Decision date: September 27, 1995

Panel: D. Perry, L. Keay and D. Brown

The Appellant companies all employed Bee-Hive Burners to burn waste wood from their sawmills. In May 1992, the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks developed a policy to phase out this type of burning called “Smoke Management In the Nineties”. The policy recommended the phaseout of all Bee-Hive type burners by January 1, 1996. The Regional Waste Managers sent letters to all the Appellants advising that their permits were amended to include the phaseout requirement by December 31, 1995. The companies appealed the amended permits to the Board.

The Board that the Regional Waste Managers failed to properly exercise their discretion (under the Waste Management Act) by simply following the Ministry policy. The Board thus sent the matter back to the Regional Waste Managers for reconsideration.