Screening & Scoping

Question 1

what is case-by-case screening?

Answer 1

Screen In- Screen Out

screens a project against a checklist of regulations or guidelines

time consuming, inconsistent, vague–> can be worded sneaky to ‘work around’ screening

Question 2

What is List Based Screening?

Answer 2

-projects falling on the inclusion list require an EA
-type of screening use in IAA2019
-Exclusion lists exists ex: national emergencies

Question 3

What is threshold based screening?

Answer 3

-categorizes projects
-sets thresholds but can have issues with projects just falling short and not needing one

Question 4

What is Hybrid Screening?

Answer 4

• the preferred/common method
  -threshold with case-to-case considerations
  -used by IAA2019
  ex: hydro development that uses over ___mWatts during production

Question 5

What are Physical Activities Regulations? (aka Project List)

Answer 5

IAA2019: when the physical activity associated with the proponent’s project is described on The List, the proponent must provide the Agency with an Initial Project Description

Question 6

What was the criticism of the past Project List? How has it been rectified?

Answer 6

was decided by the Ministry for Environment which created a power imbalance

now is decided by the Government in Council, group of ministries that operates under collective decision making

Question 7

T/F only environmental aspects are considered in an EA

Answer 7

false, the decision to do an EA is not entirely an environmental decision it is also a social and political one

Question 8

What environmental elements are valued the most under federal jurisdiction?

Answer 8

1. fish & fish habitat
2. aquatic species at risk
3. migratory birds
4. changes to environment on federal land (+ reserves)
5. federally regulated project effects like nuclear, rail, port, pipelines, offshore energy

Question 9

example of oil & gas hybrid screening

Answer 9

New oil refinery, including a heavy oil upgrader, with an input capacity of 10 000 m3 per day or more; Expansion of an existing oil refinery, including a heavy oil upgrader, that would result in an increase in input capacity of 50% or more and a total input capacity of 10 000 m3 per day or more.

input + output = thresholds
oil refinery= project list

Question 10

Transportation related project hybrid screening process

Answer 10

New freight or inter-city passenger railway line that requires a total of 50 km or more of new right of way.

Question 11

example of a new mining operation hybrid screening

Answer 11

New metal mill with an ore input capacity of 5 000 t/day or more; Expansion of an existing metal mill that would result in an increase in the area of mine operations of 50% or more and a total ore input capacity of 5 000 t/day or more

Question 12

“federal lands and protected areas”

Answer 12

• aerodrome or runway
• aquaculture facility
  *canal or lock…

Question 13

Manitoba EA screening operates under a __ (type)____ process, and it determined by the _____.

Answer 13

operates under List Based screening (Class I, II, III)

determined by the gov

Question 14

what is the precautionary principle

Answer 14

“if a product, an action or a policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, protective action should be supported before there is complete scientific proof of a risk”

Question 15

4 steps to facilitate EA scoping process

Answer 15

1. scope project alternative
2. identify valued environmental components (VEC)
3. Delineate the assessments spatial and temporal boundaries
4. identify potential impacts/ concerns

Question 16

What is scoping?

Answer 16

determining the important issues and parameters that should be addressed in an EA, establish spatial & temporal boundaries, and focusing the ass on relevant issues and concerns

Question 17

define Terms of Reference (TOR)

Answer 17

parameters already given to base the project off of.

need to have knowledge and skills to identify parameters depending on project

ex: sea port vs wind mill vs mine

Question 18

2 types of scoping are:

Answer 18

open and closed scoping

Question 19

define closed scoping

Answer 19

-the content and scope is predetermined by law
-any modification is closed consultation b/w Agency and proponent

Question 20

3 most common parameters

Answer 20

-air quality
-water quality
-soil quality

Question 21

define open scoping

Answer 21

scope of the EA determined by transparent process based on consultation with varied interests

more recent and progressive

Question 22

Scoping Step 1: scope project alternative

Answer 22

-explore and consider alternatives to the proposed project
-often skipped/ignored

ex: do we need a new E building or can we buy it from somewhere else? can we try an alt E source?

Question 23

difference between alternative to and alternative means

Answer 23

alt to: before planning the project, you ask if its even needed

alt means: the project is going ahead, are there alt means to the current plan that mitigate issues/ are more efficient

Question 24

Step 2 of Scoping: Identify Values Environmental Components (VEC/EC/VC)

Answer 24

choosing publicly or scientifically valued components that warrant consideration in the EA

technically not just environmental, but human and physical

Question 25

In addition to social and ecological importance, VECs are considered based on:

Answer 25

-rarity
-fragility
-scientific value for study
-legal compliance
-economic importance
-professional judgement
-biodiversity and conservation value
-medicinal importance
-recreational value
-spiritual value

Question 26

how should you decide what VECs to look at for you EA?

Answer 26

look up previous EAs that follow a similar project

Question 27

the leopold matrix is represented by #/#, which ranks a resources (____)/(____)

Answer 27

magnitude / significance

Question 28

a good Indicator for a VEC is:

Answer 28

-measurable
-indicative of the VEC
-sensitive and detectable
-appropriate to spatial scale
-temporally reliable
-diagnostic to change
-applicable across develop project
-cheap to measure
-predictable and accurate
-easy to comprehend by all
-useful for informing management and decisions

Question 29

how to establish VEC objective??

Answer 29

Benchmark: standard/baseline/point of reference against which change is measured
Threshold:
established limits of change

Question 30

questions to ask when conducting a baseline study?

Answer 30

what do we need to know about the baseline environment to make a decision on the project?

what are the relevant background conditions that have influenced the current environment?

what is the likely baseline conditions in the future in the absence of the project?

Question 31

why is baseline data relevant to EA?

Answer 31

baseline data forms the basis on which impacts will be assessed

helps assess trends, rats, patterns, magnitude of change, and significance of VEC