A.1.5 MONITORING AND AMENDMENTS

Municipal Class Environmental Assessment

Part A - Class EA Planning Process

A.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

A.1.5.1 Monitoring of Municipal Class EA

Copy of Notice of Completion for Schedule B projects and Notice of Filing of Environmental Study Report for Schedule C Projects to be submitted to MOE - EAA Branch.

In order to monitor the effectiveness of the process in meeting the requirements of the EA Act, as well as municipal compliance, proponents are required to submit to the MOE - EAA Branch, (MEA.Notices.EAAB@ontario.ca), one copy of the “Notice of Completion” for each Schedule B project and the “Notice of Completion of Environmental Study Report” for each Schedule C project. This in turn will provide a record of projects undertaken within the province for use during the next review of this Class EA.
Municipal Class EA Part A – Class EA Planning Process
October 2000, as amended 2007, 2011 & 2015 Page A-15
A sample cover sheet to accompany the copy of the Notice submitted to the MOE - EAA Branch is provided in Appendix 6.
In addition, representatives of the MEA will meet with staff of the MOE - EAA Branch on an annual basis to review any comments received.

A.1.5.2 Municipal Class EA Amending Procedure

	The purpose of this amending procedure is to allow for modifications to the Municipal Class EA. The reasons for such modifications may include: Types of Amendments The purpose of this amending procedure is to allow for modifications to the Municipal Class EA. The reasons for such modifications may include: Clarifications about any ambiguous areas of the document, including its processes and procedures, Streamlining the planning process in areas where problems may have arisen; Extension of the application of the Class EA process to municipal projects or activities that were not previously included. Minor amendments are considered to be those amendments that do not substantially change this Class EA. For example: administrative corrections and clarifications, minor updates (e.g., reference to a guidelines), a change in procedure, clarification of wording or streamlining redundant processes would be considered to be minor amendments. Major amendments are those amendments that substantially change this Class EA. For example, reducing the amount of public consultation or introducing new process requirements would be considered to be major amendments. Including a new group of municipal projects or activities is also considered a major amendment but may be processed differently as outlined in section A.1.5.2 c. Who Can Propose Amendments? A party, which includes the proponents, or the MEA acting on behalf of the proponents, or the MOECC may propose an amendment to this Class EA. In addition, members of the public, other government agencies and Aboriginal and Métis communities may request that the proponents, the MEA acting on behalf of the proponents or the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) initiate an amendment to this Class EA. Part A – Class EA Planning Process Municipal Class EA Page A-16 October 2000, as amended 2007, 2011 & 2015 When proposing an amendment to this Class EA, the party bringing forward the proposed amendment must describe the proposed changes and the rationale for the proposed changes. In addition, the party must have regard to the required contents of a Class EA as outlined in section 14 of the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) as may be applicable. Depending on the nature of the amendment contemplated, this information may already be contained in Parts B, C or D of the Class EA. If this information is not included, the proponent should describe, as appropriate, the information required under section 14 (2) and (3) of the EAA. Process to address minor amendments. a) Minor Amendments The following process will be used to make minor amendments: 1) A party will bring the proposed amendment to the attention of the Director of MOECC's Environmental Approvals Branch (EAB) describing the amendment and a brief rationale for the amendment. Process to address major amendments. 2) The Director of the EAB will then discuss the proposed amendment with the proponents or the MEA acting on their behalf. If the Director finds the amendment necessary, the Director shall determine whether the amendment is minor and whether consultation about the proposed amendment should be carried out; 3) If the Director determines that consultation should be carried out, a Notice of Proposed Amendment shall be issued and at least thirty (30) days will be allowed for interested parties to comment. 4) Based on the proposal and any comments received, the Director may determine that there are no significant environmental concerns resulting from the proposal and approve the amendment. If the Director believes that there are potential significant environmental concerns which cannot be resolved through conditions or negotiations between the MEA on behalf of the proponents and the concerned commenter, the Director may declare that the amendment can only be evaluated through the Major Amendment process. 