DFO's Aquaculture Action Plan —
Interim Guide to Consideration of Cumulative Environmental
Effects Under CEAA Relative to Aquaculture Projects
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Table of Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION
2.0 BACKGROUND
3.0 ASSESSMENT OF CUMULATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
4.0 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The following Operational Policy Guidance is provided to guide DFO regional
staff in the consideration of cumulative environmental effects relative to
aquaculture projects under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) to
clarify:
- What other projects and activities should be considered in an assessment
of cumulative environmental effects?
- What environmental effects should be considered as cumulative?
- How can cumulative environmental effects be assessed when limited
information is available?
This guidance applies in situations where DFO is asked to provide federal
support in the form of a regulatory decision as identified on the Law List
Regulations.
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2.0 BACKGROUND
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) becomes a responsible authority (RA) and is
required to ensure that an environmental assessment of an aquaculture project is
conducted under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) when DFO
proposes to issue one or more of the following|1| :
- a paragraph 5(1)(a) or subsection 6(4) approval under the Navigable Waters
Protection Act (NWPA);
- a subsection 35(2) Fisheries Act authorization.
Section 2 of CEAA defines "environmental effect" as including:
"any change that the project may cause in the environment,
including any effect of any such change on health and socio-economic conditions,
on physical and cultural heritage, on the current use of lands and resources for
traditional purposes by aboriginal persons, or on any structure, site or thing
that is of historical, archaeological, paleontological or architectural
significance, and any change to the project that may be caused by the
environment, whether any such change occurs within or outside Canada."
Environment is defined by CEAA as:
"the components of the Earth, and includes land, water and air,
including all layers of the atmosphere, all organic and inorganic matter and
living organisms, and the interacting natural systems that include the
above-noted components."
The environmental assessment for an aquaculture project will usually be in
the form of a screening. Section 16 of CEAA indicates that every screening of a
project must include a consideration of the environmental effects of the
project, including a consideration of "any cumulative environmental effects that
are likely to result from the project in combination with other projects or
activities that have been or will be carried out".
1. The above assumes that a determination has
been made that the aquaculture proposal in question is a "project" under CEAA.
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3.0 ASSESSMENT
OF CUMULATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
It has been acknowledged by many that there are difficulties in assessing
cumulative environmental effects for many projects and activities. Key questions
arise, such as:
- What other projects and activities should be considered?
- What environmental effects should be considered as cumulative?
- How can cumulative environmental effects be assessed when limited
information is available?
This last issue can be problematic because most environmental assessment
processes (such as CEAA) apply to individual projects rather than to a region or
area (and the projects and activities within). Assessing the cumulative
environmental effects associated with aquaculture projects is no exception.
The following direction is provided to DFO assessors to assist themin
answering the above questions in order to carry out the assessment of cumulative
environmental effects as required under CEAA. How the assessor addresses each of
these questions in conducting the cumulative effects assessment should be
explained in the CEAA screening report, including the rationale for including or
not including certain projects/activities or environmental effects, the
information considered, assumptions made and conclusions reached.
3.1 What other projects and activities should be considered in an assessment of
cumulative environmental effects?
Cumulative environmental effects are environmental effects that result from
the project under review, in combination with other projects or activities.
Thus, an assessor must determine what other projects and activities to consider.
Under CEAA, there must be a consideration of cumulative environmental effects
of other projects and activities that have been (existing) or "will be carried
out", i.e., that are "certain" or "reasonably foreseeable". This implies that,
at a minimum, projects or activities that have already been approved, but not
yet carried out, must be considered. It would also be prudent to consider
projects or activities that are in a government approvals process.
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3.2 What environmental effects should be considered as cumulative?
During an environmental assessment, potential environmental effects relative
to the project under review and mitigation measures to minimize/reduce these
effects are identified in order to assess whether the project is likely to cause
significant adverse environmental effects. Consideration of cumulative
environmental effects in an assessment is an exercise by which the environmental
effects of a project are reviewed in light of the environmental effects of other
projects and activities that may have affected or will affect the same aspect(s)
of the environment.
Only those environmental effects of other projects and activities that are
cumulative with the environmental effects of the project under review should be
included in the cumulative effects assessment. For example, if a finfish
aquaculture project is likely to cause adverse effects to local water quality,
and local water quality is also affected by an nearby processing plant, then
this effect is cumulative and should be considered in the assessment.
If the environmental effects of other projects or activities are not likely
to act in combination, then it is not necessary to include them in the
assessment. For example, if migratory bird habitat is not affected by a proposed
aquaculture project but is affected by an existing project, then this effect is
not cumulative as a result of the project under review and would not be
considered in the assessment.
