7 - Significance Flashcards
_______________ is one of the most critical aspects in impact assessment, and one of the most contested.
Significance
Where does significance determination begin?
At the outset of the EA process when a decision is made as to whether the proposal requires a formal assessment.
Where is the term significance used in an IA?
In the section of determining significance in the IA
Define Residual Effects:
The effects that remain after the proposed mitigation measures are taken into consideration
What are the five understandings that characterize Significance Determination?
- Not solely a scientific exercise
- What is significant varies based on the values and perceptions of those assessing / considering it
- Varies with context
- Uncertainty is inherent
- No standard method
Define Impact Measurement:
The characteristics of the impact.
Define Impact Meaning:
The context within which those characteristics are viewed and interpreted.
What are the 7 Impact Measurement Characteristics?
- Frequency and Duration
- Impact Magnitude
- Likelihood
- Nature of Impact
- Order of Impact
- Reversibility
- Spatial Extent
What are the 7 Impact Meaning Characteristics?
- Benchmarks
- Culture
- Contributions to sustainability
- Political Context
- Regulatory designations
- Social values
- Vulnerability
What is the impact significance equation?
Characterization x Importance = Impact Significance
What are three things to note what assessing with your impact significance equation?
- Not all potential impacts can be considered;
- Not all impacts should be considered to the same level of detail; and
- Impacts vary in their decision-making importance
Define Effect Context:
Legal or regulatory designations / standards of limits, vulnerability, cultural context and recognized or expressed rights, contributions to sustainability, social values and acceptability, political context, and public interest.
What are the three Regulatory Limits?
- Exclusionary
- Mandatory
- Probable
What does a Exclusionary regulatory limit consider?
Least to automatic rejection of a proposal.
What does a Mandatory regulatory limit consider?
Leads to mandatory finding of significance.
What does a Probable regulatory limit consider?
Normally significant but subject to confirmation.
What does Vulnerability mean in the context of Significance?
A series of parameters related to the stress to which a VC is exposed because of pre-existing impacts or sensitivities or other types of stressors that reduces the resilience of a system.
Know the Vulnerability spectrum:
Chapter 7
What piece of legislation entrenches Indigenous and Treaty rights and imposes an obligation to governments on justifying any interference with the exercise of those rights?
Section 35 of the Constitution Act
What speaks to the understanding of community context?
Guidance and Indigenous Knowledge under the Impact Assessment Act.
Remember the Federal Overview of Methodology:
Chapter 7
What are the four Sustainability Principles?
- Interconnectedness and interdependence of human-ecological systems.
- Well-being of present and future generations.
- Positive effects and reduce adverse effects of a designated project; and
- Apply the precautionary principle and consider uncertainty and risk of irreversible harm.
What are the five public interest factors of the federal policy framework on the determination of public interest?
- The extent to which the designated project contributes to sustainability.
- The extent to which the adverse effects within federal jurisdiction and the adverse direct or incidental effects that are indicated in the Impact Assessment Report in respect to the designated project are significant.
- The implementation of the mitigation measures that the Minister or the governor in council considers appropriate.
- The impact that the designated project may have on any Indigenous group and any adverse impact that the designated project may have on the rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, recognized and affirmed by Section 35 of the Constitution Act.
- The extent to which the effects of the designated project hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada’s ability to meet its environmental obligations and its commitments in respect to climate change.
What are the four approaches to Significance Determination?
- Collaborative Approach
- Composite Approach
- Reasoned Approach
- Technical Approaches
Which of the approaches to Significance Determination relies “on standardized scales and quantified methods”?
Technical Approach
Which of the approaches to Significance Determination has “no predefined thresholds or criteria, rather judgement of what is important / acceptable/ within the limits of allowable change”?
Collaborative Approach
Which of the approaches to Significance Determination is “reasoned judgement supported by evidence, usually qualitative”?
Reasoned Argument
Which of the approaches to Significance Determination has “various combinations of technical, collaborative, and argumentative approaches”?
Composite Approach
Know the Range of Acceptability for Significance Determination:
!
Know the Decision Tree for determining Acceptability of impacts:
What were some of the criteria used to evaluate the VC’s in the Keeyask project?
- Direction or nature
- Magnitude
- Spatial boundaries
- Temporal boundaries
What are the three key principles for Determining Significance?
- Transparency on how the determination is made
- Inclusiveness and diversity in how the determination is made
- Consideration of uncertainty in the factors considered
When making sense of Significance in EIAs, you should do what four things?
- Have a clear operational framework for how significance is determined.
- Focus attention only on significant issues.
- Ensure that the term significance is specified and consistently applied.
- Uphold transparency in decision-making to determinations are clear to all stakeholders.
