Environment Minister George Heyman has launched his promised review of 鈥減rofessional reliance鈥� on engineers and other professionals who oversee safety of industrial projects in B.C.

Heyman said the issue of water contamination of the near Vernon, a contaminated soil storage facility near and the mine tailings dam failure on Quesnel Lake have eroded public confidence in B.C.鈥檚 system.

鈥淎ctions flowing from this review will help restore public confidence in government鈥檚 oversight, to ensure the public interest is protected when it comes to resource management,鈥� Heyman said Tuesday.

He said the B.C. government has lost capacity to regulate projects after a period of engineers and other professionals being hired by project proponents to file reports. In the case of contamination of the Hullcar aquifer, B.C.鈥檚 information commissioner had to order the release of water records because information from contracted professionals was withheld as private property, Heyman said.

Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau said she was 鈥渄elighted鈥� by the commitment to the review, which will also examine if people who are monitoring a project have a financial interest in it. A court challenge of the Shawnigan Lake contaminated soil site revealed such a situation, which Heyman said is clearly a conflict of interest.

鈥淚n Shawnigan we saw firsthand how the uncertainty created by professional reliance erodes trust,鈥� Furstenau said. 鈥淭he geologists hired to assess the safety of the contaminated soil facility adjacent to our community鈥檚 drinking water had a profit-sharing deal and would have benefitted from the project going ahead.鈥�

Heyman said the Mount Polley investigation continues, as charges against individuals are considered for the collapse of the tailings dam in August 2014.