Policies 

a) Criteria for Membership

a) Independence: The applicant needs to portray and affirm that they have the ability to be independent.

b) Recognized scientific credentials: The applicant should normally have 10 or more years of experience after their bachelor’s degree (for example, a PhD plus 5 years experience) but experience may be modified by “recognition” including such things as number of papers published in peer reviewed journals. It is not necessary for the applicant to belong to a professional association.

c) Relevant experience in contaminated sites management or related areas of expertise: The applicant must demonstrate “strongly related and relevant experience or significant direct experience”. The experience may be a combination of strongly related and relevant and direct or entirely direct or entirely strongly related and relevant.

d) Need for overall balance of experience on the Board: The applicant will provide a concise description of their experience and specific area(s) of expertise in an essay of not more than 200 words. Applicants may be requested to supply references or to make themselves available for an in-person or telephone interview.

e) Potential to contribute in a committee environment: The applicant needs to demonstrate an ability to contribute in a committee situation.

f) Diversity: Membership of the SABCS will be inclusive and representative of the community.

b) Procedures for Review of Applicants

The qualifications for applicants of the SABCS will be determined by their professional credentials and/or certifications, advanced degrees in pertinent scientific or engineering disciplines from recognized universities, the number of years of experience in pertinent scientific or engineering disciplines, recognized leadership in their discipline, formal training in the specific area of expertise, and field and/or laboratory experience with evidence of the ability to produce peer-reviewed publications or other professional literature. No one factor will be determinative in deciding whether an applicant will be accepted into the SABCS.

Applications will be reviewed by the Nominations Sub-Committee in accordance with the above criteria and the SABCS membership bylaws and the status of the of the applicant will be determined as: “More Information Required”, “Interview Required”, “Recommended”, or “Not Recommended”. The classification of More Information Required would be followed by a request to the applicant for additional information (such as providing publications) required by the reviewers to come to a recommendation. If requested, applicants will provide 3 references that can attest to their credentials and abilities. The classification of Interview Required would be followed by a request of the applicant for an interview by the Sub-Committee to be conducted in-person or by telephone. The classifications of Recommended or Not Recommended would be provided directly to the SABCS Board of Directors accompanied by the application and the evaluation prepared by the Sub-Committee. The final decision would be made by the Directors. The decision of the Directors will be conveyed to the applicant. Unsuccessful applicants could request consideration according to the bylaws of the SABCS. Approved June 22, 2004 Board of Directors Recommendation of Membership Committee Jim Malick, Adrian Michielsen.

c) SABCS Membership Bylaws

7 The criteria for the appointment of members will be primarily as follows:

(a) independence;

(b) recognized scientific credentials;

(c) relevant experience in contaminated sites management or a relevant area of expertise;

(d) need for overall balance of expertise on the board;

(e) potential to contribute in a committee environment; and

(f) diversity.

8 Application for Membership
Application for membership in the society shall be in writing, including electronic format, in a form approved by the directors, and shall state the name location and nature of the business of applicant and such other information as determined by the directors pertaining to the criteria for membership in 5. 6. and 7, and shall contain an agreement that if admitted to membership, the applicant will observe all provisions of the Bylaws, and will pay all applicable fees and dues.

9 Acceptance to Membership
Any applicant may seek to be accepted as a member by submitting the required information and the prescribed fee to the directors or its designate. Upon review of the application, the directors will either accept or refuse the applicant and provide written notification of such acceptance or refusal. A candidate whose application is refused by the directors shall be entitled to request a statement of the reasons for such refusal and the directors shall provide such reasons. In the event that such explanation does not resolve the issue, the applicant may seek appeal to a mutually agreed upon professional association as provided in article 14.

14 Removal of a Member
Upon 30 days notice in writing to a member, and after giving such member a reasonable opportunity to be heard by the directors, the directors may, by a resolution passed by two-thirds of the votes cast at a meeting of the directors, pass a resolution authorizing the removal of such member from the Register of Members and thereupon such person shall cease to be a member. Any person so removed may re-apply for membership in the society. Any person so removed shall have the right to appeal their removal to an independent professional society or certifying body mutually agreed to by the directors and the member concerned. On appointment the members and associate members agree that such appeal decision will be binding on the member concerned and the society.

