Environmental Assessment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWtT0Efh
NsE
EVS141
Seneca College
 Class Environmental Assessment
in Ontario
• Ontario Environmental Assessment Act
• The purpose of the Ontario Environmental
Assessment Act (EA Act) is to provide for:
• "...the betterment of the people of the whole
or any part of Ontario by providing for the
protection, conservation and wise
management in Ontario of the environment."
"Environment" is applied in a broad sense and includes the natural, social, cultural,
built and economic environments. It is defined in the EA Act as:

• Air, land or water;

• Plant and animal life, including human life;
• The social, economic and cultural conditions that influence the life of
humans, or a community;
• Any building, structure, machine or other device or thing made by
humans;
• Any solid, liquid, gas, odour, heat, sound, vibration or radiation
resulting directly or indirectly from human activities; or,
• Any part or combination of the foregoing and the interrelationships
between any two or more of them.
 There are two types of Environmental
Assessment planning and approval processes:
• Individual Environmental Assessments are those projects
for which a Terms of Reference (TOR) and an individual
environmental assessment are carried out and submitted
to the Minister of the Environment for review and
approval.
• The process typically used by municipalities is the
Class Environmental Assessment. This process is
used for projects that are approved subject to compliance
with an approved class environmental assessment process
with respect to a class of undertakings, such as roads, water,
and wastewater.
What is a Class Environmental Assessment?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8MspdR
zW0g

• https://www.municipalengineers.on.ca/career
s/opportunities.html
 Project characteristics
for Class EA status:
A Class EA is an approved planning document which describes the process that
proponents must follow in order to meet the requirements of the EA Act. Class EAs
are a method of dealing with projects which display the following important
characteristics:
•
recurring
•
usually similar in nature
•
usually limited in scale
•
have a predictable range of environmental effects
•
responsive to mitigating measures
 EXPECTED RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS:

• The geographic setting for projects

undertaken under this Class EA will vary
widely throughout Ontario. For the purposes
of environmental analysis, however,
geographic settings can be broadly categorized
as urban and rural areas.
 Class Environmental Assessments
for Municipal Works:
• In 1987, the first Municipal Class Environmental
Assessments (EAs), prepared by the Municipal
Engineers Association (MEA) on behalf of Ontario
municipalities, were approved under the Ontario
Environmental Assessment (EA) Act for municipal
road projects, and municipal water and wastewater
projects.
• In 1993, the Municipal Class EAs were reviewed,
updated and their approval extended.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21V8tZjFYnU
 Municipal Projects subject to a Class
Environmental Assessment:
• A Municipal Class EA is a five phase study that
identifies potential positive and negative effects
of projects such as road improvements, facility
expansions or to facilitate a new service.
• The process includes an extensive evaluation of
impacts on the natural and social environment,
which includes the impacts to plants and
animals, soils, traffic patterns, and to residents
and businesses in the community.
 Which projects are subject
to a Class EA?
• The Municipal Class EA applies to municipal
infrastructure projects including roads, water
and wastewater projects. Since projects
undertaken by municipalities can vary in their
environmental impact, such projects are
classified in terms of schedules.
 Class EA's:
These projects are broken down into four schedules:

• Schedule A:
• Generally includes normal and emergency
operational and maintenance activities. The
environmental effects of these activities are
usually minimal and therefore, these projects
are pre-approved.
• Schedule A+:
• - These projects are pre-approved, however
the public is to be advised prior to project
implementation.
• Schedule B:
• Generally includes improvements and minor
expansions to existing facilities. There is a
potential for some adverse environmental
impacts and therefore the proponent is
required to proceed through a screening
process including consultation with those who
may be affected.
• Schedule C:
• – generally includes improvements and minor
expansions to existing facilities. There is a
potential for significant environmental effects
and must proceed under the full planning and
documentation procedures specified in the
Class EA document.
 The Class E.A. Process:

• There are five phases in the process:

• Phase 1: Identify the problem or opportunity.

• Phase 2: Identify alternative solutions.
• Phase 3: Examine alternative design concepts for
the preferred solution.
• Phase 4: Prepare Environmental Study Report (ESR).
• Phase 5: Implementation (contract drawings and
documents, construction and operation).
• Schedule A and A+: Projects only require
completion of Phase 1

• Schedule B: Projects must complete both

Phase 1-2

• Schedule C: Projects must complete all 5

phases
 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES TO BE EXPECTED AMONG
UNDERTAKINGS IN THE CLASS EA PROCESS:

• The undertakings subject to this Class EA involve municipal

infrastructure. Accordingly, they share the following
similarities:

• they generally address similar types of problems and opportunities

• a common set of “alternatives to” and “alternative methods” apply

• they follow the same EA planning process with similar phases

• the types of impacts and approaches to environmental protection

and mitigation are recurrent
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugyFXVyxIoQ
 Similarities and Differences (cont’d):
• Given that there are over 440 municipalities within Ontario
with a variety of environmental settings, the main expected
differences amongst undertakings in the Municipal Class
EA are:

• project-specific problems and opportunities

• project-specific environmental and community issues

• project-specific solutions

• varying levels of project complexity or sensitivity

 Class EA’s Examples:
• https://www.peelregion.ca/pw/water/environ
-assess/lornewood-creek-ea.htm

• http://www.brampton.ca/en/residents/Roads
/Pages/road-works-details.aspx/1002/Creditvi
ew%20Road%20Widening
 The key principles of successful
environmental assessment planning include:

Consultation with affected parties early in and throughout the process, such
that the planning process is a co-operative venture. Consideration of a
reasonable range of alternatives, both the functionally different "alternatives
to" and the "alternative methods" of implementing the solution.
•
Identification and consideration of the effects of each alternative on all aspects
of the environment.
•
Systematic evaluation of alternatives in terms of their advantages and
disadvantages, to determine their net environmental effects.
•
Provision of clear and complete documentation of the planning process
followed, to allow "traceability" of decision-making with respect to the project.
 Public Consultation:

• Consultation early in and throughout the

process is a key component of environmental
• assessment planning. While the Class EA
establishes minimum requirements only, most
• proponents develop public consultation plans
that exceed the minimum.
 PROCESS TO CONSULT WITH THE PUBLIC AND THOSE WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE
UNDERTAKING:

• Consultation early in, and during the planning

process is a key feature of successful
environmental assessment.
• Consultation with municipal councils, review
agencies, the public, interest groups and
property owners is required.
• https://www.london.ca/city-hall/public-notice
s/Pages/Public-Notices---June-16,-2016.aspx
 Most public consultation plans include:

• Notice of Study Commencement that indicates that a study has been

initiated and that there will be an Open House to identify the
problem/opportunity and review the process.
• Notice of Public Information Centre, for Schedule C projects only, is held
to review the alternative designs and the possible impacts of the designs on
the environment to assist in the selection of the preferred design for the
chosen solution.
• Notice of Completion occurs at the end of Phase 2 for Schedule B
projects and the end of Phase 4 for Schedule C projects. This notice shall
clearly state the review period of the ESR (minimum 30 calendar days) on
public records and the date by which submissions or requests for an order
are to be received.
• For all Schedules of projects, public consultations for Phases 1 and 5 are
optional but recommended.
 POTENTIAL MITIGATING MEASURES:

• With the wide diversity of geographic settings and environmental

conditions pertaining to municipal infrastructure projects
throughout Ontario, it is not possible to identify specific
mitigating measures which can be applied in all instances.
• The Class EA does, however, require proponents to identify
acceptable measures which will allow the project to be
undertaken at reasonable cost while at the same time protecting
the environment against net negative impacts.
• The Class EA also requires proponents to make provision for
post-construction monitoring to ensure that projects are built
and operated in accordance with the approved design and that
environmental impacts are as predicted.
 Private Sector Development:
• :

