Notice of approval

Proponent: The Regional Municipality of York
Environmental assessment file number: EA-02-06

Take notice that the period for requesting a hearing, provided for in the Notice of Completion of the Review for the above noted undertaking, expired on August 11, 2006. I received no requests for a hearing before the expiration date.

Having considered the purpose of the Act, 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 conditions set out below.

Reasons

My reasons for giving approval are:

  1. On the basis of the proponents Environmental Assessment and the Review, the proponents conclusion that, on balance, the advantages of this undertaking outweigh its disadvantages appears to be valid.
  2. The alternative method for implementing the undertaking was identified as having advantages over the other alternatives considered.
  3. On the basis of the proponents 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 (section 2).
  4. The Government Review Team has indicated no outstanding concerns that can not be addressed through these conditions of approval. The public review of the Environmental Assessment did not identify any outstanding concerns which can not be addressed through these conditions of approval.
  5. The issues and concerns raised in the submissions received after the Notice of Completion of the Review was published are being dealt with through conditions where appropriate. I am not aware of any outstanding issues with respect to this undertaking which suggest that a hearing should be required.

Conditions

Definitions

Proponent
refers to The Regional Municipality of York
MOE
refers to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment
EAAB
refers to the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch of the MOE.
Director
refers to the Director of the EAAB.
Regional Director
refers to the Director of the MOE's Central Regional Office.
District Manager
refers to the District Manager of the MOE's York-Durham Office.
EA
refers to the document titled Markham North-South Link Corridor Public Transit Improvements Environmental Assessment Report and Appendices, dated March 2006, the response from the Proponent dated June 1, 2006, the revised responses from the Proponent dated June 16, 2006, the draft supplemental information for the PM 2.5 air quality assessment submitted on July 24, 2006, by the Proponent and the response from the Proponent dated October 5, 2006.
Public Record
refers to the MOE's and Proponent’s public file maintained for the undertaking in accordance with section 30 of the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA).
ACR
refers to an annual compliance report
CMP
refers the compliance monitoring program
TCP
refers the technology conversion plan

1. General conditions

  1. The Proponent shall comply with all the provisions of the EA submitted to the MOE which are hereby incorporated by reference except as provided in these conditions and as provided in any other approvals or permits that may be issued.
  2. These proposed conditions do not prevent more restrictive conditions being imposed under other statutes.

2. Public record

  1. Where a document is required for the Public Record, it shall be provided to the Director for filing with the Public Record maintained for this undertaking.

    Additional copies of such documents will be provided by the Proponent for public access at:

    1. The Regional Director’s Office;
    2. The MOE's York-Durham District Office;
    3. The Clerk’s Office of the Regional Municipality of York;
    4. The Clerk’s Office of the Town of Markham; and,
    5. The Clerk’s Office of the City of Toronto’s Scarborough Civic Centre.

    These documents may also be provided through other means as considered appropriate by the Proponent and acceptable to the Director.

3. Compliance monitoring and reporting

Submission of CMP

  1. The Proponent shall prepare and submit to the Director for review, comment and for placement on the Public Record an Environmental Assessment CMP as committed to in section 11.3 of the EA. The CMP shall be submitted no later than one year from the date of approval of the undertaking, or 60 days before the commencement of construction, whichever is earlier. A statement must accompany the CMP when submitted to the Director Indicating that it is intended to fulfill this condition. The CMP, as may be amended by the Director, shall be carried out by the Proponent.
  2. The Proponent shall provide a copy of the CMP to those agencies, affected stakeholders and/or members of the public who expressed an Interest in the activity being addressed or being involved in the subsequent work no later than one year from the date of approval of the undertaking, or 60 days before the commencement of construction, whichever is earlier. If the Director amends the CMP, the Proponent shall ensure that the amended copy of the CMP is provided to those agencies, affected stakeholders and/or members of the public who expressed an interest in the activity being addressed or being involved in a timely manner.

