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Volume 45, No. 23

B.C. Reg. 351/2002

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

December 17, 2002

B.C. Reg. 351/2002, deposited December 13, 2002, pursuant to the FOREST PRACTICES CODE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA ACT [Sections 198, 199 and 203]. Order in Council 1102/2002, approved and ordered December 13, 2002.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that, effective December 17, 2002,

(

a) the Forest Road Regulation, B.C. Reg. 106/98, is repealed and the Forest Road Regulation attached to this order is substituted, and

(

b) the 4 month periods referred to in

section 10 (1) (d) (ii) and 12 (b) (ii) of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act do not apply for the purposes of paragraph (a). — M. de JONG, Minister of Forests; G. CAMPBELL, Presiding Member of the Executive Council.

FOREST ROAD REGULATION

Contents

Part 1 —

Definitions and Application

Definitions

Workers Compensation Act prevails

Part 2 — Road Layout and Design

Road layout and design approval

Selecting road location

Content of road layout and design

Drainage design

Requirements for designs of bridges, culverts, etc.

Part 3 — Construction and Modification

Subgrade construction

Drainage construction

Revegetation

Part 4 — Maintenance

Bridge and major culvert inspection, evaluation and maintenance

Follow up to inspection of bridge and major culverts

Road inspection and maintenance

Part 5 — Deactivation

Timing windows and measures for road deactivation

Road deactivation

Amendment of deactivation prescription

Hazard warning

General wildlife measures in wildlife habitat areas

Part 6 — Records and Reporting

Records that must be retained

Part 1 —

Definitions and Application

Definitions

(1) In this regulation:

"bridge" means a temporary or permanent structure carrying a road above a stream or other opening;

"clearing width" means the width required to be cleared of standing timber to accommodate road construction, maintenance and use;

"culvert" means a transverse drain pipe or log structure covered with soil and lying below the road surface;

"cross-drain culvert" means a culvert used to carry ditch water from one side of the road to the other;

"cut slope" means the face of an excavated bank required to lower the natural ground line to the desired road profile;

"deactivation" means closure and stabilization of a road that will no longer be used by the person who is required to deactivate it under

section 64 of the Act, so that the area over which the road was constructed will be stable and will not adversely impact other resources;

"drainage system" means a system designed to control the flow of water within a road prism;

"endhaul" means the act of moving excavated material from one

section of the road to another or to a disposal site, during road construction or modification, unless the modification consists of replacing or adding a stream culvert or a bridge, or providing structural repairs to a bridge or major culvert;

"fill slope" means the face of an embankment required to raise the desired road profile above the natural ground line;

"fisheries-sensitive zone" means a flooded depression, pond or swamp, but does not include a stream, wetland or lake, that either perennially or seasonally contains water, and that is seasonally occupied by a species of fish listed in the definition of "fish stream" in the Operational and Site Planning Regulation;

"ford" means a dip in a road constructed to facilitate crossing a stream;

"known" means, when used to describe a feature, objective or other thing referred to in this regulation as known,

(

a) a feature, objective or other thing that is identified as a known feature, objective or thing in the forest development plan in which the road is proposed, or in the forest development plan in which the part of the forest development plan that is the road is amended,

(

b) a feature, objective or other thing that is identified in a silviculture prescription as a known objective, feature or thing, or

(

c) a feature, objective or other thing that is not required to be identified in an operational plan, or if there is no operational plan, that is

(

i) contained in a higher level plan, or

(ii) otherwise identified or made available to a person by a district manager

at least 4 months before the road layout and design for which the information is required is prepared;

"major culvert" means a stream culvert having a pipe diameter of 2 000 mm or greater, or a maximum design discharge of 6 m3/sec or greater;

"permanent bridge" means a bridge whose expected life at its current location is greater than 15 years;

"person required to prepare a road layout and design" means a person required to obtain approval of a road layout and design under

section 60 (1) of the Act and a district manager required to prepare one under

section 60 (2) of the Act;

"qualified registered professional" means, with respect to an activity for which this regulation requires a qualified registered professional, a person who

(

a) has appropriate education and experience to carry out the activity, and

(

b) is a member of, or licensed by, a regulatory body in British Columbia that has the legislated authority to regulate its members' performance of the activity;

"road prism" means the area of the ground containing the road surface, cut slope, and fill slope;

"road subgrade width" means the width of the top surface of the road fill or excavated surface, before surfacing is applied;

"safe fish passage" means safe passage of fish through culverts for the purposes of spawning, rearing or migration;

"slash" means the residue left on the ground as a result of forest and other vegetation being altered by forest practices or other land use activities;

"snow road" means a road constructed of ice and snow;

"stream culvert" means a culvert used to carry stream flow in an ephemeral or perennial stream channel from one side of the road to the other;

"wilderness road" means a forest service road, or a road that is subject to a road permit or road use permit, that is not being used for any of the purposes set out in

section 54 (1) and (2) of the Act.

