Notice of approval

Proponent: Detour Gold Corporation
Environmental assessment (EA) file number: EA-03-03-03

Take notice that the period for requiring a hearing, provided for in the Notice of Completion of the Review for the undertaking, expired on September 17, 2010.

I received no requests for a hearing by the Environmental Review Tribunal before the expiration date.

Having considered the purpose of the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA), the approved terms of reference, the environmental assessment, the ministry Review of the environmental assessment and submissions received, I hereby give approval to proceed with the undertaking, subject to the conditions set out below.

Reasons

My reasons for giving approval are:

  1. On the basis of the proponent’s environmental assessment and the ministry Review, the proponent’s conclusion that, on balance, the advantages of this undertaking outweigh its disadvantages appears to be valid.
  2. No other beneficial alternative method of implementing the undertaking was identified.
  3. On the basis of the proponent’s environmental assessment, the ministry Review .and the conditions in this. Notice of Approval, the implementation of the undertaking will be consistent with the purpose of the EAA, as set out in section 2 of the EAA.
  4. The Government Review Team has indicated no outstanding concerns. The public and Aboriginal review of the environmental assessment did not identify any outstanding concerns which cannot be addressed through the conditions in this Notice of Approval.
  5. The submissions received after the Notice of Completion of the ministry Review was published are being dealt with through conditions in this Notice of Approval, where appropriate.
  6. I am not aware of any outstanding issues with respect to this undertaking which suggest that a hearing should be required.

Conditions

Approval to proceed with the undertaking is subject to the following terms and conditions:

1. Definitions

For the purposes of these terms and conditions:

Aboriginal communities
means the Moose Cree First Nation, Wahgoshig First Nation, Taykwa Tagamou Nation and Metis.
Construction
means physical construction activities, including, site preparation works, but does not include tendering of contracts
Date of approval
means the date on which the Order in Council was approved by the Lieutenant Governor.
Director
means the Director of the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch.
EAAB
means the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch of the Ministry of the Environment.
Environmental Assessment
means the document titled Detour Lake Power Project Individual Environmental Assessment - 230 kV Transmission Line Power Supply.
Ministry
means the Ministry of the Environment.
Program
means compliance monitoring program.
Proponent
means Detour Gold Corporation.
Site
means the identified right-of-way or work areas required for the undertaking, including ancillary facilities and access roads.
Undertaking
means the construction and development of a transmission line and related infrastructure from the Ontario electrical grid at the Pinard Transformer Station to the Detour Lake mine site, and as more specifically set out in the environmental assessment.

2. General requirements

  1. The proponent shall implement the undertaking in accordance with the environmental assessment, which is hereby incorporated in this approval by reference, except as provided for in these conditions and as provided for in any other approval or permit that may be issued for the undertaking.
  2. These conditions do not prevent more restrictive conditions being imposed under other statutes.

3. Public record and submission of documents

  1. Where a document is required for the public record, the proponent shall provide two copies of the document to the Director: a copy for filing in the public record file maintained for the undertaking and a copy for staff use.
  2. EAAB file number EA-03-03-03 shall be quoted on every document submitted to the ministry.
  3. For every document submitted to the ministry, the proponent shall clearly identify which condition the document is meant to fulfill.

4. Compliance monitoring program

  1. The proponent shall prepare and submit for the public record, a compliance monitoring program for the undertaking.
  2. The program shall be submitted one year from the date of approval or before the commencement of construction, whichever is earlier.
  3. The program shall include monitoring of the proponent’s fulfillment of the provisions of the environmental assessment and the conditions in this Notice of Approval, including mitigation measures, consultation with the public and Aboriginal communities, and additional studies and work to be carried out. The program shall also include monitoring of compliance with all commitments made in the environmental assessment and the approval process for the environmental assessment regarding mitigation measures, consultation with the public and Aboriginal communities, and additional studies and work to be carried out.
  4. The program must contain an implementation schedule.
  5. The Director may require amendments to the program.
  6. The program, as amended by the Director, must be carried out by the proponent.
  7. The proponent shall make the program documentation available to the ministry or its designate in a timely manner when requested to do so by the ministry.

5. Compliance reporting

  1. The proponent shall prepare an annual compliance report which describes the proponent’s compliance with the conditions in this Notice of Approval and the results of the program.
  2. The annual compliance report shall be submitted for the public record, with the first report being due no later than one year following the submission date of the program, and shall cover all activities of the previous 12 month period.
  3. The proponent shall submit annual compliance reports until all terms and conditions of this Notice of Approval are satisfied, or until the Director indicates that the reports are no longer required.
  4. When all terms and conditions in this Notice of Approval have been satisfied, the proponent shall indicate in the annual compliance report that it is the final report.
  5. The proponent shall retain, either on site or in another location approved by the Director, copies of the annual compliance reports for each reporting year and any associated documentation of compliance monitoring activities.
  6. The proponent shall make the documentation available to the ministry, or its designate, in a timely manner when requested to do so by the ministry.

6. Complaint protocol

  1. The proponent shall prepare and develop a protocol on how it will deal with and respond to inquiries and complaints received during the implementation of the undertaking.
  2. The proponent shall submit the protocol to the ministry before the commencement of construction for placement on the public record.
  3. The Director may require amendments to the protocol.
  4. The protocol, as amended by the Director, must be carried out by the proponent.

7. Aboriginal consultation

  1. The proponent shall continue to consult with the Aboriginal communities during the detailed design and implementation of the undertaking.
  2. The proponent shall fulfill commitments made to the Aboriginal communities in the environmental assessment and environmental assessment approval process.
  3. During the implementation of the undertaking, the proponent shall consider and respond to any concerns regarding the undertaking raised by the Aboriginal communities, including:
    1. the completion of the Traditional Knowledge Studies and use of the information in these studies to inform the implementation of the undertaking;
    2. he provision of baseline study data, construction management procedures, contractor management documents, formal complaints protocol or other project documentation or background information, if requested;
    3. the clearing of the right-of-way for construction and-maintenance purposes;
    4. the participation of the Aboriginal communities in the implementation of the undertaking.
  4. The proponent shall include in its annual Compliance Monitoring Report a section which summarizes its work with the Aboriginal communities during the implementation of the undertaking, including details regarding any concerns raised by the Aboriginal communities and how they have been considered and responded to.

Dated the 6th day of December, 2010 at Toronto.

Minister of Environment
77 Wellesley Street West, 11th Floor, Ferguson Block
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2T5

Approved by O.C. number 1737/2010
Date O.C. approved December 15, 2010