Administrative Monetary Penalties In Environmental Regulation: What You Need To Know

Administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) are one of several enforcement tools available to environmental regulators to incentivize compliance with environmental laws. Many federal and provincial statutes, including in British Columbia, allow regulators broad discretion to levy AMPs on persons who fail to comply with an environmental statute or authorization (e.g., a permit or environmental assessment certificate). For example, the BC Environmental Management Act, the BC Mines Act, and the federal Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Act each establish an AMP regime.

AMPs have become more common in recent years, both in availability under statute and in usage. An AMP regime was established under the BC Mines Act in 2017 and under the BC Water Sustainability Act in January 2024. Furthermore, with recent amendments to the Energy Resource Activities Act (previously the Oil and Gas Activities Act), the AMP regime under that Act will apply to new