Class Environmental Assessment
for Remedial Flood and Erosion Control Projects - Conservation Ontario

UTRCA's Environmental Planning Services

AWAITING APPROVAL FROM THE MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT

UPDATE: Status of the "Class Environmental Assessment for Remedial Flood and Erosion Control Projects" (1993)

On May 31, 2000, the Minister of the Environment, with the concurrence of Cabinet, approved the continued use of the "Class EA for Remedial Flood and Erosion Control Projects" (1993) until such time as a new Class EA is reviewed and approved.

On August 3, 2001, Conservation Ontario submitted a new Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) for Remedial Flood and Erosion Control Projects for approval under the Environmental Assessment Act. This Class EA establishes a planning and approval process for a variety of remedial flood and erosion control projects that may be carried out by Conservation Authorities in Ontario.

Phase I of this approval process involved the development of, consultation on, and approval of a Terms of Reference (TOR) for the preparation of a new Class EA. The Minister of the Environment approved the proposed TOR on September 1, 2000 and this approved TOR guided the preparation of the new Class EA document.

Phase II involved the preparation of the new Class EA by revising the 1993 Class EA for Remedial Flood and Erosion Control Projects. This revision was based upon further consultation and resolution of the issues identified in the approved TOR. The proposed revisions were circulated for review as a draft Class EA (February, 2001) in March/April, 2001, and additional amendments were made based upon the comments received. The final Class EA, submitted to the Ministry of the Environment on August 3, 2001, reflected the results of the review of the draft Class EA.

Phase III, the current phase of this approval process, was initiated by the submission of the final Class EA to the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) for public/agency review and approval. The public/agency review period was from August 10 to September 28, 2001.

Comments were received by MOE from eight different agencies. The "Review under the Environmental Assessment Act" was published in November 2001 by MOE and outlines the concerns/issues raised, Conservation Ontario’s responses and MOE’s recommendations. This "Review" (Nov 2001) document underwent a public/agency review until December 14, 2001. Conservation Ontario is now awaiting the Minister’s decision on the new Class EA.

Once approved and published (anticipated in Spring 2002), the new Class EA will be available for purchase from Conservation Ontario.

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