Environmental Study Report (ESR) is prepared for Schedule C projects.

An Environmental Study Report (ESR) will be prepared for each project which proceeds through the Schedule C planning process described in this Class EA. The ESR will be prepared when the preferred design has been selected and design work has progressed to the point where the details of any environmental protective measures to be incorporated in the construction package have been finalized. The ESR will be placed on the public record for a period of at least 30 calendar days and will be available for inspection by the public or by other interested parties. In the case where a request for a Part II Order has been submitted to the Minister, the ESR shall be submitted to the MOE Regional EA Co-ordinator and to the EAA Branch immediately upon the proponent becoming aware of the request.

A notice indicating completion of the ESR and its filing on the public record will be issued to the public and to all parties who have been previously contacted and who have indicated the desire to stay involved in the planning of the undertaking. The notice will indicate that the project may proceed to construction after the 30 calendar day review period following the placing of the ESR on the public record, provided no request for a Part II Order has been made to the Minister.

A.4.2.1 Format and Content

The amount of information in the ESR will reflect the level of complexity of the project and the planning process.

In general, the ESR will provide a complete account of the planning process followed for the project. The ESR should include only what is necessary to cover fully the matters considered during the planning process. A project which is straight forward with relatively little interest with the public and of a noncontroversial nature, would be covered in an ESR which could be relatively brief. A more complicated, controversial project which has involved a number of detailed studies and data collection and has raised special interest or concern with the public would demand a more comprehensive, lengthy, and more detailed ESR. This would include details of all studies undertaken or data collected, the results and conclusions of all matters considered, a discussion of all issues raised by the public with an evaluation and response to each, and all other matters covered in the planning process.

Whatever format the ESR takes, the proponent shall ensure that the language and terminology used, and the explanations given of technical matters considered, are readily understood by a reasonable lay person.

Suggested outline for ESR

The outline for the preparation of the ESR which follows is a suggested format only. The ESR does not necessarily have to follow the exact headings, order of presentation and content presented here. The following outline is intended to provide guidance on the type of information which would make the ESR meaningful and which the public and government reviewers are likely to expect to have included. What is covered in the ESR will depend on project specific conditions and the issues and concerns which the proponent addressed during project development and planning.

Executive Summary

This short summary provides an overview of the project and should include a brief description of the problem, the preferred solution, the method to be employed to resolve the problem, the principal environmental impacts of the project and the mitigating measures to be employed to offset them The Executive Summary should also include a brief description of the public consultation program and the principal concerns raised by the public.

Chapter 1- Introduction and Background

This chapter should describe the background to the project and will cover the history of issues which have led to the identification of the problem. Earlier studies relating to the problem and undertaken by the proponent should be described and referenced.

An explanation of the Class Environmental Assessment planning process should be provided and should include the rationale for developing the project under the Class EA process. This section should include a description of the Environmental Study Report and explain its purpose.

This section should identify the project team, giving names and affiliations of the principal parties involved. The type and extent of involvement of the proponent, and details of the consultants, sub-consultants, planners, special advisors and others involved in the planning process should be given. The time frame over which the planning process was undertaken should be given.

Chapter 2 - Problem Statement

This chapter should describe the purpose of the project and should include a detailed description of the problem. The justification and need for the project, and its aims and objectives, should be provided.

If the public consultation process has commenced at this stage, details should be provided of contacts with the public, the concerns raised by the public and the way in which the concerns have influenced the development of the problem statement.

Chapter 3 - Alternative Solutions

The alternative solutions considered should be detailed in this chapter. Details of the following should be provided:

• a description of the existing environment, i.e. natural, social, cultural economic and technical.
• the extent to which the alternative solutions resolve the problem.
• the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative solutions.
• the effects of the alternative solutions on the environment.
• the decision making process used to select the preferred solution.

Investigations and studies undertaken to prepare inventories of the environment and to assess impacts of the alternative solutions on the environment should be described and referenced. Details of the mitigating measures considered and their effectiveness in minimizing the environmental effects should be provided.

The chapter should include a description of the evaluation process employed to select the preferred solution. The decision making process, and any ranking procedures employed, should be described.

Details should be provided of public consultation undertaken during this stage of project development. The type of public involvement, the number of meetings, the notification method and attendance at meetings should be documented. Details of the concerns raised by the public and the manner in which they were addressed and accommodated by the proponent should be provided.

Chapter 4 - Alternative Designs

This chapter should describe the alternative designs that were considered for the preferred solution. The following information should be documented:

• the extent to which the alternative designs address the solution to the problem.
• the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative designs.
• the effects on the physical, natural, social, cultural, economic and technical environments of each of the alternative designs.
• the evaluation and decision making process used to select the most appropriate design.

This section requires that a description be provided of the detailed environmental inventory. Details of the mitigating measures to be employed should be given.

A description of the public consultation program should be provided with details of the number of meetings, who was invited, how notification of the meetings was made, the issues and concerns raised by the public and how they were addressed in the evaluation of the alternative designs. Similarly, details of comments and input provided by the review agencies should be provided and an explanation given how issues were addressed.

Chapter 5 - Project Description

A detailed description of the project should be provided, giving engineering characteristics of the works to be undertaken. The information provided in this chapter may include location plans and profiles, a description of lands to be affected by property acquisition, and should include a project schedule for the work.

A construction package should be described, with special reference to the mitigating measures to be employed during construction and how environmental commitments made during the planning process will be fulfilled. The anticipated hours of work, duration of the construction, the urgency of the works (if any) and timing constraints for construction should be described. The construction package should include details of methods for disposal of waste materials, and the control of nuisances e.g. dust, noise.

This section should contain information on the estimated costs of the project.

Chapter 6 - Monitoring

This chapter should describe the monitoring program developed during the planning process designed to be carried out during and after construction. The program should monitor and review the environmental impacts predicted and the commitments made to mitigation throughout the planning and design process. The following items, for example, should be included:

• key impacts to be monitored.
• monitoring requirements during construction and during operation of the facility.
• the period during which monitoring will be necessary.
• frequency and timing of surveys, the location of monitoring sites and the methods of data collection, analysis and evaluation.
• the content, manner and form in which records of monitoring data are to be prepared and retained.
• where and for how long monitoring records and documentation will be on file specific requirements for monitoring appropriate to the particular circumstances and conditions under which the project will be implemented.

This section should describe how unexpected environmental effects identified during the monitoring program will be addressed.

Appendices

Items should be included in an Appendix to provide technical support to specific aspects of the information documented in the ESR. These may include:

• maps and plans. 
• press releases/notices.
• public contacted.
• submissions, input and opinions received from the public and from review agencies.
• reports of studies undertaken on various elements of the environment.
• other detailed material referenced in the ESR.