Guidelines for the assessment of alternatives for mine waste disposal

Disclaimer

For all purposes of interpreting and applying the law, users should consult:

• the Acts as passed by Parliament, which are published in the "Assented to" Acts service, Part III of the Canada Gazette and the annual Statutes of Canada, and
• the regulations, as registered by the Clerk of the Privy Council and published in Part II of the Canada Gazette.

The above-mentioned publications are available in most public libraries. Official versions of the Statutes and regulations can also be found at the Department of Justice website. The law as stated in the above-mentioned publications will prevail should any inconsistencies be found in these guidelines.

These guidelines are subject to amendments from time to time. Each version is dated, therefore users should ensure that they are always consulting the most recent version of these guidelines. Users can contact Environment Canada for this information.

Table of Contents

• 1 Guidance for Proponents on the Federal Process for Designating Metal Mine Tailings Impoundment Areas
  • 1.1 Context
  • 1.2 Purpose
  • 1.3 Environmental Assessment
    • 1.3.1 Overview
    • 1.3.2 Assessment of alternatives
    • 1.3.3 Fish habitat compensation plan
    • 1.3.4 Consultations
    • 1.3.5 EA decision
  • 1.4 Regulatory Process
    • 1.4.1 Timing
    • 1.4.2 Other Fisheries Act authorizations
  • 1.5 Getting started
• 2 Requirements of Alternatives Assessment
  • 2.1 Alternatives Assessment Process
  • 2.2 Step 1: Identify Candidate Alternatives
  • 2.3 Step 2: Pre-Screening Assessment
  • 2.4 Step 3: Alternative Characterization
  • 2.5 Step 4: Multiple Accounts Ledger
    • 2.5.1 Sub-Accounts
    • 2.5.2 Indicators
  • 2.6 Step 5: Value-Based Decision Process
    • 2.6.1 Scoring
    • 2.6.2 Weighting
    • 2.6.3 Quantitative Analysis
  • 2.7 Step 6: Sensitivity Analysis
  • 2.8 Step 7: Document Results
    • References

List of Tables

• Table 1: Example of the Step 1 summary table to identify candidate TMFalternatives
• Table 2: Example of the pre-screening criteria summary table
• Table 3: Sampling of environmental characterization criteria
• Table 4: Sampling of technical characterization criteria
• Table 5: Sampling of project economic characterization criteria
• Table 6: Sampling of socio-economic characterization criteria
• Table 7: Example of the characterization criteria summary table
• Table 8: Example of the sub-account (evaluation criteria) summary table for a TMF
• Table 9: Beaufort scale (example of a qualitative value scale)
• Table 10: Example of the completed multiple accounts ledger
• Table 11: Example of qualitative value scale for the indicator
• Table 12: Example of qualitative value scale for an indicator which at first glance would appear to be measurable, such as “capital cost”
• Table 13: Example of the quantitative analysis for indicators
• Table 14: Example of the quantitative analysis for sub-accounts
• Table 15: Example of the quantitative analysis for accounts
• Table 16: Example of the results of a sensitivity analysis

List of Figures

• Figure 1: Flow diagram of the process of assessing alternatives
• Figure 2: Fish habitat compensation requirements in typical TIA scenarios

List of Annexes

• Annex 1: Deleterious Substances
• Annex 2: Fish Habitat Compensation Plans under Section 27.1 of the MMER and Subsection 35(2) of the Fisheries Act
• Annex 3: Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement
• Annex 4: Steps in the EA and Regulatory Processes