B.C. not effectively managing hazardous spills: auditor general

British Columbia's auditor general says the Ministry of Environment is not effectively managinghazardousspillsin theprovince, using a decade-old response plan and data that isnoteasily accessible.

A report from Auditor General Michael Pickup says the government didn't consistently notify First Nations communities ofhazardousspills, and millions of dollars owed to the province haven't been recovered from those responsible.

Pickup says in a statement that the ministry responds appropriately to high-risk incidents, "but effective management is more than that" when it comes to the thousands ofspillsreported every year.

The report makes nine recommendations, including that theprovinceupdate the plans it uses to co-ordinate a response to majorspills, and improve the effectiveness of its cost-recovery process.

The report says from April 2016 to February 2023, approximately $900,000 of spill-related costs were recovered, while about $13.9 million remains outstanding, almost entirely from the bankrupt Neucel pulp mill site on Vancouver Island.

The ministry has accepted all nine of the recommendations and Minister George Heyman says they align with what was learned in a review of emergency-response plans that began last year.