Cut Control Statements

Cut control statements include details about the allowable annual cut, applicable cut control period, volume of timber harvested during the cut control period and timber volumes attributed to the agreement. These statements are issued to agreement holders usually after the end of each calendar year or anniversary date.

They serve as the main reporting mechanism for both agreement holders and government to track the volume of cut control eligible timber attributable to each individual agreement. Below are some basic definitions to help understand these statements.

Definitions:

Allowable Annual Cut (AAC) – is the maximum harvest level (or rate of harvest) determined by the chief forester for a management unit. Management units include Timber Supply Areas, tree farm licences, and other smaller area-based forms of agreement such as woodlot licence, etc. AAC also refers to the maximum amount of volume (or rate of harvest) that an agreement holder can potentially harvest under their licence on an annual basis. Agreement holder level AACs are used to determine an agreement holders cut control position, calculate annual rent owed to government, determine security deposits, etc. [Act – section 1 (1)].

Cut Control – the collective set of legislative, regulatory and policy requirements used to determine an agreement holder’s harvest level against the AAC provided under their agreement. Excess harvest for exceeding limits will result in mandatory penalties unless the tenure is eligible for penalty relief, in which case, the minister may grant full or partial relief [Act – section 75.92]. Cut Control Statements are issued annually, and compliance with cut control is generally calculated over a 5-year period (unless cut control period is otherwise terminated and restarted or in the case of the Great Bear Rainforest North, up to 10-year periods may occur). This provides an agreement holder both operational and economic flexibility to harvest lesser or greater amounts of volume within a single year if the sum of the agreement AACs is not exceeded over the 5-year cut control period [Act – Division 3.1 and Cut Control Regulation].

Cut Control Limit – is the upper harvest limit that an agreement holder can harvest over a cut control period without incurring overharvest penalties. For larger forms of agreement this is 110% the sum of the agreement AACs over the cut control period. For smaller licences such as woodlot licences this is 120% the sum of the agreement AACs over the cut control period. Any excess volume above the cut control limit will incur penalties. Any excess volume greater than 100% of the sum of the agreement AACs will be carried forward resulting in a reduced allocation of potential harvesting in the next cut control period. There is no cut control limit available for an agreement in its final cut control period is 100% (must be 100% sum of agreement AACs).

Cut Control Limit Exemption – under limited circumstances such as a risk of loss due to wind, fire, insects or disease, the minister may exempt an agreement holder from the cut control limits specified in the agreement and Act [Act – section 75.9].

Cut Control Period – is the period over which an agreement holders harvest is calculated to determine compliance with the cut control requirements of their agreement. The standard cut control period is 5 years. However, there are limited instances where a cut control period may be shortened or lengthened such as the Great Bear Rainforest (GBR) North [GBR Act – Part 6]

Cut Control Statement – a statement issued by government to an eligible agreement holder that provides the volume of timber harvested under that agreement and determines if the agreement holder has exceeded (or not) the harvest limits (e.g. sum of AACs over cut control period if in the final cut control period) specified in the agreement. Statements are provided annually with a final statement issued at the end of the cut control period or once the term of agreement has expired.

Harvesting Billing System (HBS) – is the ministry’s scale data management system. All volume of timber harvested by agreement holders are reported through the HBS electronically. This is not the same as Volume of Timber Harvested for cut control purposes which requires further adjustments to the data reported in HBS. Harvest Billing System (HBS) - Province of British Columbia.

Grade 4 Credits (Interior only) – the Act and Cut Control Regulation provide a cut control credit if an eligible agreement holder delivers low quality grade 4 logs to a non-sawmill or veneer processing facility.  The agreement holder is then allowed to harvest an additional log elsewhere. This encourages the delivery of low-quality timber to processing facilities (e.g. pulp/paper mills, chipping facilities, bioenergy plants, etc.) that may otherwise have difficulty obtaining sufficient fibre [Act - section 75.1 and Cut Control Regulation section 17.6].

Management Unit – means any area-based tenure (e.g. tree farm licence, woodlot licence, etc.) or a geographically defined Timber Supply Area. Area-based tenures grant exclusive harvesting rights to the agreement holder. Timber Supply Areas allow for multiple agreement holders to operate simultaneously within the Timber Supply Area.

Maximum Harvestable Volume – is the maximum volume (specified in an agreement) that an agreement holder can harvest over the term of their agreement. It applies to non-replaceable agreements (e.g. non-replaceable forest licences). Maximum Harvestable Volume is not necessarily the same value as the sum of the agreement’s AACs. The sum of the AACs may differ over time due to other variables such as term extensions or AAC reductions, [Act – section 75.21, 75.22, 75.41 and 75.51].

Overcut – is the overharvest of the harvesting rights provided under the agreement. If overcut exceeds the Cut Control Limit the excess harvest is subject to penalties and reduction of harvesting rights in the subsequent cut control period(s) [Act – section 75.7].

Unbilled Scale – is the scaled volume harvested near the end of the year (e.g. December). Since the volume was either not ready to be billed in December or missed the cutoff date, it is classified as Unbilled Scale. This volume is billed in the following year (e.g. January).

Unharvested Volume – is timber that has not been harvested (for various reasons), but was potentially available for harvest to a tenure holder.

Volume Attributions – in certain cases volume may be attributed (i.e. transferred) between eligible licences subject to the limitations specific in the Act and Cut Control Regulation, and at the discretion of the statutory decision maker. This mechanism provides potential additional operational flexibility and helps ensure that the timber resource is more effectively managed. Volume Attributions are not guaranteed and subject to the prescribed limitations. [Act – section 75.1 (3) (b) and Division 5 – Cut Control Regulation].

Volume of Timber Harvested – this is the volume of timber harvested for the purposes of determining compliance with the Act and Cut Control Regulation cut control provisions. It includes adjustments (e.g. volume attributions, grade 4 credits, BCTS Disposition Agreements, etc.) that are not reported as part of the Harvest Billing System Volume of Timber Harvested. To replicate the results of a cut control statement, clients must use billing reports (not scaling reports) within the Harvest Billing System, per the Q&A page.

Below are the cut control statements issued for the following cut control years: