The British Columbia Energy Regulator (BCER), formerly the BC Oil and Gas Commission, is the

Crown Corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

responsible for energy regulation in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

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. Established in October 1998, it has offices in seven cities: Fort St. John,

Fort Nelson A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

Dawson Creek Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 12,978 in 2016. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after ...

, and Prince George.

Purpose

The BCER is defined under the ''Energy Resource Activities Act''. Under this law, the BCER's purposes are to 'regulate energy resource activities in a manner that protects public safety and the environment, support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and the transition to low-carbon energy, conserve energy resources and foster a sound economy and social well-being.' The BCER's mandate does not extend to regulating consumer gas prices at the pump. ERAA defines ‘energy resource’ as petroleum, natural gas, hydrogen, methanol or ammonia. The BCER also manages oil and aspects of geothermal resources, with an expanded role in

carbon capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process by which carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial installations is separated before it is released into the atmosphere, then transported to a long-term storage location.IPCC, 2021Annex VII: Glossary at ...

(CCS).

Governance

The BCER is accountable to the provincial legislature and the public through the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. The BCER is governed by a Board of Directors responsible for providing oversight of the BCER and its operations. The Board consists of five to seven directors and includes Indigenous representation. The current strategic and operational leader of the BCER is Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Michelle Carr.

Compliance and enforcement information

In 2010–11, the OGC "issued 15 penalty tickets with fines of $575 (the maximum allowed for tickets) or less, which included unlawful water withdrawals and failure to promptly report a spill. Court prosecutions included a $20,000 fine for a Water Act stream violation, $10,575 for another stream violation and $250,0000 for a sour gas release. ..The commission would not release the names of the companies convicted". Per the OGC, in 2012, of "more than 800 deficiencies, 80 resulted in charges, largely under the provincial ''Water Act'' for the non-reporting of water volumes and a smaller portion under the provincial ''Environment Management Act''. Another 13 resulted in orders under the provincial Oil and Gas Activities Act, 22 in warnings, 76 in letters requiring action and three in referrals to other agencies". Paul Jeakins, OGC commissioner and CEO, has publicly acknowledged that OGC inspection and enforcement reports are "a bit of a gap".

Lawsuits

In November 2013, Ecojustice, the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

and the

Wilderness Committee The Western Canada Wilderness Committee (often shortened to Wilderness Committee) is a non-profit environmental education organization that aims to protect Canada, Canada's wild spaces and species. Paul George was the founding director, and f ...

filed a lawsuit against the OGC and

Encana Encana Corporation was a Canadian independent petroleum company that existed from 2002 to 2020. The company, stylised as EnCana until 2010, was created by David P. O'Brien of PanCanadian Petroleum and Gwyn Morgan of the Alberta Energy Company ...

about Encana's water use from lakes and rivers for its

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of Formation (geology), formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the ...

for shale gas, "granted by repeated short-term water permits, a violation of the provincial water act". In 2012, the OGC had granted Encana access to 20.4 million cubic metres of surface water, 7 million of which were for fracking and 54% of that were through short-term approvals. In October 2014 the

Supreme Court of British Columbia The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Court hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. There are 90 judici ...

found no violation and dismissed the case.

Criticism

The agency has been criticized to be "too industry-friendly", to have "vague regulations" and to issue non-transparent fracking violation reports. However, the BCER does publicly identify companies convicted of fracking violations online. The B.C. Ministry of Environment and other Crown corporations of B.C. like

WorkSafeBC The Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia, operating as WorkSafeBC, is a statutory agency that was made in 1917, after the provincial legislature put into force legislation passed in 1902. This legislation is known as the ''Workers Comp ...

have reported company names and details of those penalties for years. BCER reports have been available online since 2009.

References

External links

* BC Energy Regulato
- official site
{{British Columbia crown corporations Crown corporations of British Columbia Energy in British Columbia Energy regulatory authorities of Canada Energy-related government agencies of Canada Petroleum organizations Petroleum industry in British Columbia Hydraulic fracturing