Deregulation Backgrounder - Bill 57 Environmental Management Act

The BC government introduced Bill 57 in the Legislature May 13th, 2003, and is expected to pass the bill in the fall sitting of the Legislature. Bill 57 replaces BC’s main pollution law, the Waste Management Act, with a new regime that is part of the BC government’s deregulation initiative. It is expected that Bill 57 will eliminate about 80% or more of existing waste permits. While there are many questions about the new regime that are left unanswered by Bill 57, we have expressed the following concerns in this Backgrounder.