Our Town finds itself in the…

Our Town finds itself in the midst of "Class EAs" in particular those related with water, wastewater, roads and landfill closure/new sites. Also we are embarking on an an initiative involving preparing a 55 acre industrial park. When we review costs, resources and time frames involved the current process is archaic and frankly overwhelming from a financial perspective. If the Government of Ontario wants to streamline the process then we are all for it. Perhaps a more comprehensive guide to Class EAs could be fabricated that does not require a municipality to have to hire consulting engineers to complete. In reviewing our industrial park engineering costs associated with the EA are exceeding $400K. This expenditure alone has the ability to permanently derail or cause lengthy delays because of municipal budgeting requirements. Perhaps the Ontario Government should maintain a "cap" on costs associated with a "EA" and have a list of qualified engineers that can work within. the financial "cap" being proposed. Regarding First Nation consultations, the Ontario Government should also maintain a list of FN contacts that can be consulted within the municipality that their traditional lands are situated on. As we move forward, templates of Class EAs should be developed congruent to the type of project being proposed. This would enable municipalities to actually do a vast majority of the work involved to perform an EA "in-house".