Can I dig or sell gravel from my own land in BC?

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The sand and gravel are usually the owner's, but digging a pit needs a Mines Act permit and a reclamation bond, the ALC's leave on farmland past 500 m³, and any local soil bylaw. Sand and gravel on titled land are usually the owner's, unlike the minerals under it. But a pit is a mine under BC law whatever its size, so digging one, even for your own driveway or to sell a few loads, runs into the Mines Act, and on farmland the Agricultural Land Commission's rules. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. Who owns the gravel: Sand, gravel, earth and soil, and rock on private land used for building, aren't minerals under the Mineral Tenure Act (s. 1), and the minerals, coal, oil and gas the Crown keeps from a Crown grant don't include them (Land Act s. 50 (1)). So they belong to the owner of the land, as the Province's aggregate guide says, unless the title reserves them (our reading). The Crown also keeps a right to take gravel, sand and stone from granted land, without paying, for a public road or work (s. 50 (1) (a) (iv)). Gold in the gravel is a placer mineral, which isn't the owner's: see mineral claims. A pit is a mine: A place where the ground is dug to produce sand, gravel, rock or clay is a mine, and its owner, agent, manager or anyone else must hold a Mines Act permit before starting any work there, with a plan of the work and a reclamation program (Mines Act ss. 1, 10 (1)). The only exemption by regulation is for pits run by or for the Ministry of Transportation (Mines Act Permit Regulation s. 8); the chief permitting officer can exempt one case in writing (s. 10 (2)). We found no exemption for a small pit or an owner's own use. Applying: A pit's permit is applied for as a notice of work through FrontCounter BC, with 10 days' notice before work starts (Health, Safety and Reclamation Code 6.2.1, 10.1.2). The Province can require security for reclamation, topped up each year (Mines Act s. 10 (4), (5)), and won't issue the permit until it's posted (Aggregate Mine Application Guide). The yearly fee is nothing under 5,000 tonnes in the busiest year and rises from there (Mines Fee Regulation s. 4). Near the lot line: No sand or gravel may be dug within 5 m of the property line, and from there the slope may be no steeper than 1.5 to 1, unless the neighbour agrees in writing (Code 10.7.4, 10.7.8). On farmland: On ALR land, removing aggregate is allowed without an application only while the total taken from the parcel stays under 500 m³, with the topsoil kept and the land rehabilitated, and a local government may prohibit it (ALR Use Regulation s. 26). The Commission reads the 500 m³ as once for the life of the parcel; more needs its permission, generally a soil and fill use application, or a notice of intent ($150, at least 60 days ahead) where it accepts one (ALC Act s. 20.3; ALR General Regulation s. 35; the ALC's aggregate guideline). The ALC's approval comes before the Mines Act permit (Aggregate Mine Application Guide). See applying to the ALC. Local soil bylaws: A council may regulate removing soil, sand and gravel, and with the Province's approval prohibit it (Community Charter ss. 8 (3) (m), 9); a regional district that provides the service may require a permit and charge by the volume (Local Government Act s. 327). Zoning can also leave a pit out of the uses allowed (see fill and soil). An old pit on the lot: A Mines Act permit stays with the site until its reclamation is done and the security returned (the Province's permit pages), and the owner, agent, manager or permittee remains responsible for a closed mine (Mines Act s. 1). The Province can order the work done (s. 10.1), and its costs on a closed or abandoned mine become a lien on it that can be registered on title (s. 17 (3), (4)). We found no rule moving a permit to a buyer of the land (our reading): ask who holds it. What it means for a buyer: Gravel on a lot can be worth something, but taking it out is a permitted mine with a bond, a reclamation plan and inspections, not a sideline. A report lists the Mines Act permit areas within 2 km of the lot, the ALR over it and the soil for farming; a pit on the lot itself shows there too.

Can I dig or sell gravel from my own land in BC?

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