B.C. Serves Notice
A novel approach sees landowners in the province’s energy heartland informed prior to resource development
Take note Alberta Energy: The province of British Columbia has broadened the notice given to surface owners before minerals are developed under private property. This change is notable for Alberta, as the province seeks ways to better integrate surface and subsurface rights under its Land-Use Framework planning initiative.
Similar to Alberta, the B.C. government owns most of the province’s mineral resources, including those under private property. B.C. may lease the minerals to companies or individuals through a competitive auction, where the successful bidder acquires the mineral tenure or the exclusive right to explore for and develop the minerals.
While the separation of surface and subsurface rights is typical across Canada – allowing governments to develop natural resources for the benefit of all citizens – B.C. has instituted a program to better align surface and subsurface matters.
In April 2008, the B.C. government launched the Landowner Notification Program. Under the program, surface owners in natural gas-rich northeastern B.C. are notified by mail five to six weeks prior to a mineral tenure auction affecting their land. Landowners are provided with information about the tenure process, a map of the parcels up for auction and a list of any development restrictions relating to the minerals up for sale. They are also asked to identify current land uses and any special features that the eventual mineral holder should be aware of when planning its resource recovery.
Following every mineral auction, the province mails the landowner a letter indicating whether the mineral tenure was sold or not, and to whom.
The purpose of the notification is to inform landowners about potential development as early on in the process as possible. To be clear, the program is limited to notification. It does not ensure that the landowner has input into the tenure process, nor does it attach any development restrictions to the mineral tenure.
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