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nicholas.chambers@ghd.com

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Environmental Assessments

The Environmental Assessment Act (the "Act") defines a planning and design process that proponents and their projects must follow to consider environmental impacts.

The Act

The Act governs all public projects that may affect the environment. The term environment is broadly applied to include areas that are natural, social, cultural, constructed and economic.

Assessment

The Municipal Engineers Association has defined a simplified planning and design process known as a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (the "Assessment") to make routine municipal projects easier to manage.

The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change has officially recognized the Assessment process as meeting the requirements of the Act.

Project categories

The Assessment process categorizes proposed municipal projects based on their expected environmental impact. Requirements change if the size of expected environmental impact grows.

The Assessment categories fall under different Schedules:

Schedule A projects are limited in scale and are likely to have minimal environmental effects. These projects include the majority of municipal maintenance and operational activities, such as:

  • Repairing water main breaks.
  • Cleaning sanitary sewers.
  • Adding traffic control signals to an intersection.

Schedule A projects are pre-approved and may start without following the full Assessment process.

Schedule A+ projects are limited in scale, but are broader than Schedule A projects. Schedule A+ projects are expected to have a minimal environmental impact. These projects are also pre-approved and may start without fully following the full Assessment process.

Some examples of Schedule A+ projects are:

  • Restoring a water supply plant.
  • Installing a sewer in an existing road allowance.
  • Adding turning lanes to an intersection.

Schedule B projects might negatively impact the environment and need to go through a screening process. The process includes consultation with everyone who could be affected by the project so everyone is aware of the project. Any concerns will be addressed. If there are no major concerns, the project may begin.

Schedule B projects are usually small changes to existing facilities, such as:

  • Making a municipal well deeper.
  • Retiring a water pollution control plant.
  • Building a minor expansion to a road.

Schedule C projects could have significant environmental effects. They must follow the full planning and design process under the Assessment. All relevant information must be put together in a clear report called an Environmental Study Report. The report must be available for review by the public and regulatory review agencies.

Schedule C projects generally involve building new facilities or major changes to existing facilities, such as:

  • Building a new water treatment plant.
  • Expanding an existing water pollution control plant beyond its rated capacity.
  • Significantly widening an existing road.

The Assessment document has lists of typical projects that decide which Schedule is appropriate.

Phases of an Assessment

The Assessment process is flexible and can be changed to fit a project's needs. It has five phases that allow for the development and evaluation of alternative methods of carrying out a water supply, sanitary sewage or transportation project.

Identify the problem, deficiency or opportunity. Develop a clear statement of the issues to be addressed.

Identify the reasonable alternative solutions to address each issue. Decide on a preferred solution based on an environmental assessment. Consideration stakeholder input.

Identify alternative methods of implementing the preferred solution. Figure out the preferred method based on an assessment of the environmental impact, including consideration of stakeholder input.

Put together all relevant study information, including study rationale, environmental considerations, consultation process and recommendations into a clear and easily understood report called an Environmental Study Report. Make the document available for review by interested or affected parties.

Implement the preferred method of addressing the issues, including completion of contract documents and construction of any recommended works. Monitor the work to make sure the environmental requirements are followed, and where necessary, monitor the operation of completed facilities.

Public involvement

The Assessment process sets out mandatory points of contact between the proponent of a project and members of the public who will potentially be affected. This ensures that people are provided with the opportunity to comment on proposed projects, and allows for an exchange of opinions and ideas.

If you are interested in a proposed municipal project, you are encouraged to become involved in the process as early as possible before important decisions are made.

The methods used to contact the public are the responsibility of the proponent and vary from community to community depending on the nature of the project and the potential environmental effects.

The public may be notified by notices in newspapers, mailing of notices directly to affected persons, posting of notices, or the announcement of a project through the media. Information may be also given in study packages or newsletters, a display of project information panels, the creation of a project website, public open houses, workshops, public meetings, questionnaires, telephone calls or personal visits.

The mandatory points of contact in the Assessment process are typically considered the minimum requirements but may vary on long, controversial or complicated projects.

You are responsible for bringing your concerns to the proponent early in the planning process when it's easier to make changes in the project.

Occasionally, people do not believe that their concerns have been properly addressed. If so, unresolved requests can be brought to the Ontario Minister of the Environment.

The Minister will consider the request and make one of the following decisions:

  • Deny the request, stating the reason for the decision.
  • Deny the request with conditions, such as requiring that the proponent prepare an annual report on the environmental impact of the project.
  • Refer the matter to mediation, where one or more appointed persons will try to resolve the concern.
  • Issue a Part II Order.

The Minister's decisions are final.

Master plans

A Master Plan is a long range plan that ties together the various needs of an overall system, such as a water distribution system or a road network.

This planning approach allows the individual needs of a system to be defined in a broader context. For example, a water distribution system may require a treatment plant expansion at one location, a reservoir expansion at another location, and the construction of a water main at another location. A Master Plan will develop an overall strategy for implementing all of these requirements, which will likely entail a number of individual, yet related, projects.

Master Plans integrate infrastructure needs with environmental assessment planning principles. At a minimum, a Master Plan addresses Phases 1 and 2 of the Assessment process. Prior to being approved, a Master Plan report is made available for public comment.

The individual projects recommended under a Master Plan may be categorized as Schedule A, Schedule B or Schedule C under the Assessment process.

A Master Plan itself cannot be ordered to comply with Part II of the Act, also known as a Part II Order. However, the individual projects included in the Master Plan are subject to the requirements of the Assessment process at the time that they are to be implemented, therefore, a request for a Part II Order can be made for individual projects at that time under the Assessment process.

You can find more information on the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change website.