(2) Words and expressions not defined in this regulation have the meaning given to them in the Operational and Site Planning Regulation unless otherwise indicated.

Workers Compensation Act prevails

2 If there is a conflict between the Workers Compensation Act or a regulation under that Act, and this regulation, the Workers Compensation Act , or the regulation made under that Act prevails.

Part 2 — Road Layout and Design

Road layout and design approval

3 The prescribed circumstances under

section 60 (1) (

b) of the Act in which a person must obtain the district manager's approval of a road layout and design are:

(

a) except for crossings, the road is proposed to be located within a riparian management area;

(

b) the road is proposed to be located in a community watershed and within 100 m upslope of a known licensed community water supply intake;

(

c) the road is proposed to cross terrain described in

section 5 (1) (

b) and the measure will not result in the least likelihood of a landslide.

Selecting road location

(1) A person required to prepare a road layout and design must

(

a) locate the road to be consistent with higher level plans, any approved operational plan, cutting permit, road permit or special use permit, and

(

b) select and locate stream crossings so that

(

i) channel and bank disturbances at the crossing, or immediately upstream and downstream, can be prevented or mitigated, and

(ii) any bridge or culvert will be stable.

(2) A road and related works and activities must be located outside a riparian management area, except for crossings, unless in the opinion of the district manager,

(

a) no other practicable option exists, or

(

b) locating the road outside the riparian management area will create a higher risk of sediment delivery to a stream.

(3) A road in a community watershed must not

(

a) be located within a 100 m radius upslope of a known licensed community water supply intake, unless the district manager agrees that the road may be located closer to the intake, or

(

b) interfere with the known subsurface flow path of a drainage area that contributes to a spring.

(4) Subsection (3) (

a) does not apply to a road servicing a known licensed community water supply intake.

Content of road layout and design

(1) A person required to prepare a road layout and design must ensure that it

(

a) includes a map showing the location of the road, as determined by a field traverse, with the stream or lake crossings indicated on the map,

(

b) incorporates measures to provide a stable road prism or other landslide risk mitigation strategies, if a reasonable, knowledgeable person determines that such measures are required, following a site inspection that must be carried out if

(

i) terrain stability hazard mapping or reconnaissance terrain stability mapping indicates that the road location crosses unstable or potentially unstable terrain,

(ii) the mapping referred to in subparagraph (

i) has not been done, and the road location crosses terrain with slopes greater than 60%, or

(iii) the road location crosses terrain where there are indicators of slope instability,

(

c) includes a written statement described under

section 8 (1) (

i) if the road crosses terrain described in

section 5 (1) (b), and the person preparing measures described in subsection (1) (

b) of this

section determines, that

(

i) the proposed work is complex, or

(ii) the extent and nature of the work actually carried out leading up to completion is not readily discernible after completion,

(

d) includes the results of a visual impact assessment, within an area that is a known scenic area, that demonstrates that the road work is consistent with the established visual quality objectives for that area, and

(

e) includes the results of an archaeological impact assessment that meets the requirements of the minister responsible for the Heritage Conservation Act if the district manager is satisfied that the assessment is necessary to adequately manage and conserve archaeological sites in the area affected by the road or road work.

(2) A road layout and design that requires the approval of the district manager under

section 3 must include:

(

a) the information described in subsection (1), and

(

b) the rationale for the person's proposed option.

Drainage design

(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), a person required to prepare a road layout and design must design new bridges, their approaches, and stream culvert structures to meet the peak flow criteria set out in the following table:

Period of use at site

Minimum design peak flow

Bridges and culverts up to 3 years

10 year return period

Bridges from 3 to 15 years

50 year return period

Bridges over 15 years and culverts over 3 years

100 year return period

(2) Despite subsection (1), a stream culvert may be constructed at a stream crossing to meet the expected flows for the period of use, if all of the following requirements are met:

(

a) the stream is not a fish stream;

(

b) a reasonable, knowledgeable person would expect that the installation and use will be in a period of low stream flows;

(

c) there will be no crossings in this location after the period of use;

(

d) the culvert is removed before the period of high stream flows.