Purpose of CMP

  1. The Proponent shall prepare a CMP in order to provide a framework for the monitoring of the Proponent’s fulfillment of the conditions of approval as set out in this Notice of Approval, and the fulfillment of the provisions of the EA for mitigation measures, built-in attributes to reduce environmental effects, public and Aboriginal community consultation, additional studies and work to be carried out, and for all other commitments made during the preparation of the EA and the subsequent review of the EA.
  2. The CMP shall at a minimum:
    1. set out the purpose, method and frequency of activities to fulfill compliance;
    2. provide a frame work for recording and documenting results through the ACR;
    3. describe the actions required to address the commitments;
    4. provide an implementation schedule for when the commitments shall be completed;
    5. provide indicators of compliance; and,
    6. include, but not be limited to, a consideration of the commitments outlined in Tables 10-1 to 10-4 and Section 11.3.1 and Section 11.3.2 of the EA. and the Proponent’s letter and attachments dated June 1, 2006, revised responses dated June 16, 2006 and responses dated October 5, 2006.

Submission of ACR

  1. The Proponent shall prepare an ACR which describes the results of the CMP and shall do so annually.
  2. The Proponent shall submit each ACR to the Director for review and comment and for placement on the Public Record.
  3. The timing for the submission of the ACRs shall be set out in the CMP, including the timing for submission of the first ACR.
  4. The Proponent shall submit ACRs until all applicable conditions of approval and commitments of the EA are satisfied or until the Director notifies the Proponent that no further reports are warranted.
  5. The Proponent shall make the ACR available to the MOE or its designate upon request in a timely manner during an on-site inspection or audit, in response to a pollution incident report, or when information concerning compliance is requested by the MOE.

Purpose of ACR

  1. The Proponent shall prepare ACRs which describe the results of the Proponent’s Environmental Assessment Compliance Monitoring Program.
  2. When all conditions have been satisfied,the Proponent shall indicate in the ACR that this is its final submission.

4. Transit technology

Purpose of the TCP

  1. The Proponent shall prepare a TCP that identifies how, when and if the undertaking will convert from a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) to a Light Rail Rapid Transit (LRT).

Submission of the TCP

  1. Copies of the final TCP shall be submitted to the Regional Director for review and comment and to the Director for placement in the Public Record file.
  2. The Proponent shall notify the Director and Regional Director 30 days before the technology conversion is to occur.

Requirements of the TCP

  1. The TCP shall include an implementation schedule.
  2. The TCP shall include information about ridership levels and compatibility of the corridor with other transit systems.
  3. Further to Section 5.7 of the EA which outlines that converting from BRT to LRT is dependent on other transit initiatives being developed, a copy of the TCP shall be provided to the City of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission, and the Town of Markham for review and comment. The Proponent shall provide these stakeholders a minimum 30-day comment period.

5. Undertaking route

  1. The Proponent shall consult with the City of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission and the Town of Markham to determine transit compatibility, prior to changing the transit system route from a mixed traffic operation to a median transit corridor.
  2. The Proponent shall notify the Director and Regional Director 30 days before the transit system route change occurs.

6. Implementation of the undertaking

Purpose of the status report

  1. The Proponent shall prepare and submit to the Director for review and comment a Status Report, no later than the date which is five years from the date of this approval, if the construction of the undertaking has not commenced.

Submission of the status report

  1. Copies of the Status Report shall be submitted to the Director and Regional Director for review and comment and for placement in the Public Record file.
  2. A Status Report shall be submitted to the Director and Regional Director for review and comment every five years until such time that the construction of the undertaking has commenced unless the Director specifies otherwise.

Requirements of the status report

  1. The Status Report shall describe any changes in the existing environmental conditions from the date of the Order-in-Council; provide a detailed description of the progress of the undertaking; outline the reasons why the construction of the undertaking has not commenced; and a forecast of the likelihood of the commencement of construction in the next five years.
  2. The Status Report shall also describe any technology conversion plans and describe any routing changes as proposed in the EA that may have been developed over the last five year period.
  3. The Status Report shall make reference to the TCP and any consultation efforts that have occurred between the Proponent and the City of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission and the Town of Markham with regards to the transit system route.

