STRATEGIC
ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT
OCTOBER 22, 2012
OVERVIEW
• Strategic Environmental Assessment
(Strategic EA): Introduction
• Cabinet Directive on Strategic EA
• Strategic EAs under Cabinet Directive
• Strategic EA: Farm Income Protection
Act
• Legislating Strategic EA
STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT: DEFINITIONS
• “The systematic and comprehensive process of
evaluating the environmental effects of a policy,
plan or program and its alternatives”
Cabinet Directive p. 13
• “Seeks to incorporate environmental
considerations into the development of public
policies and strategic decisions”
Cabinet Directive p. 2
STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT: DEFINITIONS
• “The evaluation of likely environmental,
including health effects, which comprises
determination of the scope of an environmental
report and its preparation, carrying-out of public
participation and consultations, and taking into
account of the environmental report and results
of public participation and consultations in a
plan or programme”
Strategic EA Protocol Art. 2
• Trend toward including economic and social, as
well as environmental, considerations
STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT
Strategic EAs can include assessment of:
• An industry sector, region, policy, plan,
program (oil sands in northern Alberta)
• First proposed project to introduce new
technology in region (tidal energy)
• International agreements (free trade)
• Identified environmental/sustainable
development challenge (energy policy)
• Respond to policy gap in project EA
STRATEGIC EA PRINCIPLES
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Integrated
Sustainability-led
Focused
Accountable
Participative
Iterative
Identify future outcomes
Consider alternatives
STRATEGIC EA
LEGAL, POLICY FRAMEWORKS
• Strategic EA Protocol
• Cabinet Directive on the Environmental
Assessment of Policy, Plan and
Program Proposals (federal)
• Farm Income Protection Act
• CEAA 2012 ss. 73, 74 Regional Studies
• Provinces lack SEA laws/policies (note
Ontario Environmental Bill of rights)
• European Union 2001 SEA Directive
STRATEGIC EA PROTOCOL
•
•
•
•
Protocol to Espoo Convention
Adopted 2003, entered into force 2010
Canada not signatory
Requires Parties to evaluate
environmental consequences of official
draft plans and programs
• Provides for public participation in
government decision-making in
numerous development sectors
STRATEGIC EA PROTOCOL
• Public has the right to know about plans
and programs, comment, have
comments taken into account, be told of
final decision and why it was taken
• Parties requested to inform each other
about plans/programs having significant
transboundary environmental effects
• If such effects, developing Party has
notification obligation and affected
public has comment rights
CABINET DIRECTIVE ON
STRATEGIC EA
• Strategic EA originally included in 1984
EARP Guidelines Order
• Cabinet Directive issued in 1990 to
complement CEAA project EA
• Amended 1999, 2004
• Not legally binding but issuance by
Privy Council Office carries weight
CABINET DIRECTIVE ON
STRATEGIC EA
• “Strong commitment to sustainable
development”
• Ministers expect a strategic EA
whenever a proposal:
– “may result in important environmental
effects”
– “is submitted to an individual Minister or
Cabinet for approval”
• What does “expect” mean?
• “Important” vs. “Significant”?
CABINET DIRECTIVE ON
STRATEGIC EA
• Ministers also expect strategic EA to
consider:
– Scope and nature of likely environmental
effects
– Need for mitigation
– Likely importance of environmental effects
• Strategic EA to contribute to
development of policies, programs,
plans on “an equal basis with economic
and social analysis”
CABINET DIRECTIVE ON
STRATEGIC EA
• “Level of effort” to be “commensurate
with level of anticipated environmental
effects”
• Environmental analysis to be integrated
into each option
• Use “existing mechanisms” to involve
public, “as appropriate”
• Prepare “public statement of
environmental effects” when “detailed
assessment” conducted
CABINET DIRECTIVE
GUIDELINES
Benefits of applying Cabinet Directive:
• Optimize positive, minimize or mitigate
negative effects
• Consider potential cumulative effects
• Implement Federal Sustainable
Development Strategy
• Save time and money (liability for cleanups, other unforeseen concerns)
• Streamline project-level assessment
• Promote accountability
CABINET DIRECTIVE
PROCESS
• Determine applicability
• Conduct preliminary scan
• Analyze environmental effects, including
public and stakeholder concerns
• Document and report
STRATEGIC EA FARM INCOME
PROTECTION ACT 1991
• S.4.(2) “Any program established under
FIPA should encourage long-term
environmental and economic stability”
• S.5.(2) An agreement with respect to
any program shall, . . . (b) require an
environmental assessment of the
program to be conducted within two
years . . . of the agreement and every
five years thereafter,”
STRATEGIC EA FARM INCOME
PROTECTION ACT 1991
• Strategic EAs conduced for following
programs:
– Gross Revenue Insurance Program
– Federal-Provincial Crop Insurance
Program
– Net Income Stabilization Account
– Western Grain Transportation Act
Amendments
– Branch Rail Line Abandonment in Western
Canada
STRATEGIC EA FARM INCOME
PROTECTION ACT 1991
• Key difference with Cabinet Directive
Strategic EAs conducted after
introduction of program
• Benefits
– Cabinet confidentiality not an issue
– Better data on environmental effects
– Full reports public accessible
• Key insight: most policies, programs,
plans are iterative, annual or cyclical
CABINET DIRECTIVE
EFFECTIVENESS
• “Cabinet Directive does little more than
communicate a general expectation to
identify and consider environmental
consequences of major decisions at the
federal level on par with social and
economic factors” Doelle p. 195
2004 AUDIT ENVIRONMENT
COMMISSIONER
• Level of commitment to and compliance
with Cabinet Directive was low
• Few strategic EAs conducted
• Completeness varied
• Tracking was inadequate
• Insufficient commitment by management
• No central responsibility for compliance
and quality control
2004 AUDIT ENVIRONMENT
COMMISSIONER
• Limited integration of results into
decision-making
• Few Strategic EAs made available to
public
• Even fewer involved the public in
Strategic EA process
PUBLIC STATEMENTS UNDER
CABINET DIRECTIVE
• CEA Agency website includes hundreds
of public statements produced by 7
federal departments (e.g., CIDA,
Environment, Finance, Parks Canada)
since 2004
• At least some Public Statements
indicate public has been consulted
• Data and analysis remain confidential
• Marmot Basin Public Statement
STRATEGIC EA OF BUDGETS
• Green Budget Coalition recommended
that selected fiscal measures in 2003
federal budget undergo Strategic EA
• Avoid Cabinet and budget confidentiality
issues by undertaking SEAs after
budget released
• Met with Clerk of Privy Council (Alex
Himmelfarb), who was enthusiastic
STRATEGIC EA OF BUDGETS
• Recent budgets include modest public
statements of environmental effects for
specific budget provisions
• Budget 2011
– Extension of 15% Mineral Exploration Tax
Credit for flow-through shares investors
– Expansion of accelerated capital cost
allowance Class 43.2 to include equipment
that generates electricity using waste heat
– Extending qualifying environmental trust
rules to pipelines
OTHER STRATEGIC EAS
• Tidal Energy in Bay of Fundy
• Free Trade Agreements (e.g., NAFTA)
• Nuclear Fuel Waste Management and
Disposal Concept Panel Review
LEGISLATING STRATEGIC EA
• House of Commons Environment
Committee June 2003 report
• Recommended that Privy Council Office
develop legislation establishing a legal
framework for Strategic EA
• Government response was to refer
Strategic EA issue to CEAA Regulatory
Advisory Committee
• Report completed but never tabled
(RAC in limbo)