A consultation process has begun for a major overhaul of how the province's resource roads are regulated and Central Interior Logging Association executive director MaryAnne Arcand cannot emphasize enough the importance of the issues being tackled.
Called the Natural Resource Road Act project, the intent is to establish a single legislative framework for the use, construction, maintenance and management of resource roads.
The development comes after a Resource Road Act was introduced into the legislature in April 2008 but was withheld from debate as the government decided more time was needed for review and discussion with stakeholders.
Arcand called the process "critical" because more than just logging trucks are now driving along resource roads as mines and oil and gas operations are being increasingly added to the mix.
"We're seeing so much more exploration," Arcand said. "The oil patch is moving south and with all these new mines and pending mines and whatnot, we really need to get a handle on who's doing what and who's paying for what."
As it stands, Arcand said the regulations relate to resource roads is rife with red tape.
"I know one guy who was trying to get a gravel pit going to do a road building project around Mackenzie and he had to have 27 different permits from four different ministries," Arcand said. "It's crazy."
Standardizing radio frequencies and safety procedures and language "so that everyone is operating from the same page, literally," is also on the agenda.
And who is responsible for maintenance is a topic particularly since ore trucks carry greater weights that logging trucks and therefore can cause more damage to a road.
"So who's going to pay for it?" Arcand said.
Sectors have reached usage agreements on some stretches, notably the Sukunka Forest Service Road near Chetwynd, but Arcand said there remains a need for a more formal regulatory framework that applies to all such roads.
A discussion paper has been prepared and is available online at www.for.gov.bc.ca/mof/nrra/.
Submissions are being accepted until Dec. 15 and Arcand expects to see legislation passed by spring 2013 with regulations shortly afterward.
"It takes time because of the broad variety of industry input that's needed," Arcand said. "When they tried this a few years ago it was shot down because it didn't go broad enough in their stakeholder input so I think they're trying to do it right this time.
B.C. has an estimated 450,000 kilometres of resource roads.
