On April 18, the City of Guelph filed its response to Part II Order requests made to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) for the Niska Road Class Environmental Assessment (EA).
The request is for a higher level of assessment and can be requested once the EA notice of completion is issued.
The city originally issued the notice of completion for the Niska Road EA on Feb. 11, then extended the 30-day review period after a set of review document copies were moved to a new location.
The public had until March 30 to file a Part II order request; two requests were filed with the minister’s office.
“We’ve provided the minister with our response to the Part II Order requests, which addresses all of the outlined concerns,” said Kealy Dedman, city engineer.
“The Niska Road study required a Schedule B Class EA; however, we voluntarily increased the assessment level to a Schedule C to ensure the concerns of the local community were heard and thoroughly studied.”
The MOECC will review the Part II Order requests and the city’s response before coming to a decision. There are four possible outcomes of this review:
– refer the matter to mediation before making a decision;
– deny the request and inform the both parties;
– deny the request but impose conditions; or
– require the proponent to comply with the Part II Order and prepare a terms of reference and individual environmental assessment.
“Next steps will depend on the outcome of the ministry’s review,” said Dedman. “Once the ministry’s decision is made, we’ll appropriately move forward as directed.”
The estimated cost to implement the recommended improvements to the road is $2.1 million and bridge is $2.4 million.
A total of $2.9 million is included in the 2016 capital budget and forecast.
Bridge condition and safety
The city continues to monitor the safety of the bridge.
Ongoing bridge assessments are regularly completed to observe deterioration and determine whether repair work is needed to maintain the bridge for safe driving conditions.
For more information about the Niska Road environmental assessment and improvements to the bridge and road, visit guelph.ca/niskaroad.
