British Columbia Bill 19 (Government) — 5th Parliament, 40th Session — Previous Version 1

5-40 Gov Bill 19-1

British Columbia — Bills

2016 Legislative Session: 5th Session, 40th Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

HONOURABLE MARY POLAK

MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT

BILL 19 – 2016

GREENHOUSE GAS INDUSTRIAL REPORTING

AND CONTROL AMENDMENT ACT, 2016

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

SECTION 1: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 1]

amends the definition of "compliance period" to provide for new entrant compliance periods and transitional compliance periods;

adds

definitions of "date of first shipment", "new entrant", "new entrant compliance period" and "transitional compliance period";

amends the definition of "holding account" to include a holding account authorized under

section 13 (6) of the Act;

specifies when a compliance period begins.

Section 1 of the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act, S.B.C. 2014, c. 29, is amended

(

a) by renumbering the

section as

section 1 (1),

(

b) in subsection (1) by repealing the definition of "compliance period" and substituting the following:

"compliance period" , in relation to a regulated operation, means whichever of the following applies:

(

a) the calendar year, unless paragraph (

b) or (

c) applies;

(

b) the applicable new entrant compliance period for a new entrant;

(

c) a transitional compliance period for a regulated operation

(

i) that is in its first compliance period and is not a new entrant, if its first compliance period begins on a date other than January 1, or

(ii) that was a new entrant and whose new entrant compliance period ended on a date other than December 31; ,

(

c) in subsection (1) by adding the following definition:

"date of first shipment" , in relation to a regulated operation, means the date on which the regulated operation transports its first shipment of product from the regulated operation for delivery

(

a) to a commercial purchaser of the product for consumption or resale,

(

b) to another regulated operation that is to refine or otherwise add commercial value to the product, or

(

c) outside of British Columbia; ,

(

d) in subsection (1) in the definition of "holding account" by striking out "

section 13 (3) (a), (4) (

a) or (5) " and substituting "

section 13 (3) (a), (4) (a), (5) or (6) ",

(

e) in subsection (1) by adding the following

definitions:

"new entrant" means a regulated operation that has been accepted by the director as a new entrant on application, in accordance with the regulations, by the proposed operator and whose new entrant compliance period has not ended;

"new entrant compliance period" , in relation to a regulated operation that is accepted as a new entrant, means a compliance period beginning on the date the regulated operation's first compliance period begins and continuing for a prescribed period;

"transitional compliance period" means whichever of the following applies:

(

a) in relation to a regulated operation that is not a new entrant and whose first compliance period begins on a date other than January 1, the period beginning on the first day of the regulated operation's first compliance period and ending as follows:

(

i) on December 31 of the current calendar year, if the first compliance period begins before July 1 of the current calendar year;

(ii) on December 31 of the next calendar year, if the first compliance period begins on or after July 1 of the current calendar year;

(

b) in relation to a regulated operation that was a new entrant and whose new entrant compliance period ended on a date other than December 31, the period beginning on the day after the applicable new entrant compliance period ended and ending

(

i) on December 31 of the current calendar year, if the new entrant compliance period ended before July 1 of the current calendar year, and

(ii) on December 31 of the next calendar year, if the new entrant compliance period ended on or after July 1 of the current calendar year; , and

(

f) by adding the following subsection:

(2) The first compliance period of a regulated operation begins on the earlier of the following:

(

a) the regulated operation's date of first shipment;

(b) 6 months after a prescribed date applicable for the purposes of this paragraph in relation to the regulated operation.

SECTION 2: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 5] is consequential to the repeal by this Bill of Column 3 of the Schedule.

Section 5 is amended

(

a) by striking out " for each compliance period set out in column 3 of the

schedule " and substituting " for a compliance period ", and

(

b) in paragraphs (

a) and (

b) by striking out " , for the compliance period, ".

SECTION 3: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 9] makes a housekeeping amendment.

Section 9 (1) is amended by striking out "

section 10 (5) " and substituting "

section 10 (6) ".

SECTION 4: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 11] removes restrictions on who may purchase funded units.

Section 11 is repealed and the following substituted:

Funded units

11 For each payment made to the government in the prescribed amount by the operator of a regulated operation, or by a person who holds a holding account, the director may issue, by crediting to an account of the operator or person, as applicable, one compliance unit that is deemed to be the equivalent of an offset unit.

SECTION 5: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 12] prohibits new entrants from earning earned credits during new entrant compliance periods.

Section 12 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a compliance report and verification statement if the compliance report and verification statement relate to a new entrant compliance period.

