RE: RE: Federal Environmental assesments Here is what Mr. Barlow actually said... I just dug up the email from July.
Thank you for your inquiry regarding the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012) and how it applies to the Raven Underground Coal Mine Project. The CEAA 2012 and related regulations came into force July 06, 2012. Comprehensive studies begun under the former Act will continue to be conducted under the process outlined in the former Act in accordance with specified timelines. For the environmental assessment of the Raven Underground Coal Mine Project, this means that, a comprehensive study report must be provided to Minister no later than six months of government time after CEAA 2012 came into force.
On June 7, 2012, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Guidelines / Application Information Requirements (AIR) document was issued to the proponent and posted on the Agency and EAO websites, and the proponent must meet the requirements specified within this document when submitting the EIS/Application for this project. The submission of the EIS Guidelines/AIR document effectively stopped the clock on federal time as proponent controls the timing around their work activities, not government officials.
Once the EIS/Application is submitted to the Agency and EAO the six months of government time will begin. A third public comment period related to the EIS/Application will take place during this timeframe. This will later be followed by a fourth public comment period on the Agency’s Comprehensive Study Report , which outlines the Agency’s conclusions regarding the potential environmental effects of the project, the proposed mitigation measures and the significance of the remaining adverse environmental effects. The Comprehensive Study Report and all public comments related to it will be submitted to the Minister for consideration in his environmental assessment decision. The Minister's decision is not part of the six month timeline.
I trust you will find this information helpful. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or require further clarification.
Regards,
Chris Barlow
Project Manager | Gestionnaire de projets
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency |
Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale