B.C.’s Auditor General
John Doyle has released his latest report, An Audit of the
Environmental Assessment Office’s Oversight of Certified
Projects.

Major projects such as mines or power plants must be considered
for an environmental assessment prior to their development. This
assessment weighs not only the potential environmental effects of
the project, but its potential economic, social, heritage and
health effects as well.

When an environmental assessment certificate is issued, the
conditions and commitments surrounding its issue should be
measurable and enforceable so staff can monitor the project for
compliance with the certificate conditions.

“Without evaluations, the EAO cannot say
with certainty whether:projects avoid or mitigate potential adverse
effects the anticipated benefits of each project are being
achieved”.   B.C. Auditor General John
Doyle

“Because this does not happen consistently, the Environmental
Assessment Office cannot assure British Columbians that the
conditions and commitments stated in the environmental assessment
certificate are being met,” said Doyle.

“Adequate monitoring and enforcement of certified projects is
not occurring and follow-up evaluations are not being conducted. We
also found that information currently being provided to the public
is not sufficient to ensure accountability.”

The report makes six recommendations to improve the
effectiveness of the Environmental Assessment Office, which
government has accepted.

1. Ensure commitments are clearly
written in a measureable and enforceable manner.



2. Continue to work with the Ministry of Environment to finalize a
policy framework on environmental mitigation.



3. Clarify the monitoring responsibilities and compliance
mechanisms for each commitment.



4. Develop and implement a comprehensive compliance and enforcement
program that includes an integrated information management
system.



5. Conduct evaluations to determine whether environmental
assessments are avoiding or mitigating the potentially significant
adverse effects of certified projects.



6. Provide appropriate accountability information for certified
projects

“I am encouraged that, during the course of our audit, the
Environmental Assessment Office addressed some of the noted
deficiencies, such as appointing a Director of Strategy and Quality
Assurance,” said Doyle. “I look forward to receiving updates on the
implementation of our recommendations through our follow-up
process.”

The Auditor General is a non-partisan, independent Officer of
the Legislature who reports directly to the Legislative Assembly.
The Auditor General Act empowers the Auditor General and staff
(known as the Office of the Auditor General or OAG) to conduct
audits, report findings and make recommendations.

The Report  - An Audit of the Environmental Assessment
Office’s Oversight of Certified Projects - href=”http://www.bcauditor.com/pubs/2011/report4/audit-bc-environmental-assessment-office-EAO”
target=”_blank”>is available here.