You Have the Right to Ask questions and to be Informed about the Wind Project Proposed for Your Community
Special Thanks to Frank Entwistle and Allen Lewis
This is intended to give some insight into the public’s right to participate in the environmental assessment process regarding this project. Our intention is to respond to an overwhelming number of requests from Ontario rural residents on this subject. Only the original document should be considered correct and complete. It is available on the internet at Guide to Environmental Assessment Requirements for Electricity Projects
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/gp/4021e.pdf
This document contains part only of the 84 page Guide to Environmental Assessment Requirements for Electricity Projects March 2001 Ministry of the Environment Part A – Overview. It was created by computer Cut & Paste, along with our edits, insertions and comments for clarification. The authors do not assure accuracy or correctness.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED THE ENVIRONMENT UNDER THE ACT?
In the Act, “environment” means,
(a) air, land or water,
(b) plant and animal life, including human life,
(c) the social, economic and cultural conditions that influence the life of humans or a community,
(d) any building, structure, machine or other device or thing made by humans,
(e) any solid, liquid, gas, odour, heat, sound, vibration or radiation resulting directly or indirectly from human activities, or
(f) any part or combination of the foregoing and the interrelationships between any two or more of them,
in or of Ontario
WHY DOES THE PROPONENT (THE DEVELOPER) HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU?
Under The Environmental Assessment Act it is the proponent’s (developer’s) responsibility to design and implement an appropriate consultation program for the project. The consultation program must provide appropriate opportunities and forums for the public to participate in the screening process. Failure to carry out adequate public consultation or to address public issues or concerns may result in requests to elevate the project (see Elevation Requests below).
WHEN DOES THE PROPONENT (THE DEVELOPER) HAVE TO INFORM YOU?
Proponents (developers) are required to prepare a Notice of Commencement at the beginning of a Screening to formally announce the project is subject to the Environmental Screening Process and is commencing. The Notice of Commencement must provide basic information on the project including a description of the project (proponents must include all phases and components of the project), including construction, turbines, transmission lines, outbuildings, roads, etc., the proposed locations, the proponent’s (developer’s) name and a contact name, address and phone number, the operation, and retirement of the project (the specifics are described in Part B of the Guide).
It is inappropriate for proponents to break up or “piecemeal” a larger project into separate components or phases, with each part addressed as a separate project.
WHO MUST BE INFORMED BY THE PROPONENT (THE DEVELOPER)?
All notices must be mailed or delivered to households in the immediate vicinity of the project and to affected government agencies. The notices should also be mailed or delivered to other potentially interested parties. The proponent (developer) should also mail or deliver the notices to other potentially affected agencies, municipalities, First Nations and other Aboriginal communities, landowners, residents, businesses, and local interest groups, even if they have not previously expressed an interest.
HOW DOES THE PROPONENT (DEVELOPER) SEND YOU INFORMATION?
The proponent is required to mail or deliver all notices to all who have expressed an interest in the project. For this purpose, the proponent (developer) is required to maintain throughout the screening process a mailing list of all persons and agencies that provide comment and input to the process or otherwise express an interest in the project. Proponents (developers) must make supporting information and copies of all correspondence related to the Environmental Screening Process available for public or agency review if requested.
HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE?
Conducting a Screening - The proponent (developer) then applies the screening criteria (found in Appendix C of the Guide) to the project as it has been described in the project description outlined above. This involves answering a series of questions, based on the screening criteria, to identify the potential for any negative effects on the environment. The screening criteria are presented in the form of a checklist with the option of a “Yes” or “No” response. The completed Appendix C will form part of the final Screening Report and will be available for public review. Extensive studies and reports must be completed to prove and mitigate all identified potential negative environmental effects.
Public Consultation - The purpose of public consultation in the Environmental Screening Process is to allow the proponent (developer) to identify and address public concerns and issues and to provide the public with an opportunity to receive information about and make meaningful input into the project review and development.
Consultation is necessary for the proponent (developer) to:
- properly notify potentially interested and affected stakeholders;
- identify and assess the range of environmental and socio-economic effects of the project; and
- address the concerns of adjacent property owners, interest groups, First Nations and other Aboriginal communities, and members of the public that may be directly affected by some aspect of the project.
The applicant’s (developer’s) public consultation program should:
- identify potentially affected stakeholders;
- describe how the project may affect the environment;
- provide appropriate notification to identified stakeholders;
- inform the public where, when and how they can be involved;
- identify public concerns and issues related to the project;
- address public concerns and issues raised during the program; and
- document how public input is taken into account in the screening process and in the project planning and development.
THE FINAL NOTIFICATION
Upon completion of a Screening, the proponent (developer) must prepare and distribute a Notice of Completion. This notice is intended to inform public, First Nations and other Aboriginal communities, and agency stakeholders that the proponent (developer) has completed a Screening under the Environmental Screening Process and that the minimum 30-Day Review Period is commencing. The notice must also indicate where copies of the Screening Reports can be obtained or reviewed during the 30-Day Review Period. The notice must be placed in a local newspaper with circulation in the vicinity of the project (or an appropriate equivalent means of notifying the public where no such newspaper exists). THIS IS THE PUBLIC’S OPPORTUNITY TO POINT OUT DEFICIENCIES AND TO INSIST ON CREDIBLE ANSWERS USING ELEVATION REQUESTS.
YOU HAVE THE LEGISLATED RIGHT RECEIVE CREDIBLE ANSWERS
ELEVATION REQUESTS
Members of the public, First Nations and other Aboriginal communities, or agencies with outstanding environmental concerns regarding a project undergoing the screening process should bring their concerns to the attention of the proponent (developer) as early in the process as possible. If concerns are not resolved, the concerned party can ask the proponent (developer) to voluntarily elevate the project, either before or during the 30-Day Review Period. If the proponent (developer) declines to voluntarily elevate the project during the 30-Day Review Period, the party may write to the Director of the EAAB to request that the project be elevated.
If one or more requests for elevation of the project are received within the 30-Day Review Period by the Director of the Environmental Assessment & Approvals Branch (EAAB) of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the project cannot proceed until the Director makes a decision on the request(s) for elevation.
- Director, Certificates of Approvals - Environmental Assessment & Approvals Branch is Doris Dumais: doris.dumais@ontario.ca
- Director (Acting) - Environmental Assessment & Approvals Branch is Agatha Garcia-Wright: agatha.garciawright@ontario.ca
- Ontario Minister of the Environment: John Gerretsen: jgerretsen.mpp@liberal.ola.org
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