Order made under the

Environmental assessment act

Declaration – Bell Boulevard Road Widening Project, City of Belleville

Having received a request from the City of Belleville that an undertaking, namely,

The widening of Bell Boulevard from 2 lanes to 4 lanes, and the installation of traffic signal upgrades, turning lanes, and a multi-use trail, from Wallbridge Loyalist Road to Sidney Street, in the City of Belleville,

be declared not subject to the Environmental Assessment Act (Act) or its regulations, pursuant to subsection 3.2(1) of the Act; and,

Having been advised by the City of Belleville that if the undertaking is subject to the application of the Act, the following injury, damage or interference with the persons and property indicated will occur:

  1. Based on previous traffic impact assessments completed through the class environmental assessment process and the City’s 2014 Transportation Master Plan, traffic volumes on Bell Boulevard will exceed the road’s current capacity by the end of 2020, due to recent and planned commercial/business development along the road. The City will be unable to support traffic demands along Bell Boulevard along the route resulting in safety concerns for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicular traffic.
  2. The public interest will be harmed if there is not a timely construction of the road widening. The project will allow for safe and effective public access to and from key businesses along the road.

Having weighed such injury, damage, or interference against the betterment of the people of the whole or any part of Ontario by the protection, conservation and wise management in Ontario of the environment which would result from the undertaking being subject to the application of the Act;

The undersigned is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to declare and declares pursuant to subsection 3.2(1) of the Act that the undertaking is not subject to the application of the Act or its regulations for the following reasons:

  1. The road widening will allow for safe and efficient access to the area given recent and planned commercial and business development along the road and will sustain overall movement along the road corridor.
  2. The potential environmental effects of implementing the undertaking are anticipated to be minimal given the existing disturbance from the construction of the existing Bell Boulevard, utilities, municipal servicing and other development along the corridor. The environmental effects will be mitigated in accordance with the environmental impact assessments prepared by the City of Belleville and which have been referenced in the conditions of this order.
  3. The City of Belleville has undertaken consultation with the public, interested stakeholders and Indigenous communities with regard to the planning of the undertaking.
  4. A class environmental assessment was undertaken for the construction of the existing two-lane roadway in 1995. That environmental assessment identified minimal environmental impacts of the construction of this roadway through greenspace and included public consultation.  The environmental assessment recognized the likely need to expand this roadway to four lanes in the future.  The City of Belleville Transportation Master Plan, 2014 included a recommendation to widen Bell Boulevard to four-lanes in the 10-year horizon. The Transportation Master Plan followed the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment process and also involved public consultation.

The Declaration Order is subject to the following terms and conditions:

  1. If construction of the undertaking has not commenced prior to December 31, 2022, the City of Belleville will be required to complete the required environmental assessment process for the undertaking before implementing the undertaking.  For the purposes of this order, “construction” means physical construction activities, including site preparation works, but does not include the tendering of contracts.  The Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks may extend this deadline in his or her sole discretion by providing written notice to the City of Belleville.
  2. The City of Belleville shall mitigate any potential effects associated with the undertaking in accordance with the “Natural Heritage Study for Bell Boulevard Widening from Sidney Street to Approximately 550m West of Hanna Court, City of Belleville, August 2019 prepared by Ainley Group”, and the “memorandum by BTE Engineering regarding the Natural Environmental Review DFO Self-Assessment”, dated August 7, 2019 and authored by Zachery Wells.
  3. Prior to the start of construction, an environmental protection plan shall be prepared that incorporates the mitigation measures set out in the reports identified in Condition 2 above to ensure that the identified mitigation measures are implemented and the environment is protected.
  4. During the detailed design phase for the undertaking, the proponent shall consult with the Quinte Conservation Authority regarding the mitigation proposed in the June 2017 and January 2019 storm water management plans, provided to the ministry by way of email on September 10th 2019, to ensure the stormwater management plans are environmentally sound and adhere to local drainage master plans and any requirements related to the Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan.
  5. The proponent shall post on its web site all studies and reports which have been completed for the undertaking or are relevant to the undertaking, including the reports identified in Condition 2, the stormwater management plans referenced in Condition 4, and the archaeological assessments completed by the proponent and submitted to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
  6. The proponent shall post a copy of this order on its project website within 5 days of the order being posted on the Ontario.ca website.
  7. The proponent shall report to the ministry on how it has complied with the above conditions within twelve months of the implementation of the undertaking.  The report shall be submitted to the Director of the Environmental Assessment and Permissions Branch (or the Director responsible for the implementation of the Environmental Assessment Act) at the ministry by email and mail.

Dated the 19th day of September, 2019 at Toronto.

[Original Signed by]
Jeff Yurek
Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

Approved by O.C. No.__________/__________
Date O.C. Approved   ____________________

Environmental Assessment and Permissions Branch
Contact: Ayana Aden
Telephone No.: 416-314-1181
EA File No.: 19075

Order in Council 1381/2019