The polluter-pay principle ensures those who are responsible for spills are also

responsible for cleaning them up and is designed to keep the cost of response off of

taxpayers.

The Kitimat Modernization Project (KMP) is a $3.3 billion project by Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) designed to modernize and increase production at the company's aluminium smelter in Kitimat.

The B.C. government has taken a number of bold steps to ensure air and water quality in British Columbia.

In 2012, BC Parks received an extra $3 million for the 2012/13 operating year,

representing a 27 per cent increase over the previous year.

Seventy per cent of B.C.'s caribou herds are in decline and identified as threatened

under the federal Species at Risk Act.

The Ministry of Environment approved Metro Vancouver's Solid Waste Management

Plan in July 2011 which includes goals for diverting 70 per cent of regional waste

through recycling, composting and other programs by 2015.

The B.C. government accepts the recommendations included in the Office of the AuditorGeneral's report, "An Audit of Carbon Neutral Government", but rejects its conclusion that government has not met its objective of achieving a carbon neutral public sector.

The Ministry of Environment issued a draft permit to South Island Aggregates/Cobble

Hill Holdings Ltd., on March 19th, regarding treatment and discharge of contaminated

soil at a facility in the Cowichan Valley.

The B.C. government and the federal government are working in conjunction with local

governments, First Nations, and the volunteer sector, as members of a Tsunami Debris

Coordinating Committee.

The report on carbon neutral government released by auditor general John Doyle has sparked debate about climate action and in particular, about the policy tools government can use in building its response.