Detroit River International Crossing Project

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Detroit River International Crossing Project

• Navigating the Multi-Jurisdictional Maze for a
  Large-Scale Transportation Project
• Kaarina Stiff, Transport Canada

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The maze
?
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The Border Transportation Partnership
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Background

• An international transportation project to add
  new border crossing capacity at the busiest land
  crossing between Canada and the United States
• A practical example of how to coordinate the
  legal requirements of multiple jurisdictions for
  a major transportation project

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Location
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Why a new crossing?

• Windsor-Detroit Gateway is the single busiest
  border crossing between Canada and the U.S
• Over next 30 years, cross-border truck traffic is
  expected to increase by 128 passenger traffic
  is expected to increase by 58

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Highlights

• Multi-jurisdictional coordination
• Two countries, four levels of government, three
  EA regimes
• Significant technical challenges
• Densely populated urban areas with different
  development patterns
• Historical salt mining activities high water
  table shallow depth to bedrock
• Protected natural area within Windsor city limits
• Sophisticated stakeholders on both sides of the
  border, often with competing interests
• Citizens and communities
• Private sector interests
• Local municipalities
• Border users commuters, manufacturers

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Coordination objectives

• Meet all of our legal requirements
• Ontario Environmental Assessment Act
• Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
• United States National Environmental Policy Act
• Demonstrate this to stakeholders
• Manage legal risk

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Background

• Discussion today will look at three elements of
  coordination
• Coordinating the planning processes under OEAA
  and NEPA
• Coordinating Canadian requirements under OEAA and
  CEAA
• (Using this information to satisfy SEA
  requirements in Canada)

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OEAA and NEPA

• Focus of OEAA and NEPA is generally the same
• Begin with purpose and need for the project
• Identify and analyze alternatives
• Select a preferred alternative based on a clear
  and traceable analysis
• Purpose of DRIC is to provide additional border
  crossing capacity between Windsor, Ontario and
  Detroit, Michigan
• to promote the safe, secure and efficient
  movement of people and goods between Canada and
  the U.S.
• end-to-end solution that includes a new river
  crossing, and freeway connections and customs
  inspection plazas in both countries

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Evaluation Process
TIME
Aug 05
Jan 06
Jan 07
Dec 07
NUMBER OFALTERNATIVES
AMOUNT OFANALYSIS
Purpose of theUndertakingAssess
PlanningAlternatives and DevelopIllustrative
Alternatives
Assess IllustrativeAlternatives Identify
PracticalAlternatives
Refine andAssessPracticalAlternatives
Select Technicallyand Environmentally Preferred
AlternativeRefine CompletePreliminary Design
Steps in Evaluation Process
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Evaluation Factors

1. Changes to Air Quality
2. Protection of Community Neighbourhood
   Characteristics
3. Consistency with Existing Planned Land Use
4. Protection of Cultural Resources
5. Protection of Natural Environment
6. Improve Regional Mobility
7. Minimize Cost

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Illustrative Route Alternatives
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Practical Alternatives Area of Continued
Analyses (ACA)
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OEAA and CEAA

• OEAA applies to provincial agencies that propose
  certain undertakings
• Identification and analysis of alternatives, to
  determine which alternative provides the best
  balance between project need and protecting the
  environment
• CEAA applies to federal authorities who take
  certain actions in relation to a project, as
  defined by the Act
• Decision is focused on whether the project is
  likely to cause significant adverse environmental
  effects
• The OEAA is typically applied earlier, which can
  create difficulties coordinating with the federal
  regime however the processes can be very
  complimentary (if we work at it)

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Challenges

• Different focus / legal framework
• OEAA is focused on analyzing alternatives CEAA
  decision is focused on the significance of the
  effects of the project
• For screening level assessments under CEAA,
  consideration of alternatives is discretionary
• Environmental effect under CEAA is more focused
  on the biophysical environment
• Lack of project details in early stages makes it
  difficult for federal agencies to fully
  articulate information needs
• Limited resources
• In the absence of project details, federal
  agencies need to decide where to focus their
  resources lack of early participation can result
  in information gaps later in the process

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What this meant for DRIC

• Provincial process starts with the identification
  of the undertaking e.g., developing new border
  crossing capacity
• We didnt know where it would go, or what it
  would look like (bridge or tunnel) we started
  with a problem not a project
• Federal process starts with a Project Description
  which needs to define the project in enough
  detail for federal authorities to determine if
  they have an EA responsibility in relation to the
  project
• We didnt know which watercourses we might cross,
  whether we would have piers in the water, or how
  close we would be situated to the tall-grass
  prairie reserve lack of info makes it difficult
  to rally the troops

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Tools for DRIC

• Transport Canada participation in the Border
  Transportation Partnership
• Steering Committee and Working Group includes
  representatives from all four partnership
  agencies
• Joint decision making helps to ensure that we can
  achieve an end-to-end solution that works for all
  jurisdictions
• Canada-Ontario Agreement on Environmental
  Assessment Cooperation provides a framework to
  coordinate EA requirements
• Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and
  Ontario Ministry of Environment provide
  coordinating function for process issues helps
  to encourage early involvement, which is further
  facilitated by TCs role as a de facto proponent

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DRIC Approach

• Federal review of provincial Terms of Reference
• TOR is a specific provincial requirement, but
  federal agencies provided comments and identified
  key areas of interest familiarity with the early
  stages helped to streamline later stages of the
  process
• Federal review of provincial work plans for each
  subject area, such as air quality and natural
  heritage
• Early input on study design ensured that federal
  information needs were identified as early as
  possible specific needs can be refined as the
  study proceeds
• Still difficult for federal authorities to
  provide project advice, but they can at least
  agree (or not disagree) with methodologies, and
  theyll be up to speed when we do decide what
  were doing

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DRIC Approach

• Federal process formally triggered with the
  identification of the area of continued
  analysis
• Early trigger was possible once additional
  project details were identified during the
  selection of practical alternatives, even though
  the specific details have not yet been defined
• We still didnt know where were going, but we
  had a better idea
• Development of federal EA guidelines undertaken
  in parallel with the analysis of the practical
  alternatives, drawing on the work already being
  done
• Analysis of practical alternatives generated
  additional information that federal authorities
  can use to determine if they have
  responsibilities or expertise that is related to
  the project this can be refined when the
  preferred alternative is selected

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Are we successfully navigating the maze?

• Meet legal requirements
• OEAA and NEPA requirements are both being met,
  with coordinated decisions in Canada and the U.S.
• OEAA and CEAA processes are being coordinated
  under the EA cooperation agreement
• OEAA and CEAA decisions are being documented for
  the public
• Demonstrate to stakeholders
• OEAA process involves extensive consultations
• TOR explains federal-provincial coordination
• Federal EA guidelines reference the provincial
  work plans, to demonstrate one body of
  documentation

• ?

?
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Are we successfully navigating the maze?

• Demonstrate to stakeholders
• We only received two public comments on the draft
  federal EA guidelines
• Manage legal risk
• Process is still in progress only time will
  tell

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The maze
?
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Links to SEA

• At the federal level in Canada, a strategic
  environmental assessment is required for
  policies, plans and programs
• This initiative straddles the line between a
  project and a plan, but an SEA of some type will
  likely be necessary to support government
  decisions related to the new crossing
• Information generated from this coordinated
  federal-provincial assessment, together with the
  feasibility study that preceded it, will provide
  the details necessary to support this process