(3) Despite subsection (1), if the components of a bridge that are vulnerable to damage at times of peak stream flow are removed at times of risk, the bridge must be designed to pass expected stream flows for the period of use.

(4) Despite subsection (1), stream culverts in community watersheds must be designed to pass the peak flow referred to in subsection (1) without the stream surface rising above the top of the culvert inlet, unless a professional engineer has designed inlet and outlet protection measures.

Requirements for designs of bridges, culverts, etc.

(1) A design and fabrication for a bridge must

(

a) be in accordance with the requirements of

(

i) the Canadian Standards Association, Design of Highway Bridges, CAN/CSA-S6, and

(ii) the Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual

in effect at the time the design is done, and

(

b) take into account logging trucks with unbalanced loads and off-centre driving.

(2) A person required to prepare a road layout and design must obtain a professional engineer's written structural analysis of portable bridge superstructures that are being reused at a new site, unless

(

a) the bridge superstructure was originally designed by a professional engineer,

(

b) the bridge superstructure will be reused at the new site to carry the original design loads or lighter loads, and

(

c) an inspection of the bridge at the new site before the first use of the bridge is unable to detect any damage or deterioration in the bridge.

Part 3 — Construction and Modification

Subgrade construction

(1) A person required to construct or modify a road in compliance with

section 62 (1) of the Act, must, in the course of the activity, comply with all of the following:

(

a) fell all standing trees within the clearing width and fell any danger trees that have the potential to reach the proposed road surface;

(

b) in areas where felled trees could reach streams or lakes,

(

i) directionally fell trees away from the stream or lake, unless that is impractical, and

(ii) use felling and yarding methods that prevent the stream bank from destabilizing;

(

c) take steps to ensure that the road will remain stable until it is deactivated or a notice is received under

section 64 (11.1) of the Act;

(

d) take steps to ensure that at the completion of the subgrade construction or modification, any borrow pits, quarries, waste areas and endhaul disposal sites are left in a stable condition;

(

e) not deposit slash, debris or soil into a lake, wetland, stream, fisheries-sensitive zone or marine-sensitive zone, if the deposit is capable of

(

i) damaging fish habitat, or

(ii) causing the water to fail to meet its known water quality objectives;

(

f) not deposit slash and debris in a manner that would increase the likelihood of slope failure;

(

g) establish clearing widths that are the minimum required to accommodate the following:

(

i) road prism;

(ii) user safety;

(iii) subgrade drainage;

(iv) subgrade stability;

(

v) areas for the placement of slash, debris and other waste;

(vi) operation of equipment;

(vii) snow removal;

(viii) fencing and other structures that are ancillary to the road;

(ix) pits or quarries;

(

x) landings;

(

h) construct cut slope angles to remain stable over the expected life of the road, unless

(

i) sliding of soil particles or of thin sheets of soil particles from the cutbank, or

(ii) sloughing of the cutbank

cannot reasonably be expected to contribute to slope failures;

(

i) ensure that a qualified registered professional signs and seals a statement that construction or modification work has been carried out in general conformance with the road layout and design, if such a statement is required by the road layout and design under

section 5 (1) (c);

(

j) use rock drilling and blasting techniques that are scheduled and selected to minimize disturbance to known forest resources and existing improvements;

(

k) locate borrow pits, quarries, waste areas and endhaul disposal sites in areas where eroded soil materials or other harmful materials will be prevented from entering streams;

(

l) keep equipment fueling or servicing fluids controlled or contained to avoid damage to forest resources;

(

m) if the road being constructed or modified is a snow road, minimize ground disturbance by using clean compacted snow and ice as fill material;

(

n) ensure that a professional engineer signs and seals a statement that the structure is in general conformance with the design drawings and specifications prepared by a professional engineer, for

(

i) a retaining wall that is more than 1.5 m high, or

(ii) another specialized structure, the design of which falls within the practice of professional engineering as defined in the Engineers and Geoscientists Act ;

(

o) if the road is in a community watershed,

(

i) notify water licensees or their representatives of the start date of road construction or modification at least 48 hours before the start of road construction or modification,

(ii) ensure that rock that is from a known acid generating rock formation is not used for road construction or modification, and

(iii) ensure that road construction or modification does not cause the quality of water to fail to meet the known water quality objectives.

