DATE ISSUED: May 27, 2020

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 2020

The BC Energy Regulator (Regulator) has completed the 2020 annual update to Area-based Analysis (ABA). These changes will come into effect on June 1, 2020.

ABA is an operational program, which monitors the cumulative activity on the land base. ABA was first introduced in the application review process in January 2015. ABA risk ranks areas by assigning an ABA status to each assessment unit. This status can be classified as Normal, Enhanced Management or Regulatory Policy.

Enhanced Management and Regulatory Policy areas require a mitigation strategy compiled and signed by a qualified professional. ABA mitigation strategies should align with guidance in the Environmental Protection and Management Guidelines and government’s Policy for Mitigating Impacts on Environmental Values (Environmental Mitigation Policy). ABA Enhanced Management and Regulatory Policy areas should be outlined on construction plans.

The ABA update process is driven by annual Surface Land Use assessments that measure new activity in northeast B.C. This year, oil and gas Surface Land Use increased by 1.65 per cent. In addition, mapping refinements to consolidated cutblock boundaries by the ministry responsible for the Forest Act (Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development) has resulted in changes to the ABA status in a few areas.

Below is an update on the status of Riparian Reserve Zones, Old Growth Management Areas, Old Forest, and Wildlife Areas for 2020. For detailed information, see the appendix at the end of this bulletin.

Riparian Reserve Zones:

The status of ABA Riparian Reserve Zones is similar to 2019. As of June 1, 2020, 46 water management basins are Normal, 21 are Enhanced Management and two are Regulatory Policy. The Lower Beatton River has increased its ABA status to Enhanced Management as a result of increased activity in both the forestry and oil and gas sector.

Old Growth Management Areas (OGMA):

There is no significant change to Old Growth Management Areas. Current analysis shows 193 OGMA are status Normal and 47 are Regulatory Policy. Area FSJ_DC_gwi_13 has escalated to Regulatory Policy.

Old Forest:

There is no change to ABA Old Forest, with Boreal Plains, Northern Boreal Mountains and Boreal Foothills, remaining ABA status Normal, and Omineca, Wet Mountains and Wet Trench remaining Enhanced Management.

Wildlife Areas:

ABA Wildlife values remain mostly unchanged, with no new Ungulate Winter Range (UWR) or Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHA) established in the Peace Region in 2019. Current analysis shows 323 wildlife areas are status Normal, 20 are Enhanced Management, and 48 are Regulatory Policy. Analysis of recent development in WHA showed increasing pressure on several small WHA established for the protection of identified wildlife, including fisher (weasel family), Connecticut Warbler and Black Throated Green Warbler (songbirds). All sectors of industry are expected to avoid these smaller WHA, as they are established to protect edge sensitive species.

ABA Status information is published in online reports and as industry shapefiles on the Regulator’s ABA web page. Additional information regarding ABA can be found in Supplementary Information for Area-based Analysis.

If you have any questions regarding this Industry Bulletin, please contact:

Jacqueline Howard

Environmental Stewardship

BC Energy Regulator

Jacqueline.Howard@bcogc.ca

250-419-4496

Appendix: ABA Status - 2020

ABA Riparian Reserves

Enhanced Management			Regulatory Policy
Blueberry River	Lower Fort Nelson R.	Middle Beatton River	Pouce Coupe
Cache Creek	Lower Halfway River	Middle Fort Nelson R.	Upper Peace River
Cameron River	Lower Kiskatinaw River	Milligan Creek
Chinchaga River	Lower Muskwa River	Moberly River
Doig River	Lower Peace River	Murray River
Kyklo River	Lower Pine River	Sukunka River
Lower Beatton Riv.	Lynx Creek	Upper Pine River

ABA Wildlife Areas

Enhanced Management		Regulatory Policy
9-047	u-7-005_E-001	9-033	9-116	9-138
9-052	u-9-001_SPE-002	9-034	9-118	9-139
9-058	u-9-001_SPE-013	9-049	9-119	9-140
9-066	u-9-001_SPE-015	9-060	9-120	9-142
9-097	u-9-001_SPE-023	9-063	9-122	9-143
9-105	u-9-002_SPC-018	9-067	9-123	9-144
9-117	u-9-002_SPC-047	9-070	9-124	u-7-005_E-002
9-121	u-9-004_GR-009	9-073	9-126	u-7-006_S-008
9-125		9-099	9-127	u-9-002_SPC-001
9-134		9-100	9-128	u-9-002_SPC-009
9-135		9-104	9-129	u-9-002_SPC-017
9-141		9-109	9-130	u-9-004_GR-007
		9-110	9-131	u-9-004_GR-017
		9-111	9-132	u-9-004_GR-024
		9-112	9-133
		9-113	9-136
		9-115	9-137

ABA Old Growth Management Areas

Regulatory Policy
FSJ_DC_bea_01	FSJ_DC_gwi_05	FSJ_DC_kis_22	FSJ_DC_ois_11
FSJ_DC_bea_02	FSJ_DC_gwi_09	FSJ_DC_kis_23	FSJ_DC_pbo_13
FSJ_DC_bea_06	FSJ_DC_gwi_11	FSJ_DC_kis_27	FSJ_DC_ppa_15
FSJ_DC_bea_09	FSJ_DC_gwi_13	FSJ_DC_lmo_02	FSJ_DC_pug_05
FSJ_DC_bel_01	FSJ_DC_hhp_12	FSJ_DC_lmo_03	FSJ_DC_pug_09
FSJ_DC_bel_04	FSJ_DC_kin_01	FSJ_DC_lmo_05	FSJ_DC_red_01
FSJ_DC_dck_02	FSJ_DC_kin_06	FSJ_DC_lmo_12	FSJ_DC_red_09
FSJ_DC_dck_03	FSJ_DC_kin_07	FSJ_DC_lmo_13	FSJ_DC_sep_03
FSJ_DC_dck_05	FSJ_DC_kin_10	FSJ_DC_ois_04	FSJ_DC_umo_18
FSJ_DC_dck_07	FSJ_DC_kin_11	FSJ_DC_ois_07	FSJ_DC_wap_06
FSJ_DC_dck_08	FSJ_DC_kis_04	FSJ_DC_ois_09	FSJ_DC_wap_12
FSJ_DC_gwi_01	FSJ_DC_kis_07	FSJ_DC_ois_10

ABA Old Forest

Regulatory Policy
Omineca	Wet Trench	Wet Mountain