On The Blog
Stay informed by reading our regularly posted articles on industry updates.
International Day of Women in Engineering
International Day of Women in Engineering is an international awareness campaign to raise the profile of women in engineering and focus attention on the amazing career opportunities available to...
Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM Code) in BC; A Quick Guide to the Code of Practice
Photo Credit: Oleksandr PidvalnyiOn February 28, 2019 the Code of Practice for Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM Code), under the BC Environmental Management Act, came into effect. This new...
Keystone Environmental Named One of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers for Third Consecutive Year
Keystone Environmental Ltd., the go to environmental consulting firm, announced today that it has once again been named one of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., for...
Environmental Emergency Regulations Amendments
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) introduced new amendments to the Environmental Emergency Regulations in August 2019. The Environmental Emergency Regulations bring changes that reinforce...
Erosion and Sediment Control Plan for Small Mines
Erosion and Sediment Control Plan(s) (ESCP) are required as part of the permitting application, through the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and are regulated under the Mines Act...
Groundwater Management Bulletin Revisions by City of Vancouver
Originally published in 2018, the Groundwater Management Bulletin from the City of Vancouver provides rezoning and development permit applicants with information on the process and submission...
NPRI Reporting Deadline Changed Due to COVID-19
The National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) reporting deadline has been changed from June 1st to July 31st, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NPRI reporting program is managed by...
A Message from Raminder Grewal, Keystone Environmental President
We know that keeping teams aligned is top of mind for organizations around the world right now as we all adapt our working arrangements to slow the spread of COVID-19. We know that many of your...
Mitigating Invasive Species Damage
Invasive species are non-native plants and animals that have been introduced to British Columbia and are understood to cause, or likely cause economic, social, or environmental damage. In addition...
Site Profile System Changes in BC
Site Profiles are a form used as a screening tool to identify potentially contaminated sites in British Columbia. They require readily available information about the past and present uses of a site...
Keystone Environmental Named Top Employer at ECO Impact Awards
Keystone Environmental Ltd. (Keystone Environmental), the go to environmental consulting firm, announced today that they have been named Top Employer at the ECO Impact Awards last week in Calgary,...
Amendments to the Riparian Areas Regulation of BC
Streams, lakes, wetlands and their riparian areas (i.e., streamside vegetation) are protected in BC as instream habitat in the form of water, trees, shrubs. Protection is provided under the Riparian...
Why are we Seeing More Municipalities Moving Toward Stormwater Infiltration?
The rapid and continued development of Metro Vancouver’s municipalities has changed the approach to stormwater management and its integration with watershed health. The commitment of member...
Amendments of the Fisheries Act Become Law
On February 6th, 2018 bill C-68 proposed amendments to the Fisheries Act to restore lost protections as a result of previous changes to the Fisheries Act in 2012, while creating new protection for...
Groundwater Dewatering Discharge in the City of Vancouver
Groundwater and stormwater are required to be managed during site construction activities in the City of Vancouver (COV). For a property that had industrial or commercial activities or is a...
Keystone Environmental Biologist Embarking on 29 Day Fraser River Adventure
Corrie Allen a fish and wildlife biologist at Keystone Environmental Ltd., is one of six individuals who have been selected from across the province to participate in the 2019 Sustainable Living...
Brownfield Remedial Options Evaluations
by Richard Johns, P.Eng. Once you have investigated a contaminated site and determine the presence and extent of contaminants, a determination on the preferred remediation option needs to be made....
Keystone Environmental Named One of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers for Second Consecutive Year
Keystone Environmental Ltd., the go to environmental consulting firm, announced today that it has once again been named one of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers by Mediacorp Canada Inc., for...
How Engineers stay Relevant in 2019
by Francisco A. Perelló, P.Eng. The Role of Engineering in the World of Industry 4.0 As part of National Engineering Month, on March 5, 2019, I attended the UBC Student and Industry Night which was...
Contaminated Soil Relocation in BC
Current and Future Changes Previously, soils that exceeded the former Schedule 7 standards of the Contaminated Sites Regulation (CSR) could only be moved to a site other than a permitted landfill...
National Engineering Month Feature | Zahra Pirani & Nigel Grewal
March is National Engineering month! This month Keystone Environmental professionals of engineering share what an exciting and fun career choice engineering really is. Last month we featured some of...
Women in Environmental Science
At Keystone Environmental we know how important it is to see diversity in the workplace and to celebrate the accomplishments of all of our staff. In honour of International Day of Women and Girls in...
Bird Nesting Season
As spring approaches, so do sensitive timing periods for a variety of wildlife. Recently, spring bird nesting has become the focus for many local municipalities during the permitting process for...
Engineered Wetlands; Long Term Sustainable Solutions
Planting Logistics While an engineered wetland approach is in itself innovative for dissolved sulphide wastewater treatment, providing a sustainable, low maintenance solution offers an...
White Sturgeon | An Uncertain Future for the Dinosaur of our Rivers
Source: Wikipedia White Sturgeon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sturgeon)With extensive habitat change and increasing recreational fisheries pressures throughout their range, the future of...
