Yesterday, the Federal Government announced changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act to exempt various projects funded under the Building Canada Plan from federal environmental assessment ("EA") requirements. Such projects include certain solid waste, wastewater and water facilities as well as public transit, railways, highways and bridges. Where such facilities are located near federally-protected environmentally sensitive areas, only projects with (i) total costs of less than $10 million (excluding land costs) and (ii) environmental mitigation measures in place to protect such areas will be eligible for the new exemption.

The exemptions take effect immediately and are available until March 2011.

Where a project funded under the Buildings Canada Plan is not expressly exempted from federal EA requirements, the new regulations will allow the Minister of the Environment to streamline the process by substituting the federal EA with the relevant provincial EA process.

Further information with respect to the new federal EA regulations may be found at:

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