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Members' Update - Fall 2026

President’s Message

Tara Siemens Kennedy

It’s hard to believe that it is already October – I’m sure like many of you, I am astounded at how quickly the year has flown by. I hope to see many of you at our Fall PD Workshop on November 5, 2026 – if you haven’t already done so, registration is available at Fall PD Workshop – CSAP Society. This is an excellent opportunity for both members and non-members alike to connect, gain professional development hours and learn about recent scientific advancements and ministry updates relevant to our industry. Our Professional Development Committee has planned a full day of interesting talks, a panel discussion, ministry updates, and the ever-popular PAC Lessons Learned and ENV interactive session. The full agenda is available at the above link.

As introduced last year, here is the 4th edition of “Meet the Board”. I introduced this series as I believe it is important to highlight our Board, who work behind the scenes to provide governance, strategic direction, and oversight for the Society. Meet Zayed Mohamed:

Zayed has been working in contaminated sites for 20 years and has been a CSAP member since 2017. He has been active within the Society, chairing the Technical Review Committee and participating in the Performance Assessment Committee and Exam Subcommittee. He currently serves as the Society’s Secretary and Treasurer and is excited to continue contributing to the profession.

Zayed has been employed at PGL Environmental since 2010 and enjoys tackling a wide variety of technical challenges for a diverse client base, from government to urban development. Outside of work, Zayed enjoys the outdoors, particularly multiday kayak trips.

We are grateful for Zayed’s contributions to the Board and various committees. I would also like to welcome our two new directors who were appointed to the Board by the Ministry over the summer – Melissa Graham, the Environmental Program Lead at Fortis BC, and Luke Dineley, Partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. I look forward to introducing them further in future “Meet the Board” editions.

I look forward to connecting with you at the PD Workshop (P.S. – don’t forget to register!).

Tara Siemens Kennedy
President, CSAP Society

Ministry Updates

There is no update from the Ministry for this edition of our Member’s Update, but representatives from the Ministry will be speaking at our Fall PD Workshop on November 5th, 2026.

Performance Assessment Committee Updates

There were six Q&A questions received within the last quarter. The question responses are summarized as follows:

  • Clarification on arm’s length definition as the AP previously had completed monitoring at the site greater than 10 years prior to being requested to being an AP. It was identified that the AP did not participate in preparation of the submission documents, and did not supervise or provide direction via historical site work to the individual preparing the submission documents. For these reasons, this instance is considered to be arm’s length.
  • Is a summary of site condition (SoSC) required for the source site, when applying for a CoC for just the affected parcel, and a SoSC is prepared for the affected parcel? As per CSR Section 7.1, CSAP is not aware of the requirement for a SoSC other than the instrument one is applying for.  The Annotated SOSC indicates that context should be provided in Part 2 of the SoSC, but as there is not a confirmed practice, it is possible that the SDM could ask for a second SoSC.
  • A CoC was obtained for a gas station site in 1999, and it continued to operate for another 10 years. An investigation was recently completed and contamination was not identified.  What is the appropriate submission document (Determination or CoC) and if CoC, is the DSI and confirmation of remediation sections left blank? The only application for a regulatory certification for a site that has been contaminated and remediated is a CoC. The required reports would be an updated Preliminary Site Investigation (Stage 1 and Stage 2), updated Detailed Site Investigation, and updated Confirmation of Remediation Report. The naming is important, in that these reports are required under the Contaminated Sites Regulation.  The updated DSI would be required to, at minimum, review the delineation to current standards, i.e., data gaps assessment from work in the 1990s and review of whether additional work is required to meet current DSI investigation and reporting standards.  The CoC Schedule C would list substances remediated even though remediation has not been completed since 1999.
  • Please confirm that the Footnote 2 interim cobalt value of 20 ug/L is not the background for the four listed regions. The four regions listed in Protocol 9 (Lower Mainland Subregion 1, Lower Mainland Subregion 2, Thompson Okanagan, Southern Vancouver Island) have their own cobalt background values (62 ug/L, 18 ug/L, 16 ug/L, 14 ug/L, respectively). The interim cobalt value of 20 ug/L applies to the remaining regions of the province.
  • A Numerical CoC is being prepared for a property in the Site Registry. There was previously a NOM for this property as a source parcel, but in the DSI process it was determined that the contamination fits the definition of area-wide fill. Given that pre-approval is no longer required for area-wide fill, is there a separate application needed to rescind the NOM, or will it be processed and updated as part of the CoC application?  The NOM does not need to be rescinded, but communication should be provided to the appropriate parties and forwarded to BC ENV with a communication record included in the CoC application.
  • Various scenarios were presented for a flow through site and for an affected parcel, and what substances would need to be included on a CoC. The answer for these scenarios varies depending on whether it is the affected parcel or source parcel owner applying for a CoC and the timing of the CoC, i.e., at the time of the source parcel CoC or solely for the affected parcel alone.  The details of this response are provided in the Members Portal.