5) If the amendment is approved, a Notice of Amendment shall be given to all persons who made submissions and a copy of the notice shall be placed in the public record and made available on the MEA website. b) Major Amendments The following process will be used to make major amendments: 1) A party will bring forward the proposed amendment to the attention of the MOECC through the Director of EAB for review. The amendment proposal must include: i. A description of the amendment and a rationale for the amendment. Municipal Class EA Part A – Class EA Planning Process October 2000, as amended 2007, 2011 & 2015 Page A-17 ii. A description of the consultation about the proposed amendments and any comments received and how the comments were addressed. The Director may determine that additional consultation is required including but not limited to the posting of a Notice of Amendment with a 30-day comment period allowed for interested parties. 2) Prior to making a decision about the proposed amendment, the MOECC may conduct a public consultation process including notification of the proposed amendment to the public and any potentially affected agency or municipality to request comments. A minimum review period of 30 days for comments will be allowed. 3) The proponents, or MEA acting on behalf of the proponents, will have an opportunity to respond to any issues raised after the review period. Where appropriate, the MOECC will determine whether additional consultation is warranted (e.g. in addition to the minimum review period). 4) The MOECC will review the proposed amendment including any comments received and the proponents responses to the issues raised and may require revisions to the proposed amendments to address the concerns raised. 5) If no consultation is required, the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (Minister), or his/her delegate, shall make a decision within 60 days of notification of the proposed amendment. If consultation is required, the Minister, or his/her delegate shall make a decision within 60 days after submission of the results of the consultation and the MOECC's review of the amendment. 6) Based on the proposal and any comments received, the Minister, or his/her delegate, may determine that there are no significant environmental concerns resulting from the proposal and approve the amendment with or without conditions. The Minister may also reject the proposed amendments. 7) If the amendment is approved, a Notice of Amendment shall be given to all persons who made submissions and a copy of the notice shall be placed in the public record and made available on the MEA website. The proponent shall also update the Class EA to include the amendments and make the revised Class EA document available on the MEA web site. MEA members shall be notified by letter about the amendments and will be directed to the updated Class EA document on the MEA website. c) Procedures to Include a New Group of Municipal Projects or Activities to this Class EA Process to include a new group of projects or activities within the class of undertakings. The inclusion of a new group of municipal projects or activities, that substantially changes the Class EA, is considered to be a major amendment. Part A – Class EA Planning Process Municipal Class EA Page A-18 October 2000, as amended 2007, 2011 & 2015 Prior to proposing a major amendment to include a new group of municipal projects or activities in this Class EA to the Minister, the proponent, or the MEA acting on behalf of the proponent, will consult with the MOECC to determine the requirements for amending this Class EA. When proposing to include a new group of projects or activities in this Class EA, the proponent shall have regard for section 14 of the EAA. The party proposing the proposed new group of municipal projects or activities will be required to undertake pre-consultation with interested parties as may be appropriate prior to submission of the proposed amendment to the MOECC. Should the MOECC propose a new group of municipal projects or activities, the MOECC will undertake pre-consultation with interested parties, as may be appropriate. The proposal for an amendment must include a description of the project’s purpose, alternatives, environment and typical mitigating measures associated with the amendment. Once submitted, the proponents or the MEA on behalf of the proponents will be required to carry out consultation, as may be determined by the MOECC, about the proposed amendments. Should the new group of projects or activities be proposed by the MOECC, the MOECC will be required to carry out consultation about the proposed amendments. In general, it will be necessary to follow the process for major amendments and a decision made by the Minister or his/her delegate. The process for including a new group of projects or activities shall culminate in the preparation of an Amendment Report, which will describe the process followed, the amendments proposed, how the proposal is consistent with section 14 of the EAA, and the results of the consultation carried out during the preparation of the Amendment Report. Despite the foregoing, there may be circumstances where an amendment results in significant changes to the Municipal Class EA that are not consistent with the approved Terms of Reference for the Class EA or the Notice of Approval of Class EA given by the Minister of the Environment on October 4, 2000. If the MOECC determines this to be the case, the party proposing the amendments would be required to follow the process under section 13 and 14 of the EAA and prepare a proposed Terms of Reference and the preparation of a new or amended Class EA.