(2) A person required to construct or modify a road in compliance with

section 62 (1) of the Act, may, in the course of the activity,

(

a) use stumps and logs as retaining structures under or against the fill, if the retaining structures are designed by a qualified, registered professional to provide slope stability, and

(

b) for those road layout and designs that were approved under

section 3, amend a road layout and design without approval if the modification will not materially change the expected effects of the original approved design on the riparian management area, the known licensed community water intake, or terrain stability.

(3) A person required to construct or modify a road in compliance with

section 62 (1) of the Act must submit a map of the constructed or modified road to the district manager, in a form and manner, and with the content, satisfactory to the minister.

Drainage construction

(1) A person required to construct or modify a road in compliance with

section 62 (1) of the Act must do all of the following when constructing the drainage system for the road:

(

a) construct such bridges, culverts, fords and ditches as are necessary to maintain surface drainage patterns, in accordance with any design requirements referred to in sections 6 and 7;

(

b) install bridges, culverts or fords at all crossings of permanent or seasonal streams;

(

c) ensure that the drainage system

(

i) intercepts surface or subsurface drainage from the cut slope,

(ii) drains ditches and controls ditch erosion,

(iii) prevents ponding of water where road stability may be compromised,

(iv) prevents water from being directed onto potentially unstable slopes or soil material, and

(

v) minimizes the amount of sediment entering streams;

(

d) ensure that any stream and cross-drain culverts are structurally sound, functional, and stable;

(

e) prevent road embankment and waste materials from interfering with waterflow at culvert inlets and outlets;

(

f) at culvert outlets, protect fill that is unstable or susceptible to erosion with erosion-resistant materials or drainage structures;

(

g) construct bridges and culverts to prevent or mitigate stream bank disturbance and to avoid adversely affecting downstream water quality;

(

h) construct crossings in fish streams

(

i) in accordance with timing windows and measures provided in writing by a designated environment official in order to adequately manage and conserve aquatic resources, and

(ii) at a time and in a way that provides safe fish passage and protects fish habitat at the crossing and immediately upstream and downstream of the crossing;

(

i) fabricate all permanent bridge and culvert materials according to the standards of the Canadian Standards Association, Design of Highway Bridges, CAN/CSA-S6, in effect at the time of fabrication;

(

j) after construction of a bridge designed by a professional engineer, ensure that a professional engineer signs and seals a statement that the entire bridge is in general conformance with the design drawings and specifications;

(

k) after construction of a bridge designed by a professional forester, ensure that a professional forester or professional engineer signs and seals a statement that the entire bridge is in general conformance with the design drawings and specifications;

(

l) after construction of a bridge not designed by a professional engineer or forester, sign a statement that the entire bridge is in general conformance with the design drawings and specifications.

(2) During and at the completion of construction activities, the person responsible for the construction or modification of the road must, for bridges and major culverts,

(

a) obtain and retain any pile driving records and, for new materials, mill test certificates, in-plant steel fabrication drawings, concrete test results, compaction results, and other pertinent field and construction data, and

(

b) prepare as-built drawings and retain them for the life of the structure.

Revegetation

10 A person required to construct or modify a road in compliance with

section 62 (1) of the Act, or to deactivate a road under

section 64 of the Act must,

(

a) unless vegetation will naturally recur, apply seed in the first growing season after completion of construction, modification or deactivation to all exposed soil that will support vegetation in all of the following areas:

(

i) inactive borrow pits;

(ii) waste areas;

(iii) road cuts;

(iv) fill slopes;

(

v) other disturbed areas within the clearing width, and

(

b) ensure that areas described in paragraph (

a) are revegetated within 2 years of the completion of construction, modification or deactivation, as applicable.

Part 4 — Maintenance

Bridge and major culvert inspection, evaluation and maintenance

(1) A person required to maintain a road under

section 63 of the Act must carry out an inspection of bridges and major culverts, and make a record of the inspection, at least once every 3 years after they are constructed, unless

(

a) a longer period is specified by a professional engineer as part of the inspection record, in which case the record must be produced within that longer period, or

(

b) the stringers or any portion of the structural components of the bridge substructure are untreated wood, in which case the inspection must be carried out at least once every 2 years after construction.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a person required to maintain a road under

section 63 of the Act must make an inspection record concerning a bridge or major culvert

(

a) after the occurrence of an event that might have caused damage to the structure, and

(

b) more often than is required under subsection (1) and at a level of frequency that a professional engineer determines in writing to be adequate for the continuing safe use of the bridge by users referred to in

section 54 (1) or (2) of the Act, if an inspection detects structural defects or if the defects are otherwise evident.

