On March 18th, 2018, the Environmental Assessment Office began developing a new Environmental Assessment Act and supporting policies and regulations, a process known as Environmental Assessment Revitalization. The new Act and the majority of regulations were brought into force on December 16th, 2019.

Changes to B.C.'s environmental assessment process were focused on:

Enhancing public confidence by ensuring impacted First Nations, local communities and governments and the broader public can meaningfully participate in all stages of environmental assessment through a process that is robust, transparent, timely and predictable;

ensuring impacted First Nations, local communities and governments and the broader public can meaningfully participate in all stages of environmental assessment through a process that is robust, transparent, timely and predictable; Advancing reconciliation with First Nations; and

and Protecting the environment while offering clear pathways to sustainable project approvals by providing certainty of process and clarity of regulatory considerations including opportunities for early indications of the likelihood of success.

The Path to Revitalization

The graphics below illustrate the path the Environmental Assessment Office is taking to revitalize B.C.'s Environmental Assessment process.

For detailed information on the revitalization process, see the subsections listed below: