Lecture 3. Flashcards
(38 cards)
What is special about BCEAA?
Only canadian province to have its own dedicated occife to undertake environmental asessments
established in 1995
What improvements were made to BCEAA in 2002?
Streamlined EA process and reflects the provincial governments commitment to flexible, efficient, and timely reviews of proposed major projects.
administers and oversees a single integrated process to review projects. meaning proponents, govs, FN, local Govs, stakeholders and public have a single EA contact
What percentage of projects have been approved since 1992
75%
How many ministers are responsible for making the decision to issue an EA cetrificate?
- Minister of Environment and a “responsible Minister” who is the minister, through their cabinet position, with responsibilities for activities in a sector
Alternate responsible minister is used when there is a conflict fo interest with primary RM
What are the Five related regulations in EAA?
- Reviewable Projects Regulation
- Prescribed time limits regulation
- Public consultation policy regulation
- Concurrent Approval regulation
- Transitional regulation
What is Reviewable Projects regulation?
Identifies the types of projects that trigger an EA
- meets or exceeds certain thresholds
- Includes both new projects and modification of existing projects. may be applied to decomissioning of existing facilities
What is Prescribed Time limits Regulation?
requires that cetrain stages of the process must be carried out within a specific time. applies to both the EAO and the proponents actions
What is Public Consultation Policy regulation?
Guides how public consultation should occur during the EA process. Providing public notice, access to info, establishing public comment periods, open house forums
What is Concurrent Approval Regulation?
Outlines a process that allows proponents to apply to have other agencies consider applications for provincial permits and authorizations at the same time an EA is being undertaken
What is Transition Regulation?
Transition rules for projects that have already been granted certain provincial permits and authorization, but would have otherwise required an EA when the new act came into force in 2002
What is common law?
Also known as case law, is law developed through court decisions rather than legislation. Judges create and refine the common law when considering previous court cases.
This was relevant for FN rights and title cases
What steps are involved in the Pre-Application Stage?
- Pre-Application Stage
- Scope and Process review determined (procedures and methods)
-Application Info requirements (Public comment period)
-Application prepared and submitted
-Application Evaluated for completedness (30 days)
Established “Working group” of stakeholders
What steps are involved in Application Review Stage? (180 days)
Application Review
Assessment report
ED Referral to Ministers
What is involved in the Decision stage? (45 days)
Project decision by ministers either:
Conditional certificate issued, authorized and proceed to permitting stage- monitoring compliance and enforcement
OR Further assessment required, conditional certificate refused and project cannot proceed
What kind of projects are reviewable?
Industrial: chemical manu. primary metal and forest project industries
- Energy projects
- Water management projects
- Waste disposal projects
- Mine projects
- Food processing projects
- Transportation Projects
- Tourist destination projects
What are 3 ways a project becomes reviewable?
- Reviewable projects regulation
- Ministerial designation by MoE
- Proponent “opt-in”
Can an EA be waived?
Exec Director can waive the requirement of an EA in appropriate cases.
What is the Application Information Requirements?
Document that lays out both what issues will be addressed in the assessment and what info must be included in the final application (Baseline studies, approach to assessing cumulative impacts)
What is the Working group?
Comprised of reps from CEAA, gov agencies, First Nations and local Governments
-Advises EAO about issues related to the assessment. plays a key role later in the process by assessing the adequacy of mitigation measures
What does the Procedural Order under Section 11 establish? (5)
- The direction to the proponent on the scope of the project
- What parts of thier project will be assessed
- What effects will be considerd in the assessment
- What actions and activities the proponent is responsible for in the assessment
- Required consultation activities and time frames
What is the process for developing the AIR?
- Proponent prepares a draft/
- EAO sends feedback from working group, FN, public
- Public access to AIR is in ePic
- EAO approves and formally issues the AIR doc when it is satisfied that the doc is completed and appropriate
What are different ways public comment periods are announced?
Minimum 7 days prior to thier commemncement
local news papers, radio announcements, posting infor on web site, most recent method is infor available in an RSS news feed
How long is a public comment period?
Min 30 days, max 75 days
What are cumulative impacts?
impacts from a reviewable project, combined with the impacts from prior development, existing activities; and , reasonably forseeable future development that is sufficiently certain to proceed.
