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Environmental Assessment Act
Loi sur les évaluations environnementales

R.R.O. 1990, REGULATION 334

Amended to O. Reg. 390/01

GENERAL

Historical version for the period October 12, 2001 to March 22, 2007.

This Regulation is made in English only.

1. In this Regulation,

“change in use”, when used with respect to dam reconstruction, means the addition of new uses or changing the highest level at which water may be stored;

“dam reconstruction” means the reconstruction or rebuilding of a dam that involves a change in use of the dam or reservoir from,

(a) the use being made immediately prior to the construction taking place, or

(b) a use being made within the ten years immediately prior to the reconstruction taking place where the construction involves the repair of a dam which has been wholly or partly inoperable due to damage;

“development corporation” means a corporation under the Development Corporations Act;

“exclusive right-of-way”, when used in connection with a bus service, means a roadway, including entrances and exits, constructed for use by buses and upon which the public is not permitted to drive motor vehicles but not including accesses to stations and stops or turning, storage and service facilities not otherwise associated with such a right-of-way, nor a reserved bus lane on an existing road;

“fish and wildlife habitat management” means the creation, improvement and maintenance of habitat in order to increase or maintain the supply of food, cover and opportunities for reproduction for fish and wildlife populations, but does not include measures for which assessment is required under the provisions of the class environmental assessment for remedial flood and erosion control projects;

“hardship” means a situation where a person,

(a) needs to sell property quickly for health or financial reasons or to settle an estate but is unable to do so at a fair market value, or

(b) has been refused a building permit because an undertaking, planned or proposed, has not received approval under the Act;

“operating” includes maintaining and repairing and any activities for operating, maintaining and repairing, and “operation” has a corresponding meaning;

“start of construction” means,

(a) where contracts are to be awarded for carrying out part or all of the construction involved in the undertaking, the date on which the first such contract is awarded, and

(b) where no such contract is to be awarded, the date on which construction starts. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 1; O. Reg. 456/93, s. 1; O. Reg. 458/93, s. 1.

1.1 A proponent who gives proposed terms of reference to the Ministry under section 6 of the Act shall do so on a form supplied by the Ministry. O. Reg. 615/98, s. 1.

2. (1) An environmental assessment submitted to the Minister shall contain, in addition to the information required under subsection 5 (3) of the Act,

(a) a brief summary of the environmental assessment organized in accordance with the matters set out in subsection 5 (3) of the Act;

(b) a list of studies and reports which are under the control of the proponent and which were done in connection with the undertaking or matters related to the undertaking;

(c) a list of studies and reports done in connection with the undertaking or matters related to the undertaking of which the proponent is aware and that are not under the control of the proponent;

(d) where the environmental assessment is for an undertaking with a fixed location, at least two unbound well marked and legible maps about 210 millimetres in size by 297 millimetres in size showing the location of the undertaking and the area to be affected by it. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 2 (1).

(2) Of the maps referred to in clause (1) (d), one shall be a simplified base map suitable for reproduction in any notices that may be published and the other may include more detail such as a 1:10,000 scale Ontario Base Map. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 2 (2).

(3) The maps referred to in clause (1) (d) may show alternative proposals. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 2 (3).

3. The following bodies are defined as public bodies:

1. Algonquin Forestry Authority.

2. Authorities within the meaning of the Conservation Authorities Act.

3. Colleges, universities and other bodies, except The Royal Ontario Museum and municipalities, to which the Ontario Universities Capital Aid Corporation Act would have applied if it had not been repealed.

4. Development corporations.

5. Ontario Energy Commission.

6. Revoked: O. Reg 117/01, s. 1 (1).

7. Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.

8. Ontario Telephone Development Corporation.

9. Ontario Transportation Development Corporation.

10. Toronto Area Transit Operating Authority.

11. Ontario Clean Water Agency.

12. Ontario Realty Corporation.

13. Ontario Transportation Capital Corporation.

14. Revoked: O. Reg 117/01, s. 1 (2).

15. Revoked: O. Reg 117/01, s. 1 (2).

R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 3; O. Reg. 807/93, s. 1; O. Reg. 173/99, s. 1; O. Reg. 247/00, s. 1; O. Reg. 117/01, s. 1.

4. (1) An undertaking, whether constructed or started before or after the coming into force of the relevant provisions of the Act, for the construction or start of which the approval of the Minister to proceed was not required is exempt with respect to its operation and retirement from the provisions of subsection 5 (1) of the Act requiring the proponent not to proceed with the undertaking and from subsection 6 (1) of the Act. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 4 (1).

(2) A proponent of an undertaking of a type referred to in subsection (1) is exempt from section 38 of the Act with respect to the requirement of submitting an environmental assessment to the Minister with respect to the operation or retirement of the undertaking. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 4 (2).

