The province has released its long-awaited Agriculture Waste Control Regulation, and growers across the province expect it will add to the cost of farming in BC.
The new regulation updates the previous rule, which has been in effect since 1992. The requirements will take immediate effect in the Hullcar Valley, and expand across the province through 2030. The regulation will impact farmers in several ways, from upgrading waste management systems to drafting nutrient management plans as well as engaging in regular testing to document compliance.
Victoria announced a review of the regulation in 2009, and seven years ago this week launched the first consultation. A second would follow, then five years of delays. A third intentions paper was released when the current government revived the process in late 2017 as part of its review of the province’s handling of aquifer contamination in the Hullcar Valley.
“We definitely look forward to the recommendations from [the Hullcar] review and certainly intend them to be instructive in the final decisions around the agricultural waste control regulation,” BC Environment Minister George Heyman told Country Life in BC at the time.
A final draft of the regulation received input from industry, as well as Indigenous stakeholders. The final text was made public when Heyman signed a ministerial order last week. The new regulation takes effect February 28, 2019.
Watch for detailed coverage in the March issue of Country Life in BC.
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