NBA BRITISH COLUMBIA
Chapter News
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands Announces Brownfield Renewal Strategy
Victoria – Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell today outlined an innovative solution to revitalize abandoned and underutilized lands known as brownfields so that British Columbians can get the most value out of the land in their communities. Read the full article here.
NBA Awarded Grant from B.C. MOE
The National Brownfield Associations (NBA) was recently awarded a grant from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment (B.C. MOE) to provide advice in the development of policies and recommendations for streamlining procedures to redevelop brownfield properties and improve pollution prevention practices. Read the full article here.
Brownfield Resources
The B.C. Ministry of Environment Land Remediation Section has compiled a list of brownfield resources in Canada, the United States and Europe. View these resources here.
Branch Name Change: MAL Crown Land Restoration Branch
The Crown Contaminated Sites Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands has changed its name to the Crown Land Restoration Branch to reflect a re-profiling of responsibilities. In addition to continuing as the lead for the management of the provincial Crown Contaminated Sites Program, the branch has recently expanded its responsibilities to lead development of the B.C. Brownfield Renewal Strategy.
This name change was effective as of April 1, 2008. The branch Web site (http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/clad/ccs/index.html#) has been updated to reflect this change and provides information about this expanded set of responsibilities.
All contact details for the branch remain unchanged.
B.C. Brownfield Highlight: Bamberton
The Bamberton property located in Mill Bay on Vancouver Island is a former cement plant site that ceased operations in the early 1980s. Since that time, it has remained in a derelict and unstable condition with three large landfills of waste cement product and cement kiln dust located on site. Three Point Properties purchased the site in March 2005, and began an ambitious deconstruction and remediation project. All of the buildings were deconstructed, with Three Point salvaging 2,800 tonnes of steel and 40 tonnes of asbestos-containing pipe insulation from buried Bunker C fuel lines on site. Read the full article here.
Case Comment: Canadian National Railway Company v. Imperial Oil Limited
By Robin Bajer and Tony Crossman, Vancouver
In 1914, CN leased land near the Prince Rupert harbour to Imperial Oil, which used it as a bulk storage and distribution centre. Imperial Oil terminated the lease and found that the land was contaminated with hydrocarbons and metals. At trial, CN was partially successful in recovering some of the estimated remediation costs, pursuant to the lease. Although the lease did not specifically deal with contamination, the court implied at term that the lands were to be returned uncontaminated. Read the full article here.
Site Soil Vapour Assessment Memo
The Interim Guidance for Contaminated Sites: Site Vapour Assessment (the “Interim Guidance”) assists contaminated sites professionals and responsible persons with the assessment of sites that have volatile or semi-volatile substances in soil and/or groundwater. The Interim Guidance is a series of “best practices” initiatives on how a site exposed to volatile or semi-volatile vapour should be assessed to prevent substance vapours from migrating to indoor or outdoor air in concentrations that pose risks to human health. Read full article here.
Getting Involved with NBA British Columbia
NBA is always looking for new members to help advance the brownfield market. Joining NBA Canada will connect you with our diverse network of members, including brownfield professionals in the public and private sectors. You will gain access to information, training and events that bring stakeholders together to get deals done in the province.
There are several opportunities to get involved: an individual can become a member (sign up online), a chapter or event sponsor, or serve on a subcommittee. We seek individuals who are specialists in brownfield redevelopment and bridge-builders with a passion for redeveloping blighted areas. Our chapter is especially looking for individuals to participate in any of our subcommittees. Visit the subcommittees page to see a description of each.
Contact NBA HQ for more information: Stephanie Schultz, Chapter Coordinator, stephanies@brownfieldassociation.org or 773-714-0407 x124.