5. (1) This section does not apply to an undertaking of a body listed in section 3 that may be found to be a local board as defined in the Municipal Affairs Act or to be a board, commission or other local authority exercising power in respect of municipal affairs. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 5 (1).

(1.1) For the purposes of clause 5 (2) (a),

“estimated cost” means the most current estimate of the cost of an undertaking prepared by an engineer, architect, official, planner or construction contractor, which estimate has been submitted to the council or other governing body of a municipality or a committee thereof and has been accepted by it as the basis upon which the undertaking is to be proceeded with, and where an undertaking is being constructed in phases includes the cost of all phases, but does not include any costs for,

(a) the acquisition of land,

(b) feasibility studies and design carried out for the undertaking,

(c) the operation of the undertaking,

(d) a building, the construction of which is regulated by the Building Code Act,

(e) any furnishings, equipment, facilities or machinery ancillary to a building described in clause (d), whether contained in it or not, or

(f) any facilities or machinery contained in a building described in clause (d), whether ancillary to it or not. O. Reg. 456/93, s. 2 (1).

(2) An undertaking by a municipality is exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act where,

(a) subject to subsection (3), it has an estimated cost of not more than $3,500,000;

(b) it is an undertaking by a board within the meaning of the Education Act;

(c) it is a drainage works regulated under the Drainage Act;

(d) it is a waste disposal site that,

(i) is a transfer station for domestic waste that uses portable containers,

(ii) is an organic soil conditioning site certified under the Environmental Protection Act,

(iii) is a transfer station for processed organic waste located at the sewage treatment works where it is generated or at the organic soil conditioning site where it is disposed of, or

(iv) is a site certified under section 31 of the Environmental Protection Act for the disposal of waste other than hauled liquid industrial waste or hazardous waste as designated in regulations made under subsection 176 (4) of the Environmental Protection Act;

(e) Revoked: O. Reg. 117/01, s. 2 (1).

(f) it is an undertaking that consists of the provision of municipal non-profit housing facilities that may include ancillary commercial and other uses within the housing project;

(g) Revoked: O. Reg. 117/01, s. 2 (1).

(h) subject to subsection (3), it is a work provided for in a subdivision agreement between a municipality and a subdivider;

(i) it is a work other than a work of a type described in clause (4)(a) that is provided for in a subdivision agreement between a municipality and a subdivider for the management of storm water that originates only from the subdivision or other adjacent land of the subdivider; or

(j) it is a transfer of land initiated by the owner of the land,

(i) in a hardship situation, or

(ii) as part of an arrangement whereby the municipality is to provide a fence in return for a transfer of land. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 5 (2); O. Reg. 117/01, s. 2 (1).

(3) The exemptions provided by clauses (2) (a) and (h) do not apply in respect of,

(a) an undertaking of a type referred to in clause (4) (a);

(b) a new bus service on an exclusive right-of-way or a new rail transit system;

(c) a new station, terminal or marshalling yard for a rail transit system;

(d) a waste disposal site with respect to which a hearing is required under section 30 of the Environmental Protection Act and which is not exempt under that Act or the regulations made under it from the requirement of a hearing under that section; or

(e) Revoked: O. Reg. 117/01, s. 2 (2).

(f) an undertaking of a type described in subsection (5). R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 5 (3); O.Reg. 456/93, s. 2 (2); O. Reg. 117/01, s. 2 (2).

(4) An undertaking by a municipality is exempt from section 5 of the Act if it is proceeding under the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment approved on October 4, 2000 and that Assessment does not require a further approval under the Act. O. Reg. 390/01, s. 1.

(5) An undertaking by a municipality, for which an environmental assessment has not been submitted is exempt from the Act where it is an undertaking of a type for which the Minister issued a Notice of Approval dated the 2nd day of April, 1981 to the Toronto Area Transit Operating Authority pursuant to Order-in-Council 930/81, and construction of the undertaking is started on or before the day on which a decision with respect to the environmental assessment for Municipal Transit submitted to the Minister for approval on the 18th day of January, 1984, is made or deemed to be made under subsection 14 (1) of the Act. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 5 (5).

(6) Except as provided for in subsection (4), the obtaining of an option to acquire land or an interest in land by a municipality or the entering into an agreement to purchase land or an interest in land by a municipality, where the acquisition or purchase is conditional on compliance with the Act, is an undertaking that is exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 5 (6).

