Notice of approval

Proponent: Ministry of Transportation
Environmental assessment (EA) file number: TC-ER-02

Take notice that the period for submitting public comments and requests for a hearing, provided for in the Notice of Completion of the Review for the above noted undertaking, expired on November 9, 2001. Ninety-one submissions were received before the expiration date. Eleven submissions requested a hearing by the Environmental Review Tribunal.

Having considered the purpose of the Act, the Environmental Assessment, the Review and submissions received, I do not consider it advisable or necessary to hold a hearing and I hereby give approval to proceed with the undertaking, subject to conditions set out below.

Reasons

My reasons for giving approval are:

  1. On the basis of the proponent’s Environmental Assessment and the Review, the proponent’s conclusion that, on balance, the advantages of this undertaking outweigh its disadvantages appears to be valid.
  2. The preferred alternative method of implementing the undertaking was demonstrated to have advantages over other alternatives that were examined in the Environmental Assessment.
  3. On the basis of the proponent’s Environmental Assessment, the Review and the conditions of approval, the construction, operation and maintenance of the undertaking will be consistent with the purpose of the Act.
  4. The Government Review Team has conducted a detailed review of the Environment Assessment and has not identified any outstanding concerns that cannot be addressed through these conditions of approval.
  5. The public review of the Environmental Assessment did not identify any concerns which have not been addressed by the Environmental Assessment, or which cannot be addressed through these conditions of approval or additional approvals required.
  6. I am not aware of any other outstanding issues with respect to this undertaking which suggest that a hearing should be required.

Conditions

  1. For the purposes of these Conditions:
proponent
refers to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, which is also distinguished by its acronym MTO.
MOE
refers to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
EAAB
refers to the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch of the Ministry of the Environment.
Director
refers to the Director of the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch.
MNR
refers to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
the environmental assessment
refers to the approved Highway 17 Haley Station to Meath Hill Environmental Assessment.
the Class EA
refers to the approved MTO Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Transportation Facilities (Submitted 1997, Approved 1999, Amended July 2000).
TESR
refers to a Transportation Environmental Study Report as defined by the Class EA.
DCR
refers to a Design and Construction Report as defined by the Class EA.

General conditions

  1. The proponent shall comply with all the provisions of the environmental assessment submitted to MOE which are hereby incorporated in this approval by reference except as provided in these conditions and as provided in any other approvals or permits that may be issued.
  2. The proponent shall carry out any further preliminary design work and work associated with the detailed design and construction stages for this undertaking in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Class EA for Group A (new freeways) projects, which includes the preparation of DCRs and/or TESRs.
  3. These conditions do not prevent more restrictive conditions being imposed under other statutes.

Public record

  1. Where a document is required for the Public Record. the proponent shall provide the document to the Director for filing within the specific Public Record file maintained for the undertaking. The proponent shall provide copies of all documents for the purpose of public review to:
    1. the Director of the MOE Eastern Region Office;
    2. the District Manager of the MOE Ottawa District Office;
    3. the Clerk of The Corporation of the County of Renfrew;
    4. the Clerk of The Corporation of the Township of Whitewater Region; and
    5. the Pembroke, Cobden, Renfrew and Forester’s Falls libraries.
    These documents may also be provided through other means as considered appropriate by the proponent.
  2. For the purpose of any condition in this approval for which the MTO must apply the Class EA, the MTO shall provide access to the Class EA at each of the locations specified in Condition 5.

Compliance monitoring

  1. The proponent shall prepare and submit to the Director for the Public Record an Environmental Assessment Compliance Monitoring Program. The Program shall be prepared for the monitoring of the proponent’s fulfillment of the provisions of the environmental assessment for mitigation measures, public consultation, and additional studies and work to be carried out, and of all other commitments made during the preparation of the environmental assessment and the subsequent review of the environmental assessment for mitigation measures, public consultation, and additional studies and work to be carried out The Program must contain an implementation schedule. The Program shall be submitted not later than one year after the date of approval of the undertaking, or 60 days before the commencement of construction, whichever is earlier. A statement must accompany the Program when submitted to the Director indicating that the Program is intended to fulfill this condition. The Program. as it may be amended by the Director, must be carried out by the proponent.
  2. The proponent shall prepare an annual Compliance Report which describes compliance with the conditions of approval set out in this Notice and which describes the results of the proponent’s Environmental Assessment Compliance Monitoring Program. The first reporting period shall be for one year from the date of this approval. Each subsequent reporting period shall be for a period of one year from the anniversary date of this approval. Each Compliance Report shall be issued within 60 days of the end of the reporting period. The proponent shall submit to the Director for placement on the Public Record a copy of the Compliance Report. The proponent shall submit Compliance Reports until all conditions are satisfied. When all conditions have been satisfied, the proponent shall indicate in the Compliance Report that this is its final submission.

    The proponent shall retain in the MTO Eastern Regional Office copies of the Compliance Monitoring Report for each reporting year and any associated documentation of compliance monitoring activities. The proponent shall make the documentation available to the ministry or its designate upon request in a timely manner when so requested by the ministry during an on-site inspection, audit, or in response to a pollution incident report or when information concerning compliance is requested by the ministry.

