Part B - Applicants of Existing Class Environmental Assessments

Procedures for Applicants of Approved Class Environmental Assessments (7.0)

The provisions set out in Part A of this Code of Practice are intended for applicants who plan to develop a class environmental assessment for a new class of undertakings. While each approved class environmental assessment is unique, there are many provisions which could be more consistent across all approved class environmental assessments. Since this Code sets out ministry expectations for the preparation, review and use of class environmental assessments, there is useful information that could be incorporated into the existing approved class environmental assessments. It is the intention of the ministry to make components of the class environmental assessments more consistent where possible. Applicants of approved class environmental assessments should consult with the Project Officer when their class environmental assessment review is scheduled to ensure that their class environmental assessment can be made consistent with this Code as applicable.

At the next five-year review, if a provision exists within the class environmental assessment or within five years of the approval of this Code for those class environmental assessments without a review requirement, it is expected that applicants will ensure that their class environmental assessment reflects, to the extent possible, more consistent:

  • Category terminology
  • Amending procedures for both the class environmental assessment and class environmental assessment projects
  • Administrative provisions such as:
    • duration and renewal of approval
    • Part II Order request provisions
    • monitoring and compliance.

Provisions to Incorporate Within the Class Environmental Assessment (7.1)

The following deals with provisions that the ministry expects applicants to incorporate into their class environmental assessments. Please review the applicable sections in Part A of this Code of Practice for detailed discussion about these provisions. The ministry recognizes that there may be situations where adherence to the expectations herein will not be possible and this should be discussed with the Project Officer assigned to oversee the applicable class environmental assessment.

The provisions below are not exhaustive. There may also be things other than those listed below that applicants may wish to include in their class environmental assessments when they are reviewed.

Categories of Projects (7.1.1)

Most class environmental assessments with predefined categories have three schedules, with a category for projects expected to have the least environmental effects and a category for projects with the potential for greater environmental effects. There is also a category for projects that may have some environmental effects, but they are well known and can be readily mitigated and managed.

The ministry encourages applicants that choose to define project schedules to categorize using the approach above. While the ministry is requiring more consistency between class environmental assessments with respect to the naming and defining of categories of projects, it recognizes that it may be difficult for the changes to be made in the existing approved class environmental assessments. If the changes cannot be made, then the categorization in the approved class environmental assessment will prevail.

Applicants should also review the project groupings within the class environmental assessment to determine whether any project activities listed within the class environmental assessment needs to be removed altogether or switched to another category. The applicant should also determine whether there are any additional activities they wish to add to the class environmental assessment.

Amending Procedures (7.1.2)

If an existing class environmental assessment does not have amending procedures, this Code of Practice has provisions that could be incorporated into the class environmental assessment at the next review period. This will mean that when the applicant or the Minister would like to amend the class environmental assessment, it can be done without having to go through the process of submitting a new class environmental assessment for approval.

It is expected that all of the existing class environmental assessments include amending procedures.

Duration and Renewal of Approval (7.1.3)

Where an existing approved class environmental assessment has no five- year review provision or expiry date, the applicant can continue to follow its approved class environmental assessment; however, the ministry expects that a regular five-year review provision be included so that the document can be updated to reflect the most current government direction.

Part II Order Request Provisions (7.1.4)

The Environmental Assessment Act has provisions that allow an interested person to ask for a higher level of assessment for a class environmental assessment project if they feel that there are outstanding issues that have not been adequately addressed. This is known as a Part II Order. Some of the older class environmental assessments refer to this as a "bump-up." The ministry expects that the class environmental assessments are changed to use the correct term: Part II Order.

This Code of Practice also includes information about what a Part II Order request should be and what it should not be; what should be included in a Part II Order request; the timing of a Part II Order request and information about the review of Part II Order requests by the ministry. It also contains a reverse onus clause for receiving comments from government agencies when reviewing Part II Order requests which indicates that if comments are not received within a certain time period, the ministry will assume that the agency has no comments to make.

Applicants of class environmental assessments should update their Part II Order provisions to reflect these new ministry expectations.

Monitoring and Compliance (7.1.5)

The ministry has recently developed a monitoring and compliance strategy which is reflected in this Code of Practice. Existing class environmental assessments should include a provision for monitoring and compliance. If the class environmental assessment does not include a monitoring and compliance strategy, it should be amended to include such a strategy that is consistent with the ministry’s strategy. If the class environmental assessment already includes a monitoring and compliance provision, it should be reviewed to ensure that it is consistent with the ministry’s strategy.

Consultation with Aboriginal Peoples and Communities (7.1.6)

Recent court decisions have indicated that the Crown has a constitutional duty to consult with and accommodate Aboriginal communities when it has knowledge, real or constructive, of the existence or potential existence of an Aboriginal or treaty right and contemplates conduct that might adversely affect it.

While there is no guidance yet available on how this should be done, existing class environmental assessment should be updated to reflect that the Crown duty exists and that during the course of consultation on a class environmental assessment project, should the proponent have any indication that there may be an Aboriginal or treaty right, that it contact the Director to determine how to proceed.

Recognition of Previous Planning Work (7.1.7)

The ministry recognizes that from time to time class environmental assessment projects are the result of previous planning work carried out by the applicant of the class environmental assessment but outside of the class environmental assessment process. In these cases, if the previous planning work meets certain criteria, then the proponent of the class environmental assessment project may limit the discussion of the rationale for the project and alternatives to the project if those elements are required in the class environmental assessment.

A class environmental assessment should be updated to reflect this direction from the ministry, if applicable.