6. (1) All undertakings and classes of undertakings by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Ontario and carried out by,

(a) the Minister of Finance;

(b) the Minister of Labour;

(c) the Minister of Correctional Services;

(d) the Attorney General;

(e) the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities;

(f) the Solicitor General;

(g) the Minister of Community and Social Services;

(h) the Minister of Consumer and Business Services;

(i) the Minister of Education;

(j) the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care;

(k) the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and

(l) the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing,

are exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act. O. Reg. 390/01, s. 2.

(2) All undertakings and classes of undertakings by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Ontario and carried out by an agent of Her Majesty in right of Ontario who is not,

(a) a Minister of the Crown;

(b) acting on behalf of a Minister of the Crown; or

(c) defined as a public body,

are exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 6 (2).

7. Despite section 6, an undertaking carried out by the Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet on behalf of or at the request of,

(a) a Minister of the Crown named in section 6;

(b) an agent of the Crown exempted by section 6,

that would be subject to the Act but for section 6 is not exempt from the Act. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 7; O. Reg. 390/01, s. 3.

8. (1) In this section,

“authority” means an authority within the meaning of the Conservation Authorities Act;

“conservation services” means works carried out under an agreement with a private landowner for the purpose of,

(a) creation of shelter belts and wind breaks,

(b) erosion control,

(c) soil conservation,

(d) water conservation, or

(e) water quality improvement,

where the estimated cost of the works including all related projects does not exceed $50,000;

“cost” means the estimated total cost of the implementation of an undertaking at the time of its approval under section 24 of the Conservation Authorities Act by the Minister of Natural Resources exclusive of any costs for the acquisition of land or for any feasibility studies and design carried out for the undertaking or the operation of the undertaking;

“floodproofing” means taking measures to protect a structure or its contents from flood damage where the measures are carried out, in, on or immediately adjacent to, the structure being protected, but does not include constructing dykes, channels, retaining walls and water reservoirs or impoundments or other structures, only part of which forms part of, or is immediately adjacent to, the structure being protected. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 8 (1); O. Reg. 458/93, s. 2.

(2) An undertaking by an authority is exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act if the undertaking is solely for the purpose of,

(a) reforestation and woodlot management;

(b) restocking of indigenous wildlife;

(c) provision of conservation area workshops, administration buildings, outdoor education and interpretive centres;

(d) conservation services;

(e) municipal tree replacement;

(f) agricultural land management of authority-owned lands;

(g) flood-proofing;

(h) fish and wildlife habitat management;

(i) development of conservation areas and campgrounds having a cost of not over $1,000,000; or

(j) relocation or improvement of historical buildings,

or for the combination of any purposes set out in clauses (a) to (j). R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 8 (2).

(3) The acquisition of land or interests in land by an authority is exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s.8 (3).

9. The undertaking of making a loan, giving a grant, giving a guarantee of debts or issuing or granting a licence, permit, approval, permission or consent is exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 9.

10. Despite any provisions of this Regulation exempting any undertaking from the provisions of the Act, where an environmental assessment of an undertaking is submitted, all provisions of the Act apply in respect of that undertaking. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 10.

11. (1) In this section,

“research” includes measuring, monitoring and testing;

“research undertaking” means an undertaking that is carried out for the purpose of or that consists of research. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 11 (1).

(2) Research undertakings are exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 11 (2).

12. (1) In this section,

“PCB” means any monochlorinated or polychlorinated biphenyl or any mixture of them or mixture that contains one or more of them. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 12 (1).

(2) The locating of a mobile PCB destruction facility on lands of the Crown, a municipality or public body and the using of a mobile PCB destruction facility to destroy PCB wastes of the Crown, a municipality or public body are exempt from subsection 5 (1) of the Act whether or not the establishment of the facility required an approval under the Act. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 12 (2).

13. Despite the repeal of Regulation 293 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1980, any part of an undertaking for which an Environmental Assessment has not been submitted and that was exempt under clause 5(5) (a) or 9 (2) (a) of that regulation on the 12th day of April, 1987, remains exempt. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 334, s. 13.

14. Sections 4, 5, 6, 8 and 13 do not apply to an undertaking that is designated as an undertaking to which the Act applies by Ontario Regulation 116/01 (Electricity Projects). O. Reg. 117/01, s. 3.

15. An undertaking by Her Majesty in right of Ontario, a municipality or a public body that is not designated as an undertaking to which the Act applies by Ontario Regulation 116/01 (Electricity Projects) and that is the planning, designing, establishing, constructing, operating, changing, expanding or retiring of a generation facility, transmission line, transformer station or distribution station within the meaning of that regulation is exempt from Part II of the Act. O. Reg. 117/01, s. 3.

16. Copies of the class environmental assessments and approvals of class environmental assessments referred to in this Regulation may be found in the public records maintained under section 30 of the Act. O. Reg. 390/01, s. 4.