•Development of municipal servicing infrastructure is

undertaken by municipalities acting in their own behalf
or on behalf of private sector developers, or by private
sector developers acting in their own behalf.
• Works undertaken by municipalities are subject to the
EA Act, and to this Class EA, but works undertaken by
private sector developers, with the exceptions noted in
Ontario Regulation 345/93, continue to be exempt from
the EA Act and are therefore not subject to this Class EA.
 Private Sector Development (cont’d):
• The requirements for the private sector under the
Ontario EA Act are defined by Ontario Regulation 345/93.
For the private sector to meet their obligations under the
Ontario EA Act, they can use the Municipal Class EA
process rather than undertaking an Individual EA.
• Since certain infrastructure works can have significant
impacts on the environment, the basis of this Class EA is
that such projects shall be planned under the planning
and documentation procedures set out under Schedule C
and shall be subject to review by the public.
 Private Sector Development (cont’d):
• Therefore it is appropriate that such projects, whether undertaken by
municipalities or by private sector developers, should be subject to
review prior to implementation, regardless of who undertakes the
planning and construction and regardless of who is ultimately responsible
for control and maintenance of the works.
• Accordingly, those projects undertaken by private sector developers
which are designated as an undertaking to which the Ontario EA Act
applies (i.e. Schedule C projects that are servicing residential
developments - see Ontario Regulation 345/93) are subject to all of the
requirements of this Class EA.
• In addition, municipalities are encouraged to consider requiring
developers to fully consider appropriate alternatives even if the project is
exempt under Ontario Regulation 345/93.
 Other Legislation: OWRA
• Municipal sewage, stormwater management and water systems must
receive approval under the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA). Certain
other sewage projects (e.g. processed organic waste, biosolids
management activities including biosolids disposal and utilization) must
receive approval under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA).
• The EA Act and, hence, the Class EA process is oriented towards the
general planning decisions associated with the development of a project.
Water and wastewater facilities involve relatively complex technology, and
for this reason engineering decisions must be reviewed in greater detail
than the scrutiny normally afforded by EA Act review of engineering
issues.
• Therefore, technical consultation with the Ministry of the Environment is
recommended for all complex projects involving construction of water
supply and treatment, and sewage treatment and disposal systems.
 Other Legislation:
• In addition, other approvals, legislation, policies and
guidelines may apply. In most instances, storm water
management projects will require approval from any or all of
the following: local municipality, local conservation authority,
federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ministry of
Natural Resources and Ministry of the Environment.
• The Class EA process does not relieve proponents from the
responsibility to meet all such requirements; rather, it
presents an opportunity to identify the appropriate approval
agency early in the process and to co-ordinate these
requirements in a systematic manner.
 Drainage Act :

• Drainage works regulated under the Drainage

Act are exempt from the Ontario EA Act.
• The Drainage Act regulates the administration,
construction, maintenance, improvement and
cost of drainage works in Ontario; its primary
purpose is the protection of water rights of
farmers
 CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ACT (CEAA):

•Municipal projects may be subject to the requirements of the Canadian

Environmental Assessment Act (CEA Act). The CEA Act normally applies to federal
agencies (eg. Transport Canada, Public Works Canada) when they are involved in a
project, or a component of a project, as defined in the CEA Act.

•A federal environmental assessment (EA) may be required when a federal authority:

•a. is the proponent of a project;
•b. provides financial assistance to the proponent;
•c. makes federal lands available for the project; or,
•d. issues a permit or license, or other form of approval;

•It should be noted that even if a project is ‘pre-approved’ under the Municipal Class
EA, there still may be a CEA Act requirement if one of the above conditions apply.
 Example of Road Widening
Class EA:
• http://www.simcoe.ca/TransportationEnginee
ring/Documents/County%20Road%2021%20E
A%20%28widening%29%20-%20FINAL.pdf