Class Environmental Assessment
Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) applies to projects undertaken by government, including highway projects, and sets out a decision-making process intended to promote the protection, conservation and wise management of Ontario’s environment. Major projects subject to the EAA must undergo an individual environmental assessment (EA), but the EAA also allows streamlined approval processes, called Class Environmental Assessments (Class EAs), which are especially designed for certain groups of projects with shared, predictable characteristics. A Class Environmental Assessment document is a template of rules that can be applied to any activity caught in that class, and is often called a “parent Class EA” because it sets rules governing hundreds and possibly thousands of site-specific projects. Despite the importance of Class EAs, ministries have taken the position that Class Environmental Assessment documents are not subject to regular posting on the Environmental Registry as proposals under the Environmental Bill of Rights. Projects approved under a Class Environmental Assessment are typically managed by the proponent, and involve only limited monitoring by the Ministry of the Environment.
| This is an article from the 2004/05 Annual Report to the Legislature from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. |
Citing This Article:
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. 2005. "Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Transportation Facilities." Planning our Landscape, ECO Annual Report, 2004-05. Toronto, ON : Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. 115.
