Français

S.M. 1990-91, c. 15

Bill 24, 1st Session, 35th Legislature

The Environment Amendment Act

(Assented to January 21, 1991)

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

C.C.S.M. c. E125 amended

1

The Environment Act is amended by this Act.

Sections 13.1 and 13.2 added

2

The following is added after section 13:

Agreements with other jurisdictions

13.1(1)

If a proposed development that requires an environmental licence under this Act may have an environmental impact of concern to a jurisdiction other than Manitoba, the minister may, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council and subject to the regulations, enter into an agreement with that jurisdiction

(a) to establish a joint assessment process; or

(b) to provide for the use of that jurisdiction's assessment process;

for the purpose of gathering the information necessary to make a decision to issue or refuse to issue a licence under section 10, 11 or 12.

Equivalent assessment

13.1(2)

The minister shall not enter into an agreement under subsection (1) unless

(a) the minister is satisfied that the agreement provides for an assessment that is at least equivalent to the assessment that would otherwise be required under this Act; and

(b) the agreement provides for

(i) notification of the public in Manitoba about the filing of the proposal through the use of the central registry and by way of advertisements in the media;

(ii) comments and objections from members of the public related, at a minimum, to the proposal, the guidelines for the assessment of the proposal, the assessment and the review of the assessment;

(iii) public hearings in Manitoba about the proposal by a panel established for the purposes of the assessment process;

(iv) the appointment jointly by the ministers who are parties to the agreement of the members of the panel when a joint assessment process is established under clause (l)(a);

(v) a requirement that the minister be satisfied that each proposed member of the panel is unbiased and free of any conflict of interest relative to the proposal and has special knowledge or experience relevant to the anticipated environmental effects of the proposal;

(vi) a program relating to the provision of financial assistance to members of the public participating in the assessment process when in the opinion of the minister such a program is desirable;

(vii) opportunity for the minister or the director, as the case may be, to require further information before making a decision regarding licensing if, in the opinion of the minister or the director, the assessment process has not produced sufficient information on which to base such a decision.

Participant funding by proponents

13.2

The minister may, in accordance with the regulations, require a proponent of a development that is subject to an assessment under section 10, 11, 12 or 13.1 to provide financial or other assistance to any person or group participating in the assessment process.

Subsection 41(1) amended

3

Subsection 41(1) is amended by adding the following after clause (y):

(z) respecting agreements and assessment processes under section 13.1 and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, respecting the criteria and procedures for entering into agreements with other jurisdictions regarding the use of the assessment process of the other jurisdiction to gather the information necessary for decisions required under section 10, 11 or 12;

(aa) respecting the financial and other assistance to be provided under section 13.2 to persons and groups participating in the assessment process by proponents of a development including

(i) the mechanism for receiving and approving requests for such assistance,

(ii) eligibility requirements for such assistance,

(iii) expenditures that may be included in a request for such assistance,

(iv) information to be provided with a request for such assistance,

(v) the allocation of such assistance among participants.

Coming into force

4

This Act is retroactive and is deemed to have come into force on November 1, 1990.