Small businesses throughout B.C. are 'staying out of the red' by going green, said Environment Minister Terry Lake to wrap up October as small business month.

While Ministry of Environment officials remain confident that there is no risk to public health or the environment, the ministry is launching a formal investigation in response to concerns around the approximately 1,800 tonnes of potentially hazardous fly ash shipped to the Cache Creek Landfill from the Burnaby waste-to-energy facility in July and August, announced Environment Minister Terry Lake today.

Visitors to Goldstream Park near Victoria are advised that parking at the day-use area will be extremely busy for the next several weeks during the annual Goldstream salmon run. Visitors are also asked to please use caution when parking outside of the designated areas.

Enbridge/Northern Gateway's answers at the hearings into the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline in Prince George are not providing enough detail for B.C. to judge whether the company is living up to the promise to implement world-leading land-based spill prevention, response and mitigation practices.

B.C. will beat national targets on recycling by close to a year, said Environment Minister Terry Lake at the annual meeting of the Canadian Council of the Ministers of Environment (CCME), which wrapped up Thursday, and in advance of Waste Reduction Week Oct. 15-21.

The B.C. government is extremely concerned about the answers being given by Enbridge/Northern Gateway representatives at the hearings in Prince George.

Environment Minister Terry Lake will share B.C.'s leading-edge policies on extended producer responsibility, air-quality management and climate action at this year's meeting of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) in Lake Louise on Oct. 11.

The B.C. government will resume its questioning of Northern Gateway Pipelines (NGP) at the Joint Review Panel hearings in Prince George, concentrating on key areas of concerns including safety, accident prevention and emergency preparedness and response.

Environment Minister Terry Lake and Energy, Mines and Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman have refused to issue an Environmental Assessment Certificate to Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. for the proposed Morrison Copper/Gold Mine project, located 65 kilometres north of Smithers.

British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has implemented four of the six auditor general's recommendations aimed at increased project oversight and will complete action on the remaining two within seven months, Environment Minister Terry Lake announced today.