(3) A person required to maintain a road under

section 63 of the Act must retain a copy of the inspection record of a given structure for one year beyond the actual life of the structure at the site.

Follow up to inspection of bridge and major culverts

(1) A person required to maintain a road under

section 63 of the Act must, if the bridge has structural deficiencies,

(

a) correct the deficiencies,

(

b) close, remove or replace the bridge before users or downstream improve-ments and forest resources are placed at risk,

(

c) restrict traffic loads to a safe level, or

(

d) ensure that a professional engineer evaluates the bridge according to the requirements of the Canadian Standards Association, Design of Highway Bridges, CAN/CSA-S6, as amended up to the date of the evaluation.

(2) If a professional engineer determines that a bridge is unable to carry its original design load, the person required to maintain the road under

section 63 of the Act must place a sign on each bridge approach stating the actual capacity of the bridge.

Road inspection and maintenance

(1) A person who maintains a road under

section 63 of the Act must inspect and repair the road to ensure that

(

a) the structural integrity of the road prism and clearing width are protected,

(

b) the drainage systems of the road are functional,

(

c) the transport of sediment from the road prism and its effects on other forest resources are minimized,

(

d) safe passage for fish is provided at fish stream crossings constructed or modified after June 15, 1995, and

(

e) the road can safely be used for purposes referred to in

section 54 (1) or (2) of the Act.

(2) The person must ensure that, for the purposes of subsection (1) (c), road maintenance activities in a community watershed do not cause the quality of water to fail to meet the known water quality objectives established by the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.

(3) Despite subsection (1), if a road is a wilderness road

(a) subsection (1) (

e) does not apply to the person required to maintain the road, and

(b) subsection (1) (

a) and (

b) applies only with respect to the risk to the environment.

Part 5 — Deactivation

Timing windows and measures for road deactivation

14 A person who carries out road deactivation under

section 64 of the Act must conform with timing windows and measures provided by the designated environment official to adequately manage and conserve aquatic resources that apply to deactivation works in and around stream crossings.

Road deactivation

(1) A person who carries out road deactivation under

section 64 of the Act must ensure that the deactivation work provides for, or addresses, all of the following requirements:

(

a) removal of bridge and log culvert superstructures;

(

b) if failure of a bridge or log culvert substructure would adversely affect downstream forest resources or property, removal of the bridge or log culvert substructure;

(

c) removal of all stream pipe culverts;

(

d) stabilization of the road prism and clearing width;

(

e) restoration or maintenance of the surface drainage patterns, consistent with natural drainage patterns;

(

f) deactivation works in community watersheds that do not cause the quality of water to fail to meet the known water quality objectives;

(

g) safe fish passage and protection of fish habitat at stream crossings immediately upstream and downstream of the stream crossing structure, and the timing and description of the work to achieve these objectives;

(

h) minimization of the impact of silt and sediment transport on other forest resources;

(

i) closure of the road to further motor vehicle use by erecting a barricade.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a qualified registered professional must

(

a) prepare a prescription for deactivation work to reduce the likelihood of landslides in terrain described in

section 5 (1) (b), and

(

b) if specified in the prescription, sign and seal a statement that the deactivation work was carried out in general conformance with the prescription.

(3) A person who deactivates a road in a community watershed must notify water licensees or their representatives of the start date of deactivation work at least 48 hours before the start of deactivation work.

Amendment of deactivation prescription

16 A person who deactivates a road under

section 64 of the Act must not amend a prescription prepared in accordance with

section 15 (2) unless the change is agreed to by a person authorized in that

section to prepare such prescriptions.

Hazard warning

17 Before commencement of road deactivation activities, the person who is required to deactivate the road under

section 64 of the Act must erect a sign at a location or locations, containing information

(

a) sufficient to warn users of the road of the hazards that May be expected during deactivation work, if the road is open to motor vehicle traffic, and

(

b) upon completion of deactivation work, sufficient to warn potential users of the road that the road is closed to traffic.

General wildlife measures in wildlife habitat areas

18 A person required to carry out road construction or modification in compliance with

section 62 of the Act, and who is carrying it out in a known wildlife habitat area, must carry it out in accordance with general wildlife measures that are

(

a) established for application within the wildlife habitat area, and

(

b) made available to the person by the designated environment official at the time the wildlife habitat area is made known.

Part 6 — Records and Reporting

Records that must be retained

19 A person who is required to make a record and a person who is required to ensure that a record is made must keep the record or a copy of it for 7 years, or if another period of retention is specified under a provision of this regulation, that other specified period.

Copyright © 2002: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada