The Environmental Assessment Process

The Environmental Assessment Process starts when a developer registers a project to government regulators for approval. In the case of the Lower Churchill Project, the environmental assessment process was initiated in December 2006, prior to the creation of Nalcor Energy, by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (Hydro).

As required, Hydro registered the Project with the provincial and federal governments. Based on the review of the Project registration document, and comments from the public, the provincial and federal governments determined that a coordinated assessment of the Project through a Joint Review Panel would be required. This is the highest level of environmental assessment in Canada.

Guidelines for the Environmental Assessment

After determining the level of assessment required, the federal and provincial governments developed a draft set of guidelines for writing an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) to support the review. An EIS is the documentation that is provided to the Joint Review Panel by the developer.

A draft version of the EIS Guidelines was circulated to the public for comments. After considering the comments received on the draft guidelines, the governments issued final guidelines in July 2008. The final guidelines provide direction on what should be considered in the EIS. This includes assessing the potential effects on land, air, water, wildlife, fish, people and communities.

These guidelines also identified consultation requirements with local communities and Aboriginal groups. The involvement of communities in the Project planning and environmental assessment process is outlined in the Community Involvement section.

Appointment of the Joint Review Panel

A Joint Review Panel is an independent body appointed by the provincial and federal governments. They are mandated to carry out the environmental assessment in an objective and unbiased manner. On January 9, 2009, provincial and federal governments announced the appointment of a five-member panel to lead the environmental assessment of the Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Generation Project.

More information about the Panel can be obtained from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency web site at http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/ and on the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment and Conservation web site at www.env.gov.nl.ca/env/.

Submission of the EIS

An EIS was submitted to the Joint Review Panel in February 2009. The Panel is responsible for initiating a public review process to determine if the document meets the requirements stated in the guidelines. If there are any deficiencies identified in the documentation, the Joint Review Panel will identify what additional information is required.

Public Hearings

Once the Panel determines there is adequate information, they will release a schedule for a series of public hearings. The public hearings will be administered by the Panel to consider the findings and conclusions of the EIS and hear the concerns of stakeholder groups and the general public.

Final Decisions

At the conclusion of the public hearings, the Panel will adjourn and write their report. The report will then be delivered to the provincial and federal government environment ministers for their consideration.

The provincial and federal environment ministers will then make their independent decisions regarding the Project proposal. This marks the conclusion of the environmental assessment process. Assuming the decision is positive, the developer would then be in a position to proceed to the permitting and licensing stage.