STILLWATER PILOT PROJECT REGULATION

B.C. Reg. 96/01, Deposited April 5, 2001
O.C. 0427/01, effective April 5, 2001
consolidated to August 5, 2003

PART 9 - MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Monitoring and evaluation of the Stillwater pilot project

71. The licensee must monitor and evaluate the Stillwater pilot project for all of the following:

(a) environmental performance;

(b) flexibility in the planning and approval process;

(c) public participation in the planning process;

(d) cost of the planning and approval process, to both government and industry;

(e) adaptive management with respect to planning and approval processes and forest practices.

Environmental performance

72. The licensee must evaluate the effectiveness of the Stillwater pilot project in achieving the desired environmental performance through

(a) monitoring and evaluation of the strategies and targets contained in the forest stewardship plan,

(b) compilation of statistics of any stop work orders, remediation orders, administrative penalties or convictions related to non-compliance with the Stillwater pilot project, to show trends from year to year, and to identify weaknesses and corrective measures that could be proposed to ensure continual improvement,

(c) tracking of the results of Forest Practices Board audits to compare the licensee's performance under the Stillwater pilot project against the licensee's performance under the existing planning and approval process,

(d) maintenance of ISO 14001 Environmental Certification and assessment of the results of annual ISO 14001 audits, and

(e) maintenance of CSA or other sustainable forest management certification and assessment of audit results.

Flexibility

73. The licensee must evaluate the performance of the Stillwater pilot project in achieving flexibility by monitoring the following:

(a) in the first 2 years following the approval of a forest stewardship plan, log inventories at the division level and in the third and subsequent years following the approval of a forest stewardship plan, log inventories at the division level and at the distribution level;

(b) the licensee's ability to fill specific requested customer orders;

(c) the number of times road construction or harvesting are held up due to approvals issues, including identification of where the process failed so that corrective actions can be taken;

(d) whether customer needs are being met and quality product delivered on time at a competitive price;

(e) the average time it takes to receive cutting permit approval, including determination of why a cutting permit is not approved quickly in order to determine where the process needs improvement.

Public participation in the planning process

74. The licensee must evaluate the performance of the Stillwater pilot project with respect to public participation by monitoring the following:

(a) annual third party audits under the CSA certification process, which include review and evaluation of the public participation system with a focus on continual performance improvement;

(b) compliance with the public information commitments under Part 5, including recommendations for continuous improvement;

(c) the number of times the district manager's approval of a cutting permit is delayed because of public concerns, including identification of how the process can be improved to avoid delay;

(d) public comments to the licensee regarding how the process is working;

(e) the use of the licensee's website to determine if it is an effective method of communication;

(f) annual poll of the public, first nations and government agencies to determine what they consider is working and what is not.

Costs

75. (1) The licensee must evaluate the performance of the Stillwater pilot project with respect to costs by monitoring the estimated cost savings to the licensee resulting from

(a) the reduction in the number of plans and permits required to be prepared and submitted, and

(b) the implementation of the Stillwater pilot project.

(2) The district manager must evaluate the performance of the Stillwater pilot project with respect to costs by monitoring estimated cost savings to the Ministry of Forests resulting from the following:

(a) fewer plan reviews and approvals;

(b) the implementation of the Stillwater pilot project.

Adaptive management

76. The licensee must incorporate the principles and procedures of adaptive management into forest management activities in the Stillwater area and must develop strategies and targets to provide for continuous improvement over the previous year's results.

Monitoring and evaluation of forest practices under the Stillwater pilot project

77. (1) The licensee must monitor and evaluate the forest practices under the Stillwater pilot project to ensure that they are consistent with Division 2 of Part 2, and with the strategies and targets established in the forest stewardship plan.

(2) The monitoring and evaluation under subsection (1) must include the following:

(a) annual third party audits;

(b) annual joint audits between the licensee, the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks;

(c) audits by the Ministry of Forests or the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks of any reports, assessments, surveys, or audits performed by the licensee.

Annual third party auditing

78. (1) The licensee must submit to the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks any audits performed by a third party related to the licensee's requirements for its certification under

(a) an environmental management system, or

(b) sustainable forest management system.

(2) Audits under subsection (1) must be submitted no later than 60 days after the licensee has received them.

Annual joint audits

79. (1) The licensee must conduct annual audits in co-operation with

(a) the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Environment Lands and Parks, and

(b) a member of the public, agreed to by the Ministry of Forests, the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks and the licensee.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) the audits conducted under subsection (1) must be performed on 10 areas that have been, or are about to be, harvested under a cutting permit.

(3) The areas to be audited under subsection (2) must be selected at random by the district manager or the designated environment official.

(4) The audits under this section may be conducted all at one time, or may be conducted over the course of the year.

Audits of reports, assessments, surveys or audits

80. The Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks may, at any time, perform an audit of any report, assessment, survey or audit prepared by the licensee.

Forest Practices Board may have determination or decision reviewed

81. (1) Subject to section 80, the board may request a review of a determination with respect to the approval of a forest stewardship plan or amendment, or a field variance, if the board believes that in relation to the approval of the plan, amendment or field variance, there has been a contravention of the Act or the regulations.

(2) The board may request a review of

(a) a determination with respect to the issuance of a cutting permit under section 22 (2), and

(b) the licensee's decision that an amendment to the forest stewardship plan is not required under section 14 (4).

Scope of Forest Practices Board review

82. The scope of the review conducted under section 81 in respect of a forest stewardship plan does not apply to the requirements of section 58.

Audits

83. Without limiting section 176 of the Act, the board must, in accordance with the regulations, carry out periodic independent audits and may carry out special investigations to determine

(a) compliance with the requirements of this regulation by the licensee, and

(b) the appropriateness of government enforcement under Part 10.

Audit Standards

84. The standards in the Forest Practices Board Regulation that are established by the board for the purpose of periodic audits required under section 176 of the Act apply to any audits under this Division.

Scope of complaints

85. The matters about which a person may make a complaint to the board under section 177 of the Act include

(a) the licensee's compliance with the requirements of this regulation, and

(b) the appropriateness of government enforcement under Part 10.