Next Generation of Assessment: New Tools or Old Standards
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Event Details
This panel sheds a spotlight on a mix of tools that have always been part of assessment processes, but need a revamp to add value and purpose. 1. A sustainability assessment framework to guide decision-making about rare earth element mining Limiting global temperature increase to 2ºC above preindustrial levels will require a swift transition to energy generation using renewable technologies. Unfortunately, these technologies require greater quantities of materials, such as rare earth elements (REE), that historically have involved socially and ecologically damaging extraction processes. This paper explores how Canada can use sustainability-based assessment to transform REE mining and help identify concerns, manage trade-offs, and deliver positive contributions to sustainability. An illustrative application of the specified framework is then presented through a review of the Nechalacho project in the Northwest Territories, Canada’s first operational REE mine. 2. Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment: Current Practice and Implications for Environmental Assessment, Sustainability and Cumulative Effects Assessments This presentation will highlight lessons learned and implications for environmental assessment from undertaking climate vulnerability and risk assessments on a variety of existing and new infrastructure projects as well as to natural assets in Ontario and in other parts of Canada. Examples will demonstrate application of the recently released PIEVC High Level Screening Guide (HLSG) with insights on how project sustainability has been enhanced and for how the PIEVC HLSG method may contribute to cumulative effects assessments going forward. 3. Environmental Assessment as a Tool for Managing Impacts on Wetlands Many jurisdictions in Canada use a hierarchical approach to mitigate wetland loss whereby loss is avoided, unavoidable loss is minimized, and any remaining loss is offset through compensation. Wetland offsets are a way of compensating for wetland losses, but are poorly understood or not always implemented. 4. Highway 401 Expansion: Erosion and Sediment Control Lessons Learned and Adaptive Management The project is within the Sixteen Mile Creek and Credit River Watersheds and includes more than 25 drainage/watercourse crossings, some with sensitive fisheries covered under provincial and federal legislation. Erosion and sediment control (ESC) design, implementation, and monitoring is a key component of the Project, involving extensive coordination between drainage designers, environmental planners, fisheries biologists, environmental inspectors, and the construction team. The presentation will highlight adaptive management as a means to manage uncertainty while involving Regulatory Agencies and key stakeholders during construction.
Perspectives on the Future
⏱11:00 am to 12:30 pm 90 minutes
This panel sheds a spotlight on a mix of tools that have always been part of assessment processes, but need a revamp to add value and purpose.
1. A sustainability assessment framework to guide decision-making about rare earth element mining
Limiting global temperature increase to 2ºC above preindustrial levels will require a swift transition to energy generation using renewable technologies. Unfortunately, these technologies require greater quantities of materials, such as rare earth elements (REE), that historically have involved socially and ecologically damaging extraction processes. This paper explores how Canada can use sustainability-based assessment to transform REE mining and help identify concerns, manage trade-offs, and deliver positive contributions to sustainability. An illustrative application of the specified framework is then presented through a review of the Nechalacho project in the Northwest Territories, Canada’s first operational REE mine.
2. Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment: Current Practice and Implications for Environmental Assessment, Sustainability and Cumulative Effects Assessments
This presentation will highlight lessons learned and implications for environmental assessment from undertaking climate vulnerability and risk assessments on a variety of existing and new infrastructure projects as well as to natural assets in Ontario and in other parts of Canada. Examples will demonstrate application of the recently released PIEVC High Level Screening Guide (HLSG) with insights on how project sustainability has been enhanced and for how the PIEVC HLSG method may contribute to cumulative effects assessments going forward.
3. Environmental Assessment as a Tool for Managing Impacts on Wetlands
Many jurisdictions in Canada use a hierarchical approach to mitigate wetland loss whereby loss is avoided, unavoidable loss is minimized, and any remaining loss is offset through compensation. Wetland offsets are a way of compensating for wetland losses, but are poorly understood or not always implemented.
4. Highway 401 Expansion: Erosion and Sediment Control Lessons Learned and Adaptive Management
The project is within the Sixteen Mile Creek and Credit River Watersheds and includes more than 25 drainage/watercourse crossings, some with sensitive fisheries covered under provincial and federal legislation. Erosion and sediment control (ESC) design, implementation, and monitoring is a key component of the Project, involving extensive coordination between drainage designers, environmental planners, fisheries biologists, environmental inspectors, and the construction team. The presentation will highlight adaptive management as a means to manage uncertainty while involving Regulatory Agencies and key stakeholders during construction.