Saturday, December 28, 2024
This Class EA replaces the Municipal Class EA dated 2000.
The 2000 Class EA document superseded the Municipal Class EAs which were approved in 1993. This document amends the 2000 Municipal Class EA. The proponents are the Cities of Barrie, Guelph, Hamilton, London, Mississauga, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay and Toronto, the Regional Municipalities of Durham, Niagara, Waterloo and York, the Town of Carleton Place and the County of Lanark. When carrying out projects to which the Class EA applies, these municipalities must either use the procedures described herein or undertake individual EAs. For these municipalities, Schedule A and Schedule A+ projects are unconditionally approved and cannot be subject to a request for a Part II Order while Schedule B and C projects are approved subject to the provisions of the Class EA process, including the provisions for a request for a Part II Order as outlined in Section A.2.8.
Proponent Municipalities
Ontario Regulation 334 enables all municipalities to make use of this approved process to fulfill EA Act requirements. Alternatively, they may opt to submit individual EAs for each of their projects, regardless of cost, size or environmental impact. One small difference between the proponent and the non-proponent municipalities is that in the case of non-proponent municipalities, Schedule A projects could be designated under the EA Act. Schedule A projects generally have insignificant impacts and it is not anticipated that a designation would be made, except in very unusual circumstances.
Proponency is defined in the Glossary.
Proponency is defined in the Glossary. Municipal projects undertaken by Ontario municipalities, Ontario Public Utility Commissions, the Ontario Clean Water Agency or the private sector, or as designated by the Minister, must follow the planning process set out in this Class EA, subject to the specific exemptions and other conditions set out in this document. This requirement applies to those municipal projects which are subject to this Class EA, regardless of the manner in which the facilities are funded.
Other Proponents
In some cases, an undertaking under the Municipal Class EA may involve components which are subject to another proponent’s Class EA (e.g. “Class EA for Provincial Transportation Facilities” (MTO), “Class EA for ORC Realty Activities” (ORC), “GO Transit Class EA” etc. Should this occur, municipal proponents should consult with the other proponents to determine how to coordinate the EA requirements of each proponent and to determine if the process and documentation under the Municipal Class EA can be considered to have addressed the requirements of the other proponent’s Class EA process.
Private sector
Private Sector Development:
Development of municipal servicing infrastructure is undertaken by municipalities acting in their own behalf or on behalf of private sector developers, or by private sector developers acting in their own behalf. Works undertaken by municipalities are subject to the EA Act, and to this Class EA, but works undertaken by private sector developers, with the exceptions noted in Ontario Regulation 345/93 (see discussion below), continue to be exempt from the EA Act and are therefore not subject to this Class EA.
The requirements for the private sector under the Ontario EA Act are defined by Ontario Regulation 345/93. For the private sector to meet their obligations under the Ontario EA Act, they can use the Municipal Class EA process rather than undertaking an Individual EA.
Since certain infrastructure works can have significant impacts on the environment, the basis of this Class EA is that such projects shall be planned under the planning and documentation procedures set out under Schedule C and shall be subject to review by the public.
Therefore it is appropriate that such projects, whether undertaken by municipalities or by private sector developers, should be subject to review prior to implementation, regardless of who undertakes the planning and construction and regardless of who is ultimately responsible for control and maintenance of the works.
Accordingly, those projects undertaken by private sector developers which are designated as an undertaking to which the Ontario EA Act applies (i.e. Schedule C projects that are servicing residential developments - see Ontario Regulation 345/93) are subject to all of the requirements of this Class EA. Section A.2.9 of this document provides a means for integrating the requirements of the EA Act and the Planning Act, where a proponent wishes to do so.
In addition, municipalities are encouraged to consider requiring developers to fully consider appropriate alternatives even if the project is exempt under Ontario Regulation 345/93.