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3.3 How can cumulative environmental effects be assessed when limited
information is available?
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is developing various scientific tools, as
well as working with industry and provincial agencies, to understand the
environmental issues associated with aquaculture better and to facilitate the
assessment of cumulative environmental effects. Monitoring results associated
with provincial licencing and federal monitoring requirements are providing
additional information. However, not all of these tools are currently available
and direction is required on how to proceed in the absence of some information.
Based upon the project- and site-specific information provided by the
proponent for an individual project, as well as any available information
relative to other projects or activities in the area or region, an assessment of
cumulative environmental effects can be undertaken.
Such an assessment should include the following:
- Quantitative assessment, based upon relevant modeling or other tools, if
they exist. Where possible, consider the carrying capacity, tolerance level or
assimilative capacity of the natural system(s) and/or comparison with existing
environmental standards, guidelines and objectives and regional or area
management plans appropriate to the situation.
- Qualitative analysis, based upon available information, scientific
understanding and professional judgement. Include an analysis of risk and
probability. An analysis of worst case and best case scenarios can also be
useful.
- Consideration of the following:
- severity of the effects;
- the geographic extent of such effects;
- the duration and frequency of such effects;
- the degree to which such effects are reversible; and
- fragility of ecological area.
- Implementation of mitigation.
Regardless of the method(s) of assessment of cumulative environmental
effects, an assessor should provide clear indication in the CEAA screening
report of the information considered, the quantitative and/or qualitative
assessment, any assumptions made and conclusions reached.
An adaptive management approach should be adopted to ensure that results of
any relevant monitoring or studies are analysed and that adjustments are made to
the project and/or its operation to maintain the adverse effects on the
environment below the significance threshold..
The adaptive management approach should include:
- the follow-up (monitoring) program required by DFO under section 35 of the
Fisheries Act relative to potential impacts to fish habitat (details of this
program will be addressed through an agreement between DFO and the proponent);
- any required follow-up (monitoring) program specific to the project
relative to other potential environmental effects;
- results of ongoing scientific research or studies relative to the
geographic area or results which are extrapolable to the area; and
- analysis of these data to identify the need for additional mitigation
and/or changes to the project or its operation.
The results of any follow-up program and research and studies will contribute
to the ongoing analysis of cumulative environmental effects of aquaculture by
DFO, industry and provincial agencies.
To ensure the implementation of any follow-up program, a proponent will be
required to implement aspects of a monitoring program specific to the project.
At this time, the project proponent will only be required to report on aspects
of the effects of his own project on the environment, including conducting
scheduled monitoring, reporting the findings, and in addition, implementing
identified mitigation measures should cumulative environmental effects
associated with the project be identified that are unexpected or more extensive
than expected. In addition, security for costs may be required should the
proponent fail to comply with the terms and conditions for the implementation of
the follow-up program and required mitigation measures.
Such a follow-up program should be incorporated as a condition of the project
proceeding in several ways:
- as a condition of a DFO authorization (e.g., subsection35(2) Fisheries Act
authorization), should one be required; or
- a Monitoring Agreement between DFO and the proponent (which may extend
beyond monitoring of cumulative environmental effects); or
- other federal tools available that would enable DFO to ensure that the
follow-up program is implemented.
The assessor is also encouraged to work with provincial authorities in
determining the extent to which follow-up program requirements could be
reflected in the provincial aquaculture licence.
In addition to the results of the monitoring program(s) conducted by the
proponent, other available and applicable information will be used in applying
the adaptive management approach arising from:
- regional/area or bay-wide studies;
- results of ongoing scientific research relative to the geographic area or
results which are extrapolable to the area; and
- other relevant available information pertinent to cumulative environmental
effects.
It should be acknowledged that the assessment of cumulative environmental
effects can be facilitated by several means, including:
- individual aquaculture proponents coordinating their monitoring programs
individually or collectively, possibly through a recognized body;
- a regional/area of bay-wide review of aquaculture development to address
cumulative environmental effects - such a review need not be constrained to
individual projects and their effects, would not be limited by lease
boundaries and could consider cooperative or complementary approaches to
development and minimize environmental effects within the region; and
- the establishment of an integrated monitoring program (by DFO, industry,
provinces, and other federal departments) which encompasses aquaculture
projects, other projects and activities within geographic and temporal
boundaries of the cumulative effects assessment.
Note: The Habitat Management Program is reviewing the assessment
requirements with respect to cumulative environmental effects under CEAA. This
review will inform DFO in this important issue and may result in adjustments to
this guidance document.
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4.0 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional information on the assessment of cumulative environmental effects
under CEAA is provided in guidance material provided by the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Agency:
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