It didn't take long for the B.C. government to expand on the limited projects designated as "streamlined" by Bill 14, the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act.
All future wind and solar projects will now be covered under the act, making them the responsibility of the B.C. Energy Regulator. This allows the regulator to control permitting and make orders related to land use and wildlife protection, among other things.
This adds to the nine wind energy projects and the North Coast Transmission Line, which were the only projects initially slated for streamlining when the bill passed on May 28. Those projects were also exempted from environmental assessment, and while this new move does not go that far for most of these new additions, it does open the door for a similar exception for all future wind projects.
These additions were made through a June 27 cabinet order from the government that also adds the North Montney and North of Terrace transmission lines to the streamlined list. These are two electrical lines that help power resource extraction in northern B.C.
Bill 14 passed at the end of the spring legislative session along with Bill 15, which fast-tracks infrastructure and resource projects. The Greens voted against both bills, arguing more guardrails were needed. Many First Nations groups also vocally opposed the bills, complaining of a lack of consultation.
One of the fears expressed by the Greens at the time was that the government would be able to add new projects in the future with little oversight. B.C. Greens interim leader Jeremy Valeriote told Black Press Media he was surprised to see it happen this soon.
"We thought this might be the way it would go, but didn't expect it to go this quickly," he said.
The cabinet order has prompted criticism from both sides of the political aisle, with the B.C. Greens expressing concerns that forcing projects on communities might galvanize opposition to renewable energy, and Conservatives arguing that the government is subverting its permitting process rather than fixing it.
"Using an order-in-council to cherry-pick projects 香蕉视频直播� pet projects 香蕉视频直播� is a concern to me, from the perspective of democracy," said B.C. Conservative Energy critic Larry Neufeld.
There are also concerns that local community values will not be considered where new wind and solar farms are being built.
"If it results in a backlash that nobody wants a wind farm or solar farm anywhere near their communities, then we're going to be going backward," Valeriote said.
He would have liked a trial period with just the nine wind projects before adding more.
"Now it's kind of carte blanche on all wind projects and all solar projects," he said. "And that's a pretty big concern."
The Greens attempted to force the government to be transparent with these decisions by introducing an amendment to Bill 14 that would have required a public explanation when new projects are selected for streamlining. That was voted down.
As a result, these changes were made through an order-in-council, which was posted online but not actively publicized or explained. Valeriote and the Greens were unaware of the order until Black Press Media brought it to their attention.
The Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions would not directly respond to questions for this article or make Minister Adrian Dix available for an interview.
In April, Dix justified the legislation to reporters, saying it will be a one-window process for designated projects through the B.C. Energy Regulator, but it will still be "rigorous" and "dramatically more efficient."
Streamlining levels, explained
Only certain types of projects can be streamlined under Bill 14. They must be renewable, but can't be dams or nuclear power plants.
The legislation has three levels of streamlining, each giving the B.C. Energy Regulator increasing powers over projects, allowing it to decide on issues ranging from how land is expropriated to where fill is dumped during construction to what rules must be followed to protect wildlife.
Level two is designed for projects such as transmission lines that may eventually be overseen by another agency, such as BC Hydro, while level three is for the energy projects themselves, such as windmills and solar arrays.
All levels of streamlining allow the B.C. Energy Regulator to exercise a bunch of powers under the Energy Resource Activities Act that are normally reserved for the provincial government
Dix said in debating the bill in the legislature in May that level one is meant to be "transitional," with those projects eventually being moved to the higher levels.
"All of these projects will eventually go into level two or level three," he said on May 26.
Furthermore, any streamlined wind projects and select transmission lines could also be exempted from the Environmental Assessment Act with an order-in-council. Dix did not exempt all wind projects with his June 27 order, but he could still make the change at a later date.
The two transmission lines added as streamlined projects are designated level two projects, but only the North of Terrace Transmission Line is being exempted from the Environmental Assessment Act.
Solar projects cannot be exempted, according to the legislation.
An opaque regulatory process
Valeriote said he is concerned that even level one streamlining makes the regulatory process less public and less transparent. He is also worried about the ability of the B.C. Energy Regulator to oversee wind and solar, types of projects it has not traditionally dealt with.
"They tend to be quite lenient and very opaque," he said of the regulator.
Former BC Liberal Energy Minister Bill Bennet, who served in that role from 2013 to 2017, reviewed the order and said he shares concerns about the government being able to excuse all solar and wind projects from scrutiny.
"They've just given up on fixing their own process and decided they're just going to avoid it," he said, calling this "irresponsible."
Bennett also said that potentially exempting all wind projects from environmental assessment fails to take into account local conditions, ranging from the weather to community and recreation values.
He added that it effectively subsidizes certain types of projects 香蕉视频直播� ones he said make power more expensive 香蕉视频直播� by giving them an easier regulatory ride. And it avoids public scrutiny.
"I don't think the people of B.C. would support that," he said.