SECTION 6: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 13] authorizes the director to authorize persons who are neither operators of regulated operations nor project proponents to hold accounts in the registry.

Section 13 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(6) On application in accordance with the regulations, the director may authorize a person, other than the operator of a regulated operation or a project proponent, to hold a holding account to which compliance units may be credited to the person.

SECTION 7: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 20] authorizes the director to retire compliance units from a holding account that is not a holding account of an operator of a regulated operation or a project proponent.

Section 20 is amended

(

a) in subsection (3) by striking out " and " at the end of paragraph (

b) and by adding the following paragraph:

(b.1) from a person's holding account on the direction of the person, if the person is not a regulated operation, and , and

(

b) in subsection (5) by striking out " and " at the end of paragraph (

b) and by adding the following paragraph:

(b.1) from the holding account of a person described in subsection (3) (b.1), the number and type of compliance units the person directs the director to retire, and .

SECTION 8: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 26] makes housekeeping amendments.

Section 26 (1) is amended

(

a) by striking out " An operator " and substituting " A person ", and

(

b) in paragraphs (

a) and (

c) by striking out " the operator " and substituting " the person ".

SECTION 9: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 47] adds regulation-making powers in relation to new entrants and new entrant compliance periods.

Section 47 is amended

(

a) in paragraph (

b) by adding " and " at the end of subparagraph (i), by striking out " and " at the end of subparagraph (ii) and by repealing subparagraph (iii), and

(

b) by adding the following paragraphs:

(b.1) establishing the duration of new entrant compliance periods, which may be up to 18 months;

(b.2) respecting new entrant compliance periods, including, without limitation,

(

i) requiring applications to the director, in the prescribed time and manner and providing the prescribed information, for approval of a proposed regulated operation as a new entrant, in order to have a new entrant compliance period apply in relation to the regulated operation,

(ii) establishing criteria a proposed regulated operation must meet in order to be accepted as a new entrant,

(iii) prescribing the matters the director must take into account in considering an application for acceptance as a new entrant,

(iv) establishing a different methodology by which attributable greenhouse gas emissions are to be determined for a new entrant compliance period, which methodology may

(

A) divide the new entrant compliance period into discrete periods, and

(

B) deem the amount of greenhouse gas emissions attributable per unit of production for a later discrete period to be attributable per unit of production for an earlier discrete period, and

(

v) requiring the operator of a new entrant to provide information respecting operations and production to the director at any time on request of the director;

(b.3) if an emission limit or the formula for determining an emission limit changes, setting out the previous emission limit and the compliance periods to which that limit applied; .

SECTION 10: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 48] is consequential to the renumbering by this Bill of

section 1 of the Act to

section 1 (1).

Section 48 (5) (

d) is amended by striking out "

section 1 " and substituting "

section 1 (1) ".

SECTION 11: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 50] adds regulation-making powers in relation to registry account holders who are neither operators of regulated operations nor project proponents.

Section 50 (b) (

i) is repealed and the following substituted:

(

i) respecting the participation in the registry of a person referred to in

section 13 (6), including, without limitation,

(

A) prescribing the information that a person must provide to the director on application under that section,

(

B) establishing qualifications that a person must satisfy to hold an account, and

(

C) establishing restrictions on the participation in the registry of a person authorized under that

section to hold an account, .

SECTION 12: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 51] makes a housekeeping amendment.

Section 51 (

a) is amended by striking out " to retire compliance units " and substituting " to make compliance units available in a compliance account " .

SECTION 13: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 53] makes a housekeeping amendment.

Section 53 (1) (

a) is amended by striking out " to whom the reports are to be submitted and ".

SECTION 14: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

section 54]

makes a housekeeping amendment;

authorizes the recognition of emission offsets under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act as offset units under the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act .

Section 54 is amended

(

a) in subsection (4) by striking out " each reduction of one tonne of greenhouse gas emissions " and substituting " a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions or atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations ", and

(

b) by adding the following subsection:

(5) The director may issue, by crediting to the government's holding account, an offset unit for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions or atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations that would have been recognized as an emission offset under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act immediately before January 1, 2016, if

(

a) title to the reduction was transferred to the government on or before December 31, 2015, and

(

b) the emission offset has not been applied to meet the obligation under

section 5 of that Act of a public sector organization.

SECTION 15: [Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act,

Schedule of Regulated Operations and Emission Limits] repeals Column 3 of the Schedule.

15 Column 3 of the

Schedule of Regulated Operations and Emission Limits is repealed.

Commencement

16 The provisions of this Act referred to in column 1 of the following table come into force as set out in column 2 of the table:

Item

Column 1

Provisions of Act

Column 2