1. On assuming office all Directors of the Society are expected to sign the following agreement and to be bound by its confidentiality provisions after leaving office

Agreement On Ethical Conduct For Directors

I, ________________________, am a director of the Science Advisory Board for Contaminated Sites in British Columbia (SAB). I declare that in carrying out my duties as a director of the Science Advisory Board for Contaminated Sites in British Columbia during my term of office:

• I will use the powers and undertake to carry out the duties of my office honestly, in good faith and in the best interest of the SAB. In doing so I will exercise the care, diligence and skill of a reasonably prudent person in comparable circumstances.
• I will observe and honour the Science Advisory Board’s: i. Articles of Association, Charter and Ordinary By-Laws; ii. Policies adopted and approved by the Board of Directors; and iii. Directions established by resolution of the membership.
• I will publicly support the policies and positions of the SAB as approved by the Board of Directors.
• I will keep confidential all information specifically determined by Board of Directors motions to be matters of confidence. Where I am uncertain in determining whether an item is a matter of confidence, I will seek direction by way of a resolution of the Board of Directors.
• I will publicly support the actions taken by the SAB management to implement programs and achieve objectives contained in the SAB’s approved plans and budgets.
• I will, at all times, strive to place the interests of the Board of Directors ahead of my personal interests and to declare immediately any conflicts that arise.
• When I am in a situation where my continued presence on the Board of Directors would cause an embarrassment to the SAB and would undermine member confidence; including failure to continue as a member of the SAB in good standing:

In British Columbia I will:

1. Immediately resign; or
2. Ask the Board of Directors to determine the matter and then resign if there is a determination not in my favour; or
3. Resign where the Board makes a determination not in my favour after the Board raises the matter itself;

A Board determination of this nature is governed by articles 14(1) and (2) of the Bylaws as follows:

14 (1) Upon 30 days notice in writing to a member, and after giving such member an opportunity to be heard by the directors, the directors may, by a resolution passed by two-thirds of the votes cast at a meeting of the directors, pass a resolution authorizing the removal of such member from the Register of Members and thereupon such person shall cease to be a member. Any person so removed may re-apply for membership in the society.

(2) Any person so removed shall have the right to appeal their removal to an independent professional society or certifying body mutually agreed to by the directors and the member concerned. On appointment the members and associate members agree that such appeal decision will be binding on the member concerned and the society.

Guiding Principles

1. Currently funded projects take precedence.

2. Prior commitments to Ministries and other partners proposing the willingness of the SAB to undertake studies, for example in reference to recommendations made by the SAB, will be considered to rank higher than unsolicited proposals.

3. All projects undertaken by the SAB shall be consistent with the purposes of the SAB.

4. All projects should address scientific questions of a substantive nature with general applicability, or of broad interest to the Contaminated Sites Community in British Columbia and nationally.

5. Preference will be given to projects that test or establish the best available science on a documented issue.

6. The SAB provides advice for the wider contaminated sites community it neither addresses site specific questions of a commercial nature, nor comments on specific administrative decisions in the application of regulation or statute decisions.

7. Members of the SAB are eligible to submit unsolicited proposals and to respond to Requests for Proposals from the SAB in a professional capacity without being in a position of conflict of interest.

Policy Statements

1. The SAB will establish a sub-committee of members to receive and recommend to the Board of Directors on the suitability of submitted projects for the work schedule of the SAB.

2. The sub-committee will establish guidelines for the submission and documentation of proposals.

3. The sub-committee will consider proposals that involve SAB partnership in scientific investigations, including pursuit of joint funding. Such projects may involve research conducted at other institutions, and the support of graduate students.

Excerpt from Terms of Reference

“Reporting and Consultation The SAB regularly publicly reports on the nature of scientific studies in progress, and endeavors to expedite the publication of completed studies within two years of completion within limitations imposed by [confidential or privileged information] 4.0 above. Each year an annual report of the activities of the SAB is made available publicly.

In keeping with principles of openness and inclusivity, whenever possible and normally after reports of studies are completed and technical reviewed, the SAB invites comment and suggestions. Many projects such as those involving development of science based tools procedures and assessment protocols will involve extensive consultation with stakeholders and practitioners while in progress.

Normally reporting will be electronic through a web site and list serve established by the Board”.

Best Practice Policy Statements

1. During development of advice on matters of importance to the Contaminated Sites community in British Columbia, input will be sought in a variety of ways including the SAB and government and other stakeholder (RSC) list serves and websites.

2. The drafting of reports and advice may involve consultation through focus groups, and/or extended expert involvement through virtual content management forums.

3. Normally, and when confidentiality considerations do not apply, the scientific analysis and scientific soundness of recommended tools, standards, protocols and guidelines, and original research, will be subject to peer review before any public posting of the draft report.

4. Normally, and time permitting draft reports and advice that are not subject to confidentiality provisions, will be posted for public comment before being finalized.

5. In keeping with the provisions of the University of Victoria guidelines, all recipients of advice from the SAB are reminded of the policy of publication of reports and studies as expeditiously as possible and within two years

6. Hard copies of reports normally will only be provided on a cost recovery basis.

This policy uses a first person format and wording consistent with other similar policies in force at the University of Victoria.

We, the Science Advisory Board for Contaminated Sites in British Columbia understand that you, our members and stakeholders, will want to know that information we obtain about you is collected, used or disclosed by us responsibly and in accordance with our obligations under the law to maintain your rights to privacy.

We intend this Policy to set out the principles we use to protect the privacy of those whose personal information we acquire or hold and to inform you about how we discharge our obligations to you in the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information; how you may obtain further information about our policies and procedures; and how you may access or correct your personal information.

This Policy is based on the CSA Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information and should be interpreted in accordance with its principles and commentary.

In the Policy, we use the following terms that have the meanings set out below:

Collection means the act of gathering, acquiring or obtaining personal information from any source, including third parties, by any means.

Consent is voluntary agreement with what is being done or proposed. Express consent is an unequivocal assent given either orally or in writing. Implied consent arises where consent may be reasonably inferred from action or inaction of a person.

Disclosure means making personal information available to others outside our organization.

Personal Information means information about an identifiable individual but does not include that person’s name, business title, business address or business phone number.

Use refers to how our organization treats and handles personal information.

Section 1: How We Are Accountable

1. We are responsible for personal information under our control. Our staff will carry out this obligation as required by this Policy and as required by the internal procedures and protocols that we have developed to handle personal information.

2. We have appointed a Privacy Officer. The name and contact information for this person is available to you upon request.

3. Our Privacy Officer is responsible for our compliance with the laws regulating the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. Our Privacy Officer will implement and monitor our policies and practices for handling personal information; ensure the staff who perform the day-to-day operations are trained appropriately; answer inquiries from you about privacy; and respond to any complaints about privacy issues.

4. The Privacy Officer may delegate some of her or his duties to other appropriate people in the organization from time to time.

Section 2: Why We Collect Personal Information

1. The purposes for which our organization exists and the functions it performs require us to collect and use some personal information. We are responsible for identifying and documenting those purposes and only collecting personal information reasonably needed to fulfill them. For example, to make it possible to contact you and maintain the services to you which you expect, we need to have your mailing address (home or business ,and electronic). Application for membership requires that we understand your credentials and experience.

2. Usually we will inform you of the purposes for which we are collecting personal information at the time we collect it. We will explain those purposes more fully to you if you request a more detailed explanation. We will try to state the purposes in a way that is clear and understandable.

3. If we decide that we need to use your personal information for a different purpose other than those you were aware of when we collected the personal information, we will not do so without your consent unless the law permits or requires us to use the information without your consent (For example when you are an officer of the Society, as required under the Societies Act).

Section 3: Your Consent

1. When personal information is required, we will ask for your consent to collect, use or disclose that information for the purposes we identify. Your consent may be given orally or in writing. How we seek your consent will depend upon the sensitivity of the information.

2. In some cases, the purposes for which we are collecting the information will be obvious to any reasonable person. In that case, if you supply the information, you will be deemed to have consented to its collection and use for those purposes.

3. In other cases, we may provide you with a notice of why we are collecting the information and how we intend to use or disclose it. If you do not object to the collection, use or disclosure of the information, you will be deemed to have consented to its collection, use or disclosure for those purposes.

4. You have the right to withdraw your consent to our collection, use or disclosure of your personal information at any time by giving notice to our Privacy Officer, except where doing so would break a legal obligation. We will inform you of the likely consequences of your withdrawing your consent and we have the right to require a reasonable notice period from you before we stop the collection, use or disclosure of the personal information.

Section 4: Limits on Our Collection

1. We will not collect personal information that is not reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we are collecting it.

2. We will inform you of the type of information we collect and how and why we collect it upon your request.

Section 5: Limits on Our Use, Disclosure and Retention

1. We will not use nor disclose your personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected except with your consent or as permitted or required by law.

2. We will not retain your personal information for any longer than it is needed and, when it is no longer needed, we will make reasonable efforts to destroy or erase it promptly.

3. If we have used personal information to make a decision about you, we will retain that information for a minimum period of six months in order to allow you access to the information.

Section 6: Accuracy

1. Depending upon the nature of the personal information and the use to which it will be put, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information is accurate, complete and up-to-date. Where you are aware of any changes to your personal information that we should know about, it is your responsibility to notify us of those changes.

2. We will only update information routinely where such updating is needed to fulfill the purposes for which we collected the information.

Section 7: Safeguards

1. Our employees are aware of the importance of protecting personal information that we hold.

2. Depending upon the type of information, its sensitivity and its method of storage, we will take all reasonable precautions against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification of personal information.

3. Our safeguards include appropriate physical security measures restricting access to offices and filing cabinets and appropriate use of computer passwords and encryption.

4. When we destroy personal information, we will take reasonable precautions to assure that the information is not available to unauthorized parties.

5. If you communicate with us by email or wireless communications, you should be aware that complete confidentiality and security are not assured and such confidentiality and security are beyond our control.

Section 8: Information About Our Practices

1. We will make available to you further information about our policies and procedures regarding the handling of personal information upon request unless providing you with that information would jeopardize our security measures.

2. We will provide you with the name and contact information for our Privacy Officer upon request. The Privacy Officer can inform you as to how you can gain access to your personal information and about what type of personal information we hold and how generally we use it. The Privacy Officer can also deal with complaints or other information requests that you may have.

Section 9: Your Access

1. Upon your request, we will inform you of any personal information that we hold about you and allow you access to your own personal information unless we are prevented from doing so by law or we are exempted from disclosing it by statutory provision.

2. We will also tell you about any use that we are making or have made of your personal information and the names of any organizations to which we have disclosed it.

3. We will make all reasonable efforts to provide this information promptly and at a minimal charge.

4. In order to access your personal information, we may require you to provide us with personal information to enable us to retrieve the relevant information. We will not use this personal information for any purpose other than retrieval of your personal information to which you have requested access.

5. Our Privacy Officer may require your request to be in writing and to give details of the information you are seeking.

6. If you believe that your personal information is inaccurate, you may ask us to amend the information and to inform any organization to which we have disclosed the information of the amendment.

7. We will amend personal information where our Privacy Officer determines that the information is inaccurate. If our Privacy Officer is not convinced that the information is inaccurate, we may refuse to amend the information. In that case, we will record the challenge to the information with the personal information and will notify any organization to which we have disclosed the challenged information of the challenge.

Section 10: Complaints

1. If you have a complaint about any of our practices or procedures under this Policy or relating to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information you should make the complaint to the Privacy Officer.

2. The Privacy Officer may require the complaint to be made in writing.

3. The Privacy Officer will investigate your complaint. The Privacy Officer may delegate the investigation process to another person where the delegation is reasonable.

4. The Privacy Officer will inform you about the outcome of the investigation. Where the Privacy Officer finds your complaint to be justified, we will take appropriate measures as recommended by the Privacy Officer to remedy the complaint.