garbage or anything else in a roadwork area.

(2) A road permit holder for a seasonal oil and gas road may store bridge and culvert material in a roadwork area for the road during the off-season for the road, if the material will be required for construction, operation or maintenance of the road in the next season.

(3) A road permit holder may store material and equipment in a roadwork area for the oil and gas road temporarily during construction, operation, maintenance or deactivation of the road if the material and equipment are required for that activity.

Section 20 is amended by adding the following subsections:

(1.1) The commission may restrict access to or close, or order a permit holder to restrict access to or close, permanently or temporarily, an oil and gas road if the commission is satisfied that the action is necessary in the public interest.

(1.2) A road permit holder may restrict access to any portion of the oil and gas road located on private property other than access in accordance with

section 21 or for land owner uses.

Section 22 is amended

(

a) by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) Subject to subsection (2), a road permit holder must deactivate the oil and gas road when restoring the land that was used for the primary activity in respect of which the road was used, unless the road is required for monitoring purposes. ,

(

b) in subsection (2) by striking out " within 2 years of the abandonment of the well or pipeline or the removal of the facility " and substituting " when restoring that site ", and

(

c) by repealing subsection (3) and substituting the following:

(3) A road permit holder who deactivates an oil and gas road must deactivate the road

(

a) under the supervision of a qualified person, and

(

b) in accordance with this Part.

Section 23 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

(1) A road permit holder who intends to deactivate an oil and gas road must provide written notice of the intention to all of the following:

(

a) the commission;

(

b) affected land owners;

(

c) local Indigenous nations;

(

d) users of the road known to the road permit holder;

(

e) the district office for the forest district, as established in the Administrative Boundaries Regulation, B.C. Reg. 137/2014, in which the road is located. ,

(

b) by adding the following subsection:

(2.1) A notice under subsection (1) to a local Indigenous nation must be provided in the form and manner that are identified for the nation in a manner specified by the commission, if a manner is specified. ,

(

c) by repealing subsection (3) and substituting the following:

(3) A road permit holder may not begin deactivating an oil and gas road unless at least 30 days and not more than 60 days have elapsed since the road permit holder provided notice under subsection (1) in relation to the deactivation. , and

(

d) by adding the following subsections:

(5) A road permit holder who provides written notice under subsection (1) must

(

a) retain a copy of the notice, and

(

b) if the road permit holder receives written responses from or on behalf of the entities referred to in that subsection,

(

i) retain a copy of each response,

(ii) if a response objects to the deactivation, promptly submit to the commission a copy of the response, and

(iii) if the road permit holder completes the deactivation,

(

A) prepare a written report, within 30 days after the completion, that summarizes the responses and identifies the measures, if any, that the road permit holder took to address them, and

(

B) retain a copy of the report.

(6) The records required to be retained under subsection (5) are prescribed for the purposes of

section 38 (1) (

a) of the Act.

Section 24 is amended

(

a) by adding the following paragraph:

(d.1) remove engineered retaining walls, if the failure of those walls would have a material adverse effect on property, improvements or the environment; , and

(

b) by repealing paragraph (

f) and substituting the following:

(

f) comply with

section 19 (1) (

c) and (

d) of the Environmental Protection and Management Regulation, whether the road right of way is on Crown land or land other than Crown land.

Section 26 (1) is amended by striking out " a road permit holder " and substituting " the road permit holder ".

Section 27 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out " written declaration " and substituting " signed statement ",

(

b) in subsection (1) (

b) by striking out " if applicable " and substituting " as applicable ", and

(

c) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) A signed statement under subsection (1) must

(

a) be signed by the road permit holder or a director or officer of the road permit holder, and

(

b) specify the date on which the statement is signed.

Section 28 is repealed and the following substituted:

Exemption by official

28 An official may exempt a permit holder from complying with one or more provisions of this regulation and may impose one or more conditions with respect to the exemption.

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