{"id":8786,"date":"2010-01-15T15:25:31","date_gmt":"2010-01-15T20:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=8786"},"modified":"2013-01-21T13:38:54","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T18:38:54","slug":"environmental-assessment-an-ea-primer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/01\/15\/environmental-assessment-an-ea-primer\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Assessment: An EA primer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"photo by Stephen Parker\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3634\/3430656272_4e1c5e8c71.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/images\/feature-graphics\/feature-ea-assessment.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"72\" \/><em>By <a href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/01\/05\/environmental-assessment-assessment-gardiner-reconfiguration\/\" target=\"_self\">popular demand<\/a>, Spacing presents a print-out, fold-up, all-purpose guide to Environmental Assessments in Ontario.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is an Environmental Assessment?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An Environmental Assessment (EA) is a planning tool used to identify the potential environmental impacts of proposed development and incorporate considerations of those impacts into decisions about our future. The process is governed by Ontario\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.search.e-laws.gov.on.ca\/en\/isysquery\/092d77a1-e18c-4b00-be8c-da73e6c03358\/23\/frame\/?search=browseStatutes&amp;context=\" target=\"_self\">Environmental Assessment Act, 1990<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What kinds of projects require an EA?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s tough to say for sure. All public and some private plans, programs, and projects with implications for the public good are required to complete an assessment. Typically, roads, landfills, water and sewer undertakings, power generation and transmission, forestry, and transit projects complete an EA. That being said, the Minister of the Environment can exempt projects from the EA process and only one Provincial plan, Ontario\u2019s Hydro Demand Supply Plan, has ever had an EA Hearing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who is involved in an EA?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The following parties play a role in the process:<\/p>\n<p><em>The proponent<\/em> \u2014 The proponent is the project\u2019s champion. They initiate the development proposal and answer the requests and questions of other participating parties.<\/p>\n<p><em>Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE): <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ene.gov.on.ca\/en\/eaab\/approval-process.php\" target=\"_self\">Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch<\/a><\/em> \u2014 This is the one-stop shop for regulatory environmental approvals in Ontario. They oversee the implementation of the Environmental Assessment Act.<\/p>\n<p><em>Provincial ministries and agencies<\/em> \u2014 Various Provincial ministries and agencies are involved in reviewing the project and assessment as needed.<\/p>\n<p><em>Federal ministries and agencies<\/em> \u2014 Federal ministries and agencies are involved in reviewing the project and assessment when projects require Federal approvals, permits, licenses, or funding.<br \/>\n<em><br \/>\nOntario Minister of the Environment<\/em> \u2014 The Provincial environment minister, currently John Gerretsen, can exempt projects from the EA process. The minister also releases assessments for public comment, determines whether a hearing is necessary, and accepts or rescinds the final decision.<\/p>\n<p><em>Public<\/em> \u2014 The public has a few chances to engage in the EA process. Notice and opportunities for public comment are given when the proponent submits the Terms of Reference (more on that later), when the EA is submitted, and if the assessment proceeds to a hearing.<\/p>\n<p><em>Ontario Cabinet<\/em> \u2014 Cabinet must approve the environment minister\u2019s decision to accept the EA.<\/p>\n<p><em>Environmental Review Tribunal<\/em> \u2014 The Tribunal oversees EAs if and when they proceed to the hearing stage. They offer a decision on the basis of testimony at the hearing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How does it work?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><em>Stage 1: Project Proposal<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. <\/strong>The proponent proposes a development project.<strong><br \/>\n2. <\/strong>In consultation with the MOE\u2019s Environmental Assessment Branch, the proponent confirms whether the project requires an EA and, if so, what type. The MOE has established the following three EA templates to speed up the approval process for similar projects.<br \/>\n\u2022 <em>Individual EAs<\/em> are for \u201clarge, complex projects with the potential for significant impacts on the environment, such as major landfills.\u201d According to the MOE, Individual EAs comprise less than five per cent of all applications.<br \/>\n\u2022 <em>Class EAs<\/em> are for specific types of projects classified according to similarities in their potential environmental impacts, such as municipal roads, water and sewer, forest management, highways, and GO Transit. Class proponents must prove that their project merits such an assessment on the basis of the similarity between the potential impacts of their project and those of other projects evaluated in this manner. The Class EA is the predominant form of assessment and some have suggested that this template has sacrificed oversight in favour of faster results.<br \/>\n\u2022 <em>Electricity generation and transmission EAs<\/em> vary depending on potential environmental impacts and the nature of the project. Proponents will either follow an individual EA or have no EA requirement.<strong><br \/>\n3. <\/strong>The proponent provides initial opportunities for community consultation with regards to the proposed project.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stage 2: Terms of Reference<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>4. <\/strong>The proponent completes and files a Terms of Reference (ToR) document. This report defines the scope of the EA that will follow. According to the Environmental Assessment Act, the ToR must demonstrate that the EA will be prepared in accordance with the Provincial requirements and the conditions particular to the type of project proposed. The ToR also describes initial public consultations and their outcomes.<br \/>\n<strong>5. <\/strong>The ToR is made available to the public for review and comment.<br \/>\n<strong>6. <\/strong>The Minister of the Environment approves, amends, or rejects the Terms of Reference.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stage 3: Environmental Assessment<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>7. <\/strong>The Proponent prepares the EA, which must include: a description of the project as well as its purpose and rationale; alternatives to the project and to the proposed methods of its execution; a description of the environment that will or could be affected and the nature of those effects; actions necessary to prevent or mitigate those effects; an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages to the environment of the undertaking and alternative options; a description of the consultations and their outcomes; and any other items as identified in the ToR.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on the EA process, please check out the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ecoissues.ca\/wiki\/\/index.php?title=Environmental_Assessment:_A_Vision_Lost\" target=\"_self\">2007-2008 Annual Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>(With thanks to the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and the MOE.)<\/p>\n<p><em>Photo of the St. Clair streetcar right-of-way construction by Stephen Parker<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By popular demand, Spacing presents a print-out, fold-up, all-purpose guide to Environmental Assessments in Ontario. What is an Environmental Assessment? An Environmental Assessment (EA) is a planning tool used to identify the potential environmental impacts of proposed development and incorporate considerations of those impacts into decisions about our future. The process is governed by Ontario\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/01\/15\/environmental-assessment-an-ea-primer\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;Environmental Assessment: An EA primer&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4081,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21759],"tags":[3455,134,3456,14061,14059,1604,5749,636,14062,14063,14057,14060,14058],"class_list":["post-8786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","tag-environment-minister","tag-environmental-assessment","tag-environmental-commissioner","tag-environmental-review-tribunal","tag-john-gerretsen","tag-minister","tag-minister-of-the-environment","tag-ontario","tag-ontario-cabinet","tag-ontario-ministry-of-the-environment","tag-provincial-environment-minister","tag-review-tribunal","tag-stephen-parker"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Environmental Assessment: An EA primer - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/01\/15\/environmental-assessment-an-ea-primer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Environmental Assessment: An EA primer - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By popular demand, Spacing presents a print-out, fold-up, all-purpose guide to Environmental Assessments in Ontario. 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