Notice of approval

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

Take notice that the period for requiring a hearing, provided for in the Notice of Completion of the Review for the above noted undertaking, expired on December 20, 2005. I received three submissions before the expiration date. One submission requested that I refer the application for a hearing and decision by the Environmental Review Tribunal.

I consider a hearing to be unnecessary in this case. 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 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. No other beneficial alternative method of implementing the undertaking was identified.
  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 (section 2).
  4. The Government Review Team has indicated no outstanding concerns that cannot be addressed through conditions of approval or other processes that will be required prior to implementation. The public review of the Environmental Assessment did not identify any outstanding concerns which cannot be addressed through these conditions of approval.
  5. The submissions received after the Notice of Completion of the Review was published are 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 Ministry of the Environment.
Director
refers to the Director of the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch.
Regional Director
refers to the Director of the Ministry of the Environment’s Central Regional Office.
EA
refers to the document titled Yonge Street Corridor Public Transit Improvements Environmental Assessment Report, dated July, 2005, Appendices Volume 1 and 2 dated July 2005, and the response from the Regional Municipality of York dated October 13, 2005, and Appendices A and D of the Ministry Review.
Public Record
refers to the MOE's and proponent’s public file maintained for the undertaking.

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. This also includes the summaries of commitments for additional work, built in attributes and monitoring identified in Tables 11-1 to 11-4 and Tables 12-1 to 12-3 of the EA.
  2. The Proponent shall implement any additional commitments made and recorded in their response and attachments dated October 13, 2005, except as provided for in these conditions or as provided by other approvals, authorizations or permits required for the undertaking.
  3. 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 Clerk’s Office of the Regional Municipality of York; the Town of Richmond Hill; the Town of Markham; and the City of Vaughan.

    These documents may also be provided through other means as considered appropriate by the proponent.

3. Compliance monitoring and reporting

  1. The Proponent shall prepare and submit to the Director for review and approval and for placement on the Public Record an Environmental Assessment Compliance Monitoring Program (Program). This Program shall be submitted one year from the date of approval of the undertaking, or 60 days before the commencement of construction, whichever is earlier. The Program shall be prepared for the monitoring of the Proponent’s 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, conditions of approval and for all other commitments made during the preparation of the EA and the subsequent review of the EA. Once approved, copies shall be submitted to those agencies, affected stakeholders and/or memberS of the public who expressed an interest in the activity being addressed or being involved in subsequent work.
  2. The Program shall include the actions required to address the Region’s commitments, a schedule for when commitments shall be completed and indicators of compliance. The Program shall specifically include, but not be limited to, the additional commitments outlined in Tables 11-1 to 11-4 and Tables 12-1 to 12-3 in the EA, and Proponent’s letter and attachments dated October 13, 2005.
  3. 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.
    1. The Proponent shall prepare an Annual Compliance Report (ACR) which describes the results of the Proponent’s Environmental Assessment Compliance Monitoring Program. The Proponent shall submit to the Directors of the EAAB and Central Region, for placement on the Public Record, a copy of the ACR. The timing for the submission of the ACR shall be set out in the Program. The proponent shall submit the ACR until all conditions are satisfied. When all conditions have been satisfied, the proponent shall indicate in the ACR that this is its final submission.
    2. The Proponent shall make the documentation 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.

4. Transit technology

    1. The proponent shall prepare and submit to the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) the results of their Ridership Monitoring Program (Ridership Program) as committed to in section 5.2.2.3. of the EA.
    2. The Proponent shall prepare a Technology Conversion Plan (TCP) that identifies when and if conversion from a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) to a Light Rail Rapid Transit (LRT) facility will occur. If conversion is to occur prior to 2021, the TCP shall provide an implementation schedule.
    3. The Ridership Program and TCP shall be placed on the Public Record file at the EAAB and the MOE's Central Regional Office.
    4. A copy of the Ridership Program and TCP shall be provided to the City of Toronto, GO Transit, the Ministry of Transportation, the Towns of Markham and Richmond Hill and the City of Vaughan for review.

5. Complaints protocol

  1. Prior to construction the Proponent shall prepare and develop a 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 Central Region Director for placement on the Public Record.

6. Consultation and other work required

  1. The Proponent will consult with affected stakeholders and Aboriginal communities and obtain all necessary approvals prior to any watercourse alteration of Pomona Mills Creek;
  2. The Proponent will undertake a Stage II Archaeological Assessment and any subsequent Archaeological Assessments that may be required. The proponent is to consult with affected stakeholders and Aboriginal communities on their findings and obtain any necessary approvals prior to proceeding with construction;
  3. The Proponent will undertake and consult on a Streetscape Plan for the Yonge Street Corridor; and
  4. The Proponent has committed to incorporating specific details of the Thornhill Yonge Street Study into the final design of the undertaking and to consult with the Society for the Preservation of Historic Thornhill.

7. Amending the undertaking

    1. Except as prescribed in clause (ii) of this condition, in the event that there is a minor change to the design of the undertaking which does not affect the expected net effects of the undertaking or result in a change to the undertaking as described in the EA, these changes may be considered minor and dealt with by the proponent as described in section 12.5 in the EA report.
    2. In the event that the Proponent determines that a major amendment to the approved undertaking as described in the EA is required, the amendment to the undertaking will be subject to section 12 of the Environmental Assessment Act.

Dated 5th day of April, 2006 at Toronto

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