Contamination Impact on Land Value
The 2018 Property Assessment information has now been announced. Commercial property values in Greater Vancouver increased between the 5% - 50% range. BC Assessment's evaluation of Greater...
Hydrogeological Study
Hydrogeological Study Requirement for the City of Vancouver and other Jurisdictions The City of Vancouver (COV), Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability Department recently issued a Groundwater...
Rain Gardens and Infiltration Systems
Designing Infiltration Systems to Return Rainwater to the Ground With the rising density of housing in Metro Vancouver, many Municipalities are promoting the use of rain gardens and infiltration...
Acoustic Bat Monitoring
Bats are an important, but often an overlooked part of many natural and urban ecosystems, as they consume nuisance insect populations such as mosquitoes and beetles that impact crops and forestry....
New Regional Background Groundwater Concentrations Released
The BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (BC ENV) has recently released Technical Bulletin 3: Regional Background Concentrations for Select Inorganic Substances in Groundwater. ...
Side-Scan Sonar Surveys to Mitigate Impacts to Sturgeon
Keystone Environmental is using side-scan sonar during pre-dredging monitoring surveys to detect white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and minimize risks to this important at-risk species. The...
Environmental Considerations for Dedicated Land
As part of the development process, many municipalities will request a portion of the property to be redeveloped be dedicated to the municipality. The dedicated land is often to widen roads or...
Collecting Accurate Data in Environmental Remediation
Field Equipment Usage & Maintenance is Key in Collecting Accurate Data The selection, maintenance and safe use of field equipment is essential to collecting accurate data in environmental...
Environmental DNA (eDNA)
A new and exciting opportunity to discover what species are living in a habitat has arrived! The process is called environmental DNA, or eDNA, and involves the analysis of environmental samples...
Japanese Beetle Soil Movement Restrictions
As of April 27, 2018, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is restricting movement of soil and plant material out of the False Creek area due to the identification of an invasive plant pest,...
Raminder Grewal is an EY Entrepreuner of the Year® 2018 Pacific Region finalist!
July 6, 2018 Keystone Environmental Ltd., the go to environmental consulting firm, announced today that Raminder Grewal, President, is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year® 2018 Pacific Region finalist....
Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation
Reliable Operators Available 24 Hours a Day Keystone Environmental Ltd. has nearly thirty years of experience in wastewater treatment plant operation across British Columbia, from the Lower Mainland...
New Bill Proposed to Amend the Fisheries Act
Potential for Change to the Project Review Process On February 6th, 2018 Bill C-68 was announced, which proposes significant amendments to the Fisheries Act. The focus of the amendments is the...
Keystone Environmental Named One of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers
Keystone Environmental Ltd., the go to environmental consulting firm, announced today that it has been named one of Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers by...
Off Site Migration
What to do if Someone has Contaminated your Site by Michael Geraghty, P.Geo. Senior Technical Manager You have just received a Notification of Likely or Actual Migration from your neighbor saying...
TCE Contamination Delineation, Remediation & Management
This project included the completion of a Preliminary Site Investigation (PSI) Stage 1 and Stage 2, Detailed Site Investigation (DSI), Remedial Options Evaluation, off-site remediation, Human Health...
Spill Response
Keystone Environmental assists clients in spill response activities ranging from initial impact assessment to directing and implementing response actions to protect the environment, effect clean up,...
Sointula Ferry Terminal Replacement
The Sointula Ferry terminal replacement included removal of the existing wharf, life cycle improvements to the trestle and transfer span, and construction of a new berth in the area of the existing...
Lawson Foreshore Enhancement Project
John Lawson Park, on the waterfront in the Ambleside West Vancouver community was in danger of damage from ocean wave action during King Tides. Keystone Environmental worked with the District of...
New Industrial Wharf & Shiploader
Keystone Environmental completed the environmental investigations and approvals for this facility upgrade. The plan was to replace the nearly 100-year-old wharf facility with a new Panamax bulk...
Shoreline Protection Project
Keystone Environmental completed a marine habitat assessment of 16 foreshore and backshore locations around the William Head Institution in Metchosin, BC in 2014/2015. We collected baseline habitat,...
Vancouver Shipyards Modernization Project
The Vancouver Shipyards Modernization Project involved the development of a shipbuilding and ship repair centre, which included reconfiguring existing buildings, eight new buildings and a load‑out...
Discharge Permitting
Discharge Permitting: Engineers Making Compliance Easier Does your business have an air or liquid discharge to the environment? Does your process generate air particulate or chemicals...
Spring Bird Nesting
by Jayme Brooks, B.Sc., R.PBio. Intermediate Biologist As spring approaches, so do sensitive timing periods for a variety of wildlife. Recently, spring bird nesting has become the focus...
New Metal Groundwater Standards
The recently adopted Stage 11 Amendments to the Contaminated Sites Regulations (CSR) included new groundwater standards for metals such as cobalt, lithium and thallium that are less than...