Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Highway 413 Act proposed through Bill 212. Staff from the Town of Halton Hills has the following comments:

• The Act should define the term “mitigation” and refer to the use of the mitigation hierarchy in relation to the assessment environmental impacts and mitigation. Mitigation definition should include actions taken to reduce the severity and duration of an environmental impact. The mitigation hierarchy is a long-standing near universal framework for considering and prioritizing mitigation measures that should be applied to a project to limit negative impacts on the environment. The framework involves four iterative steps of avoiding, minimizing, restoring and finally offsetting to ensure the project achieves at minimum no net loss and more appropriately a net ecological gain.
• The Act should define the term “negative impact” as it relates to the environmental impact assessment. The definition should be consistent with relevant provincial and federal guidance (Niagara Escarpment Plan, PPS, Impact Assessment Act) and should incorporate the definition of an “adverse effect” as defined by the Environmental Protection Act.
• The definition of “significant change” includes (e)(ii) which suggests that changes to how or whether the Minister will mitigate negative impacts are exempt as a significant change that requires assessment and reporting provided they are ‘prescribed’ changes. This definition leaves the option open to the Minister to decide through regulation if and when environmental impacts will be mitigated, which could contrast with the recommendations of the final EIAR. As no person shall carry out the project except in accordance with the final EIAR, as amended, it is appropriate that the mitigation recommendations made in the final EIAR be echoed through the design and implementation phases of the project. Changes made to improve mitigation techniques are less problematic than decisions made that eliminate or reduce the efficacy of mitigation. As such the definition of (e) should be scrutinized to ensure that the Minister is required to implement all necessary mitigation techniques to address environmental impacts as recommended by in the final EIAR and by any persons defined under the Act.
• Impacts or early works should still be addressed. The Bill as proposed exempts early works from requirements of consultation and assessment of environmental impacts. Since municipalities are considered persons under the act and would be on the distribution list for the draft EIAR it would be prudent to include the Town in discussions related to the planning and implementation of early works to ensure that Town interests are considered.
• The Act, as proposed, grants the Province regulation making authority for adding early works and prescribing the types of changes considered to be significant. Considering the prescribed regulation making authority, potential impacts to the Town and its residents from the inclusion of activities that would be exempted from the standard EA process, are unknow. The MTO should schedule regular meetings with municipal staff to ensure continuous communication and consultation on activities that may be added as part of the early works or any potential changes which would be excluded from the standard EIA Process.