The British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Parks has finalized updates to the fee framework under the Contaminated Sites Regulation (CSR), which took effect on July 1, 2026. These changes mark the first major overhaul to the fee structures since 2007.
Below are a few highlights of the critical regulatory updates, structural shifts, and specific fee tables. You can find full details in the Fee Update External Guidance Document.
Core Regulatory Shifts
- Separation of Combined Reports: Documents like Remediation Plans, Human Health Risk Assessments (HHRA), and Environmental Risk Assessments (ERA) are now reviewed as entirely separate submissions. If an HHRA and ERA are combined into one physical report, they will still trigger separate review fees (e.g., a combined risk assessment plus a remediation plan will total $60,000).
- Indigenous Fee Exemptions: To align with provincial reconciliation mandates, First Nation governments and Modern Treaty Nations are fully exempt from Site Registry data and subscription access fees.
Table 1: Site Disclosure & Information Access Fees (Guidance Document, page 4)
While submission requirements remain unchanged, information access pathways have transitioned to flat, document-tier rates.
- Site Disclosure Statement Submission: $150 (increased from $100)
- Registry Technical Information / Compliance Forms: $50 per item (Includes Summaries of Site Condition, Certificates of Compliance, and Notifications of Independent Remediation)
- Detailed Technical Reports: $150 per item (Includes Preliminary/Detailed Site Investigations and Confirmations of Remediation)
- Registry Subscriptions: $50 per year for automated site updates (available upon full SRS deployment)
- Manual Record Retrieval/Digitization: $100 per hour (charged in addition to the flat document fee for non-digital files)
Table 2: Flat Fees for Ministry Services (Guidance Document, page 7)
Services previously billed using complex hourly formulas have been grouped into predictable flat-rate categories.
Key services are now charged at flat rates ranging from $5,000 to $30,000 based on the action, such as Approval in Principle requests ($5,000) or Detailed Site Investigation report reviews ($30,000).
Table 3: Hourly Fees for Extended Services & Amendments (Guidance Document, page 15)
Hourly billing is now strictly confined to two scenarios at a rate of $300 per hour.
- Extended Compliance & Oversight: If services exceed 74 hours within a fiscal year (commencing April 1 and ending March 31), the rate applies, resetting annually.
- Regulatory Amendments: Formal requests to amend existing agreements, approvals, or certificates are billed hourly.
If you need further clarification of have questions, connect with Kevin Wong, Contaminated Sites Department Head, to learn more.