Nova Scotia Environmental and Heritage Acts
is a province rich in resources, both environmental and cultural or historical, and, as such, has set forth a number of policies and acts in order to protect these assets. The main Act which pertains to this is the ''Special Places Protection Act, written in 1989. This Act discusses the procedures related to the protection, or “An Act to Provide for the Preservation, Regulation and Study of Archaeological and Historical Remains and Palaeontological and Ecological Sites”.
Environmental Assessments
An Environmental Assessment is a process through which developments are ascertained to be sustainable, according to certain agreements laid out in the assessment. This assures that environmental impacts will not be too substantial and detrimental to the surrounding area and habitat. The environment is defined as “he components of the earth that include:- air, land and water;
- the layers of the atmosphere;
- organic and inorganic matter and living organisms;
- the interacting systems that include components referred to in to ;
- and the socio-economic, environmental health, cultural and other items referred to in the definition of environmental effect”
- Mutual Respect
- Early Engagement in the project
- Openness and Transparency
- Adequate Time to Review/Respond
- "the location of the proposed undertaking and the nature and sensitivity of the surrounding area;
- the size, scope and complexity of the proposed undertaking;
- concerns expressed by the public and aboriginal people about the adverse effects or the environmental effects of the proposed undertaking;
- steps taken by the proponent to address environmental concerns expressed by the public and aboriginal people;
- whether environmental baseline information submitted under subclause 9 for the undertaking is sufficient for predicting adverse effects or environmental effects related to the undertaking;
- potential and known adverse effects or environmental effects of the proposed undertaking, including identifying any effects on species at risk, species of conservation concern and their habitats;
- project schedules where applicable;
- planned or existing land use in the area of the undertaking;
- other undertakings in the area;
- whether compliance with licences, certificates, permits, approvals or other documents of authorization required by law will mitigate the environmental effects;
- such other information as the Minister may require.”
- "the public;
- departments of Government;
- the Government of Canada and its agencies;
- municipalities in the vicinity of the undertaking or in which the undertaking is located;
- any affected aboriginal people or cultural community; and
- neighbouring jurisdictions to Nova Scotia in the vicinity of the undertaking."
Schedule A of the ''Environmental Act'' (Triggers)
If a potential development falls into any of the following categories, it is required to undergo an Environmental Assessment.| Class I | Class II | |
| Industrial Facilities | 1. A storage facility that has a total storage capacity of over 5000 m3 and is intended to hold liquid or gaseous substances, such as hydrocarbons or chemicals other than water. 2. A facility for manufacturing wood products that are pressure treated with chemical products. 3. A facility that produces fish meal. 4. A rendering plant. 5. An onshore pipeline that is 5 km or longer, other than a pipeline that carries any of the following: 6. A natural gas processing plant. 7. A paper product manufacturing plant. 8. An oil refinery that 1. A facility for manufacturing, processing or reprocessing radioactive materials. 2. A heavy water plant. 3. A pulp mill. 4. A petrochemical manufacturing plant. 5. A cement plant. 6. An oil refinery other than an oil refinery listed as a Class 1 undertaking. 7. A non-ferrous or ferrous metal smelter. 8. A lead acid battery plant. 9. A ferro-alloy plant. | |
| Mining | 1. A facility that extracts or processes any of the following: 2. A pit or quarry, other than a pit or quarry exempted under Section 4 of the regulations for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, that is larger than 4 ha in area for extracting one of the following: N/A | |
| Transportation | 1. The construction of a new paved highway that is longer than 2 km and is designed for 4 or more lanes of traffic. 2. The construction of a new paved highway that is longer than 10 km and is designed for 2 or more lanes of traffic. | N/A |
| Energy | 1. A corridor for 1 or more electric power transmission lines that have a cumulative voltage rating equal to or greater than 345 kVA. 2. An energy generating facility, other than an emergency generator, that meets any one of the following: 1. An energy generating facility, other than an emergency generator, that meets any one of the following: 2. A water reservoir that has a storage capacity of 10 000 000 m3 or more than the mean volume of the natural water body source for which it is a reservoir. | |
| Waste Management | 1. A facility for storing, processing, treating or disposing of waste dangerous goods that were not produced at that facility, other than facilities operated by, or on behalf of, a municipality or Provincial agency for waste dangerous goods collected only from residential premises. 2. A facility for treating, processing or disposing of contaminated materials that is located at a site other than where the contaminated materials originated. | 1. A facility for incinerating municipal solid waste. |
| Other | 1. An undertaking that involves transferring water between drainage basins, if the drainage area containing the water to be diverted is larger than 1 km2. 2. An undertaking that disrupts a total of 2 ha or more of any wetland. | N/A |
''Special Places Protection Act''
The Special Places Protection Act is an Act which defines special places, and enforces their protection. Any land, including that which is covered with water, with significant archaeological, historical or palaeontological importance. A Committee has been established to oversee the act, in association with the Minister, and they have the power to:- "make recommendations to the Minister concerning the administration, classification and acquisition of special places;
- conduct research with respect to existing and possible future special places;
- recommend regulations to the Minister with respect to management plans and other matters related to ecological sites;
- conduct research concerning the possible removal from designation of existing special places;
- ensure that, if a special places designation is being considered that appears to effect the operation of some other public Act, the persons charged with the administration of that Act have the opportunity to make representations to the Committee before any recommendations are made to the Minister;
- do any other thing which the Minister may assign the Committee with respect to assisting him in the proper administration of this Act.”
If a protected site is seen as unnecessarily protected, the Committee can request that the protection be terminated. In this case, again, information must be circulated via newspaper, and if the land is privately owned, notice had to be served to the owner. Thirty days must be given, to allot time for people to submit comments on this process.
Heritage permits are required to “carry out explorations or make excavations on any land in the Province, including land covered with water, for the purpose of seeking heritage objects”. These heritage permits can be issued by the Minister in order to undertake archaeological, historical, or palaeontological explorations. It is important to note that a permit holder must submit a report about the work done, and they must deliver all found heritage objects, to a public institution designated by the Minister. The permit holder must gain consent from the owner of the land before collecting objects from it or exploring on it. A permit may be cancelled by the Minister at any point.
If a place which the Minister deems to be a special place, whether designated or not, is threatened, the Minister may force the encroaching project to stop for 30 days, during which a survey of the area will take place.
Certain areas may be designated by the Minister as ecological sites, for which a management plan must be created, and information about the ecological site must be published in The Royal Gazette. An ecological site is described as follows:
“ runs with the land to which it applies and binds all successors in title to the land or any estate in the land unless the designation is terminated pursuant to this Act; and
is not affected by any tax deed conveying the land to which it applies.
Subsection applies to all designations of ecological sites whether made before or after the coming into force of that subsection.”
Treatment of ecological sites is the same as designated special places, such as in terms of termination or management. Ecological research permits can also be issued by the Minister, which allow for the alteration of land and the ecology within it, for the purposes of study.
Anyone in violation of the SPPA, whether as a non-permit holder, or by failing to comply with the regulation, is “liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars". If it is a corporation in violation of the Act, a maximum penalty of one hundred thousand dollars may be incurred.