The Q&A Summary from this and previous updates have been uploaded to the Members’ Portal. It’s available on the Documents & Links page and under Other Resources.

PAC Submission Lessons Learned include:

  • Make sure to include fuel VOCs as a PCOC related to fueling operations.
  • If interviews are not completed as part of a Stage I PSI, then rationale needs to be provided in reporting.
  • If concentrations are present greater than Protocol 11 Upper Cap concentrations, these need to be included within the SRCR along with exposure pathway questionnaire to show that it is not high risk. For example, if soil with concentrations greater than P11 is located over an area of less than 50 m2 it still needs to be documented in the SRCR.
  • Provide rationale for groundwater flow direction when basing it on limited data on site, especially when relying on off-site data that is not included in the report.
  • When using a paved surface as a permanent barrier under SLRA, please include details of the paved surface including area and thickness.
  • List all relevant PCOCs in the SoSC even if they are identified to not be present during site investigation. Otherwise, it is not known if those PCOCs have been considered and evaluated.
  • Take care in reviewing historical report documents and PCOC selection, especially if contamination is identified.  Contamination cannot be dropped even if it is not certain that it is related to site APECs.

Detailed Screening Sub-Committee Updates

We are trying something new! The information below regarding Detailed Screening timelines, statistics and submission quality is provided for the period of June 1 to September 1, 2026.

Number of submissions received / underwent DS: 27
Quality of submissions:
  • No additional information was requested during the DS for 3 of the 27 submissions.
  • The remaining 24 submissions had additional information requested by the Detailed Screener.
  • The issues ranged from a single minor request (e.g., substance spelling not matching CSR schedules) to multiple, significant additional information requests (e.g., missing PVP, missing communication records, SRCR missing UCC contours and cross-sections).
Number of DS days (i.e., how long to complete):
  • Range from 2 to 21 days, depending on number of certification documents, issues identified and submitting AP response time.
  • Average of 6.5 days
Frequency of inquiries from BC ENV on submissions that underwent a DS: To date, BC ENV has requested additional information on 6 of the 27 submissions*

* There may be submissions forwarded to BC ENV that have not been reviewed by an SDM.

Preliminary Screening

Preliminary screening for submissions has been generally quick, with an average preliminary screening time of one day. There are a few recurring administrative issues:

  • When sharing submission documents via SharePoint, please verify it can be accessed by an external user. A Microsoft security update earlier in the year has made external file sharing on SharePoint more difficult.
  • Please submit email correspondence as a PDF. Outlook files cannot be transferred with our File Sharing system.
  • The substances remediated list in schedule C of the Certification Document should match section 7.2 of the SoSC.
  • The document list in schedule D of the Certification Document should match the document list in part 3 of the SoSC. Both lists should also be in chronological order.

Review Services Sub-committee Updates

CSAP Review Services Sub-committee reviews the following:

  • Non-High Risk Reports prepared in response to Director’s requirements which are typically specified and required by clauses in Schedule B of AiPs and CoCs.
  • Schedule B wording typically requires the Report to be signed by an Approved Professional (“AP Statement”), unless the certification document is rather dated.
  • Any reports/AP Statements forwarded to CSAP Society for review should follow the process summarized on the RSC webpage.

To assist with these reviews, annual reporting for Approvals-in-Principle (AiP) also require Remediation Plans be submitted to CSAP for confirmation of any deviations from the remediation schedule. The submitted plans should be standalone and not part of a large, combined report.

Please note that the following should be sent directly to ENV for review:

  • Reports/AP Statements prepared for High-Risk Managed and High-Risk sites (unless ENV has requested that you send them directly to CSAP Society).
  • Requests to modify any Schedule B conditions on Certification Documents.
  • Requests to extend AiP timelines (i.e. remain valid for longer).
  • Any reports associated with the Site Disclosure Statement (SDS) process.

Please also note that if an existing AiP is based on numerical remediation, switching to a risk-based approach given new findings would require a new submission be made for potential review of the supporting risk assessment.

Technical Review Committee Updates

The TRC most recently met as a whole on September 17, welcoming new members Chuck Jochems and Stefan Quaglia, with additional meetings held with subgroups of the TRC to continue work on the Special Projects we have proceeding with this year. Additional details on the projects are included below.

Lower Mainland Soil Arsenic Background Concentrations Project – The project builds on the Background Soil Concentrations work completed previously. Its objective is to better characterize arsenic concentrations in the Lower Mainland and assess whether background levels exceed those in ENV Protocol 4 (Table 1) within specific sub-regions. The project was awarded to Core 6 Environmental. The results were presented at the Spring 2026 CSAP PD workshop. The project team is currently finalizing the report, which will be available on the CSAP website once completed.

Road Salt Impacted Soil Management Review – The purpose of this project is to inform the contaminated sites community in British Columbia on the issues and possible remedies for the management of road salt contaminated soil during development projects and provide practical management options to the BC Ministry of Environment and Parks for future regulatory consideration. This project was awarded to Active Earth in March and has now been completed, with the final version to be published on the CSAP website. The results of this project will be discussed at the Fall 2026 CSAP PD Workshop.

