Best management practices provide consistent, clear recommendations or requirements for how to carry out particular work or activities. They are widely accepted and recognized standards of practice that help individuals avoid and reduce potential negative impacts. Best management practices also support applicants seeking to carry out this work or activity, which promotes efficient and timely application reviews and decision-making for permitting. 

In 2019, a general guidance document was made to assist applicants in the South Coast Region. In 2022, the Province published its most recent version of best management practices for projects proposed to work or make changes in and about streams. The Province is considering more updates to existing best management practices based on new information and gaps or issues in the application process. With these proposed updates, applicants, qualified professionals, and the public could access current, provincially relevant resources that support transparency, consistency, and predictability in permitting projects, including those for changes in and about a stream. 

We want to hear from you

If you have feedback on this topic, please let us know by completing this survey: Best management practices for changes in and about a stream

The survey closes December 12, 2025.   

Learn more about our other identified opportunities to improve natural resource permitting on the govTogetherBC website.