Storm water management

  1. The proponent shall prepare, in consultation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of the Environment, and other ministries or government agencies that the proponent may deem to have an interest, as part of the appropriate DCRs and/or TESRs, design details and treatment limits for the stormwater management facilities. These facilities shall be designed to meet MOE criteria in the "MOE Stormwater Management Practices Planning and Design Manual" in effect at the time the design details and treatment limits are prepared, and achieve Level 1 protection. The DCRs and/or TESRs containing the design details and treatment limits shall be submitted to the MOE Eastern Regional Office for review: A statement shall accompany the DCRs and/or TESRs indicating that they are intended to fulfill this condition.
  2. The Environmental Assessment proposes that stormwater collected and treated along the portion of the highway from station 35+400 to station 37+600 will be directed to the Ottawa River. At the Detail Design stage, as part of the stormwater management plan, the proponent shall investigate additional opportunities along other portions of the proposed corridor where stormwater could similarly be directed. A description of these opportunities shall be incorporated into the appropriate DCRs and/or TESRs. and submitted to the MOE Eastern Regional Office for review. A statement shall accompany the DCRs and/or TESRs indicating that they are intended to fulfill this condition.

Noise and vibration

  1. The proponent shall prepare a detailed Noise and Vibration Report. The Report shall address noise and vibration impacts which will be generated during construction as well as noise and vibration control measures for all major construction activities including those due to possible blasting and pile-driving operations. The Report shall also re-assess the future traffic noise levels. As a minimum requirement, the re-assessment or the noise impacts due to proposed freeway as well as the potential for mitigation of these impacts shall be performed at all sensitive locations which are expected to experience an increase in noise levels greater than 5 dB. The re-assessment of the traffic noise impacts shall be made according to the guidelines contained in the MOE/MTO Noise Protocol in effect at the time of the study. In addition to the summary of the noise impacts the Report shall contain a description of the proposed noise control measures and of their acoustical effectiveness. Reasons must be given if measures are not applied.

    The Report shall form part of the appropriate DCRs and/or TESRs, and be submitted to the Director for review to confirm compliance with the MOE/MTO Noise Protocol in effect at the time of the study. The Director shall provide MTO written notice that the Report is satisfactory before construction can begin.

Surface water management

  1. The proponent shall prepare details of the proposed construction mitigation plans for surface water run-off during construction. The plans shall form part of the appropriate DCRs and/or TESRs and be submitted to the MOE Eastern Regional Office for review. A statement shall accompany the DCRs and/or TESRs indicating that they are intended to fulfill this condition.
  2. The proponent shall prepare and submit to the MOE Eastern Regional Office baseline surface water quality data for lakes within the study area. This data shall be provided prior to the initial construction contract. The sampling program design shall be developed in consultation with the MOE Eastern Regional Office, prior to carrying out the data collection. A statement shall accompany the submission indicating that it is intended to fulfill this condition.

Groundwater

  1. In the event that well interference occurs during construction, the MTO shall address the interference in accordance with the Well Water Interference Prevention and Contingency Measures, an appendix to the environmental assessment dated 13-Sept-00, and provide the MOE Eastern Regional Office a report outlining the nature of the interference and MTO's response to that interference for review. A statement shall accompany any report prepared in accordance with this condition indicating that the report has been submitted to fulfill this condition.

Five-year review

  1. The 5-year reviews of the assumptions and conclusions of the environmental assessment, as referred to in section 6.4.1 of the environmental assessment, shall commence on the fifth anniversary of the environmental assessment approv3l date, and occur every five years thereafter on that anniversary date until such time as construction has commenced under the first construction contract. A letter shall be submitted to the Director and placed in the Public Record following each review, stating a summary of the review, action taken, if any, and when the review was started and completed.

Biological inventories

  1. Five years prior to the Detail Design stage, the proponent shall prepare, in consultation with MNR, a list of requirements that set out the timing, scope, aerial extent, and staging of biological inventories to be carried out three years prior to the Detail Design stage. A statement shall be filed with the Public Record indicating when and how this condition was fulfilled.
  2. In the event that a major biological feature is identified by MTO or MNR during any of the five-year reviews, during the biological inventories referred to in Condition 16, or at any other time, and upon which the approved undertaking may have adverse environmental effects, the proponent shall, in consultation with MNR and any other directly affected agencies and stakeholders, determine what response, if any, will prevent, change, mitigate or remedy the adverse environmental effects. The proponent and MNR shall jointly evaluate the range of possible responses in accordance with the environmental protection principles, the alternative evaluation process, documentation principles and consultation principles of the Class EA, and determine which is the preferred response. The proponent shall prepare and submit to the Public Record a report describing the biological feature, the range of responses evaluated, the preferred response, and the results of any consultation that was carried out. A statement shall accompany any report submitted in accordance with this condition indicating that the submission is intended to fulfill the requirements of this condition.

Amending the undertaking

    1. Except as prescribed in clause (b) of this condition, in the event that there is a proposed amendment to the approved undertaking for reasons specified in sections 6.4.1 or 6.4.2 of the environmental assessment or for any reason specified in Chapter 10 of the Class EA. the amendment shall be proposed and addressed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 10 of the Class EA.
    2. In the event that MTO and MNR determine that an amendment to the approved undertaking is the preferred response selected in Condition 17, the amendment shall be addressed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 10 of the Class EA. with the following modification to the fourth bullet of Chapter 10:

      If the Minister of the Environment grants a bump-up request, MTO will not have the option of withdrawing the TESR, but shall prepare and submit to the Minister of the Environment an environmental assessment in accordance with Part II of the Environmental Assessment Act.

Dated the 30th day of 2004 at Toronto.

Original signed by
Minister of the Environment
135 St. Clair Avenue West, 12th floor
Toronto, Ontario
M4V 1P5