Use of Research & Technical Studies Materials – A reminder that the reports and guidance documents provided on the Research & Technical Studies page are intended solely as guidance resources. They are not Ministry‑endorsed and do not replace regulatory requirements. Members must continue to rely on their professional judgement when using these materials and ensure all decisions and submissions comply with applicable legislation and policy.

Scholarships – CSAP provides three scholarships per year, totaling $17,000, to applicants enrolled in a science or engineering graduate program with a focus on contaminated sites. CSAP is now accepting applications for the 2027 scholarships, the application form can be found on our website. Each of the recipients will be invited to give a short presentation regarding their research projects during the June PD Workshop.

If you have any suggestions for a topic that you would like the TRC to tackle, please send your ideas to [email protected].

Membership Committee Updates

The Membership Committee would like to remind all members that their 2026 Continued Professional Development (CPD) hours must be submitted and logged by December 31, 2026. Members are encouraged to review their records and ensure all eligible professional development activities are logged prior to the deadline. Members can track and record their CPD activities through the Members’ Portal.

A reminder that members who do not enter their required CPD hours by the deadline may be subject to an administrative fee.

The Exam Sub-committee has successfully completed development of the 2026 membership examinations. We extend our sincere thanks to the many volunteers who contributed their time and expertise to the exam development and review process. The 2026 examinations are scheduled as follows:

Numerical Standards Examination: November 2, 2026

Risk-based Standards Examination: November 2, 2026

Regulatory Examination: November 3, 2026

We wish all candidates the best of luck as they prepare for this year’s examinations.

The Membership Committee also encourages members to help promote the Society by sharing information with colleagues who may be interested in pursuing membership. Prospective applicants can review the membership requirements, application process, and examination information outlined in Section 3 and the appendices of the Membership Guidelines. Early review of the guidelines can help prospective applicants understand the requirements, identify any gaps in experience or training, and prepare well in advance of the next application period.

Professional Development Committee Updates

Fall PD Workshop

Our annual Fall PD Workshop is coming up on November 5, 2026 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West.

This session is open to members and non-members and is a rare opportunity to catch up in person with colleagues, stakeholders, and regulators. The following sessions have been confirmed:

  • Advancing Reconciliation – Lessons Learned from YVR’s North Runway Modernization Program, Wendy Avis, Director of Climate and Environment, Vancouver Airport Authority
  • Navigating Professional Practice in Contaminated Sites, followed by a panel discussion including:
    • Moderated by Tony Gillett, CSAP
    • Leane Holloway, Engineers and Geoscientists BC
    • Jennifer Lawrence, BC Institute of Agrologists
    • Kerry Taylor, Office of Professional Governance
    • Elaine Vale, College of Applied Biologists
  • Director’s Update, Carrie Nugent, Director, Site Remediation Program, Ministry of Environment and Parks (ENV)
  • President’s Update, Tara Siemens Kennedy, MET, P.Chem., CSAP President
  • Protocol 1: Reporting Expectations for Consideration of First Nations Use and Climate Change, Meghan McKee, Unit Head/Policy Specialist, Site Remediation Policy Section, ENV
  • Lessons Learned, Jason Christensen, Chair, CSAP Performance Assessment Committee
  • Summary of the TRC Road Salt Management Review Special Project, Steve Boyce, Emmanuelle Caws, and Ryan Taylor, Active Earth Engineering Ltd
  • What Responsible Parties Need to Know, Kerri Skelly, Manager, Operations, Site Remediation Program, ENV
  • Interactive Discussion, Kerri Skelly, Manager, Operations, Site Remediation Program, ENV and David Mitchell, CSAP

Lunch and Learns

We held two well-attended lunch and learn sessions this summer both presented by the Ministry of Environment and Parks. On July 16, the ENV provided an update on the recent CSR fee amendments and on September 24, Kevin Haines presented Updates to ENV’s Vapour Modelling Policy (Protocol 22). Find the recordings of these sessions here.

Call for Presenters

We are looking for interesting Case Studies for future PD sessions. If you have a site where an innovative approach was used or a tough lesson was learned, we want to learn from your experiences! As always if you have a suggestion for a topic or presenter for an upcoming session, please feel free to reach out to CSAP ([email protected]).

Submission Statistics Update

(as of October 23, 2026)

What’s New At CSAP

All is well at CSAP Society, with business continuing as usual. While submission numbers have been a little slower recently, our team remains actively engaged in supporting members and advancing key Board initiatives. We continue to work with the Ministry on draft protocols and guidelines, helping to provide feedback and ensure members’ perspectives are represented. We look forward to connecting with many of you at the Fall PD Workshop and appreciate your ongoing engagement and support.

Professional Development Opportunities

Please note, these are virtual unless otherwise noted.