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In This Volume

  • 59 (1) A director may recover all or a portion of the cost of remediation by
  • (a) taking steps to identify and recover costs from responsible persons during or after remediation,
  • (b) arranging to sell or selling any property comprising all or part of the site, or
  • (c) seeking contributions from available cost sharing agreements with government bodies or other persons.
  • (2) The amount shown on the certificate under section 58(7) is a debt due to the government and, subject to subsection (3) of this section, is recoverable
  • (a) from any responsible person, by action in the Supreme Court, or
  • (b) by order of the minister directing a person who is purchasing or otherwise acquiring an interest in land that is subject to remediation under section 58 to pay to the minister, in respect of the amounts spent in remediation, instead of to the vendor, an amount not exceeding the amount owing to the vendor, and the purchaser is discharged in the amount paid to the minister from the obligation to pay the vendor.
  • (3) If the Supreme Court is satisfied that the expenditure incurred by the government under section 58 is either
  • (a) excessive, taking into consideration the requirements of the regulations governing remediation, or
  • (b) unnecessary, taking into consideration the regulations governing remediation,
  • the Supreme Court may reduce or extinguish the amount of the judgment that it would otherwise have ordered to be entered against the person against whom the action has been brought.
  • (4) The minister may register a lien at the land title office against a contaminated site for the costs of remediation incurred by the government at the contaminated site that has been remediated under section 58.
  • (5) A lien under subsection (4) is payable in priority over all liens, charges or mortgages of every person, whenever created or to be created, with respect to the site or proceeds of the site, except for liens for wages due to workers by their employer and liens under section 265 of the Workers Compensation Act.
  • (6) The exception in subsection (5) does not apply in respect of a lien for wages that is, by section 87(5) of the Employment Standards Act, postponed to a mortgage or debenture.
  • (7) If the minister makes an order under subsection (2)(b), the registrar must make a notation of the order on the site registry.

2003-53-59, effective July 8, 2004 (B.C. Reg. 317/2004); 2004-18-11, effective July 1, 2007 (B.C. Reg. 201/2007); 2019-1-RevSch 2, effective April 6, 2020 (B.C. Reg. 207/2019).