April 16, 2014 - 3:25 PM
VICTORIA - A report by British Columbia's ombudsperson says the provincial government has lacked oversight of an environmental regulation meant to protect the areas that border rivers, lakes and streams.
Kim Carter's latest report looks at the Riparian Areas Regulation, which cover more than 17 per cent of the B.C. land base in populated areas from Vancouver Island to the Interior.
Carter found that the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource relies on reviewing reports from consultants hired by developers.
She says the ministry was not meeting its own goals for reviewing those reports or conducting site visits, and therefore didn't have enough information to judge compliance.
The report makes 25 recommendations, 24 of which have already been accepted by the province.
Among those recommendations, she says ministry staff should review all of the assessment reports but that was the one recommendation not accepted the province.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014