7. Air quality

Purpose of the air quality report

  1. The Proponent shall prepare a comprehensive Air Quality Assessment Report to address the air quality impacts of the Region’s transportation projects. The study area for the air quality report willbe determined by the Proponent in consultation with the Regional Director.

Submission of the air quality assessment report

  1. Copies of the Air Quality Assessment Report shall be submitted to the Regional Director for review and comment and to the Director for placement in the Public Record file.
  2. The Air Quality Assessment Report shall be submitted to the Regional Director prior to any construction beginning on the undertaking, including site preparation.

Requirements of the air quality report

  1. The Air Quality Assessment Report shall, at a minimum, include the following:
    1. A comparison of predicted contaminant concentrations with all available Ontario Regulation 419/05 Air Pollution-Local Air Quality Regulation Schedule 3 standards, ministry’s ambient air quality criteria and proposed Canada Wide Standards for: Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Particulate Matter – Total Suspended Particulates (TSP) as well as PM10 and PM2.5, and selected Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs);
    2. An assessment of the study area, as determined in condition 7.1, consisting of a comparison between the background contaminant concentration levels and anticipated contaminant concentration levels resulting from the project, including future traffic volumes;
    3. A broad-based air quality impact mitigation plan which will assist in reducing contaminant concentrations that exceed appropriate criteria/standards expected to result from construction/implementation of the project;
    4. Development of project contaminant emission rates using a base year and future years as required;
    5. Use of appropriate Emission and Dispersion Models (e.g. Mobile 6, US EPA CAL3QHCR, Aermod);
    6. Use of five years of meteorological data (including surface and upper air data);
    7. Definition of roadway links as necessary;
    8. Calculation of predicted contaminant concentrations at nearby sensitive receptors;
    9. Traffic volume data;
    10. Detailed presentation of predicted data (including model input data); and,
    11. Presentation of conclusions and recommendations.

8. Complaints protocol

  1. Prior to construction the Proponent shall prepare a Complaints Protocol on how it will deal with and respond to inquiries and complaints received during the construction and operation of the undertaking. The Proponent shall submit the protocol to the Regional Director, District Manager and Town of Markham for review and comment. The Complaints Protocol shall be placed on the Public Record.

9. Consultation and other work required

  1. The Proponent shall conduct any subsequent archaeological assessments for the segment on Warden Avenue south of Denison Street to Steeles Avenue that may be required should this routing alternative be pursued. The Proponent shall consult with affected stakeholders identified during the EA process, including the Ministry of Culture on its findings and obtain any necessary approvals prior to proceeding with construction.
  2. If a Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment is required to be prepared and aboriginal archaeological resources are encountered during the preparation of that Assessment, the Proponent shall provide a copy of that Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment to the Huron-Wendat First Nation of Wendake, Quebec and any additional relevant Aboriginal communities as identified by the archaeologist, based on the findings of that Stage 2 Archaeological Assessment.
  3. The Proponent shall provide the Huron-Wendat First Nation of Wendake, Quebec and any other relevant Aboriginal communities as warranted by the Stage 2 findings with 30 days to provide comments on the Stage 2 Assessment and the opportunity to reasonably participate in the Stage 3 Archaeological Assessment if the Stage 3 Archaeological Assessment is required in relation to Aboriginal archaeological resources.
  4. The Proponent shall consult with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and other expressly interested stakeholders, as committed to in the responses dated June 1, 2006, regarding the storm water management plan.

10. Amending the design of the undertaking

  1. If the Proponent determines that there is a minor modification and that modification does not alter the expected net effects of the undertaking, the procedure set out in section 11.4 in the EA applies to this modification.
  2. Notwithstanding condition 10.1, section 11.4 of the EA does not apply where there is a change to the undertaking within the meaning of section 12 of the Environmental Assessment Act.
  3. The Proponent shall consult with EAAB to determine the appropriate steps if there is uncertainty as to the application of conditions of approval 10.1 or 10.2.

Dated the 9th day of November 2006 at Toronto

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